Grand Marais musher Erin Altemus scratched from the 2024 Iditarod
Mar 11, 2024 11:09AM ● By Content Editor
Photo: Iditarod Facebook page
By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - March 11, 2024
After racing almost 500 miles from the start of the 2024 Iditarod, Grand Marais musher Erin Altemus scratched at the Ruby check point after dealing with some setbacks. According to a video interview on the Cook County Dog Mushers Facebook page, Altemus shared that coming into the Cripple checkpoint, she had two dogs with shoulder injuries. Coming out of the Cripple checkpoint, she lost her sleeping bag, a required item to carry, and wasn't sure if she should turn around or hope someone would pick it up along the way (some snow mobilers did find it and return it to her).
Erin decided to keep going, but ended up flipping her sled and had another dog that was potentially showing signs of a shoulder injury. About 40 miles out of the Ruby checkpoint she decided to camp for the night. Heading out toward Ruby the next day, she said the dogs were mentally having a tough time. Coming into the Ruby checkpoint, she flipped her sled again. Coming onto a plowed road, another team crash into her body as she was trying to get up (she's ok, just a bit bruised. The dogs are OK).
Another Facebook post by Matthew Karl Schmidt, Erin's husband, shared the following:
"Well my friends, this crazy Iditarod experiment came to a screeching halt this morning and Erin had trouble leaving the checkpoint of Ruby. At that point she was in last and couldn't afford to rest her dogs anymore and get too far behind the leaders, in which she would have gotten withdrawn anyway. They had been dealing with some intestinal and mental issues and a tougher than normal trail. She had personally been dealing with a cold throughout the trip. The dogs and Erin are doing well and we'll get her back to Anchorage and give her lots of backrubs and love. I know she didn't give up easy and this was super tough for her. I'd like to say she'll try again but I don't really know yet. It's a huge sacrifice to get up here to the start line so we'll have to re-group and see what happens. Like they say it's just a dog race, we'll be ok, thanks for the love and support!"
The Iditarod officially announced Altemus's scratch on Sunday, March 10th, in the afternoon (see Facebook post below).
Grand Marais's other musher, Anna Hennessy is still racing and is in 25th place at the time of this posting. Boreal Community Media will continue to provide updates on Anna's progress.
Congratulations to Erin and the team! Your Cook County community (and beyond) is so proud of you.
By Laura Durenberger-Grunow - Boreal Community Media - March 11, 2024
After racing almost 500 miles from the start of the 2024 Iditarod, Grand Marais musher Erin Altemus scratched at the Ruby check point after dealing with some setbacks. According to a video interview on the Cook County Dog Mushers Facebook page, Altemus shared that coming into the Cripple checkpoint, she had two dogs with shoulder injuries. Coming out of the Cripple checkpoint, she lost her sleeping bag, a required item to carry, and wasn't sure if she should turn around or hope someone would pick it up along the way (some snow mobilers did find it and return it to her).
Erin decided to keep going, but ended up flipping her sled and had another dog that was potentially showing signs of a shoulder injury. About 40 miles out of the Ruby checkpoint she decided to camp for the night. Heading out toward Ruby the next day, she said the dogs were mentally having a tough time. Coming into the Ruby checkpoint, she flipped her sled again. Coming onto a plowed road, another team crash into her body as she was trying to get up (she's ok, just a bit bruised. The dogs are OK).
Another Facebook post by Matthew Karl Schmidt, Erin's husband, shared the following:
"Well my friends, this crazy Iditarod experiment came to a screeching halt this morning and Erin had trouble leaving the checkpoint of Ruby. At that point she was in last and couldn't afford to rest her dogs anymore and get too far behind the leaders, in which she would have gotten withdrawn anyway. They had been dealing with some intestinal and mental issues and a tougher than normal trail. She had personally been dealing with a cold throughout the trip. The dogs and Erin are doing well and we'll get her back to Anchorage and give her lots of backrubs and love. I know she didn't give up easy and this was super tough for her. I'd like to say she'll try again but I don't really know yet. It's a huge sacrifice to get up here to the start line so we'll have to re-group and see what happens. Like they say it's just a dog race, we'll be ok, thanks for the love and support!"
The Iditarod officially announced Altemus's scratch on Sunday, March 10th, in the afternoon (see Facebook post below).
Grand Marais's other musher, Anna Hennessy is still racing and is in 25th place at the time of this posting. Boreal Community Media will continue to provide updates on Anna's progress.
Congratulations to Erin and the team! Your Cook County community (and beyond) is so proud of you.
