A dog sledding dream in honor of Bandit

This is to Honor the life of my best friend and lead dog Bandit and a dream we never saw come true (see description).

I'd like this tag to make it to Alaska (hopfully along the Idititarod trail), over to the Yukon territory (Yukon Quest) and then back to MN where hopfully I'll get it again.  If any cacher that finds this happens to know a musher that runs in one of the big races and they would care to take it along on of their runs that would be really cool.

Please try and keep this item in Premium Member Only caches.  Transport the bug in the original plastic bag for as long as the bag lasts; this prevents the chain and tag tangling with other items.

Update: Was just looking at caches up in the Alaska area and MTboy has started a new cache series  "The Iditarod series"
    Iditarod Cache: Cripple  (GC50K51)
    Iditarod Trail Series RUBY (GC33CYQ)
    finger lake--Iditarod CP #3 (GC2QKA1)
    Iditarod Cache--Koyuk (GC3EZXM)
    Skwentna Iditarod Cache (GC253CW)
These are all on the Iditarod trail most are newer caches and havn't been found yet, Go Bandit go.........

Thanks Bandit and the HuskyZone team

I'm a retired Navy guy and have dreamed of running a dog sled team in one of the bigger races like the John Beargrease since I was a kid.  After I retired from the Navy I started working on my dream, I got equipment, my first two dogs (good thing my wife had no idea how much trouble Huskies can cause or she would have never let me start) and started learning about mushing.  Well Got me a few more dogs so now we had five dogs in our house and another 5 I was borrowing from a fellow musher.

Training with the team and my lead dog Bandit was going great, 5 years of hard work and we were just about ready to enter the Beargrease Marathon. It was amazing just how close Bandit and me had become, he could read me like a book, we had a bond tighter than just a  lead dog and musher we were best friends.  And boy did this guy love to run, I'd come home from work and he'd run to the front door and pull his harness off the hook and just sit there waiting for me to take the team out or him for a walk. And talk about a joker. During our second year of running I dumped the sled coming down a hill and a sharp turn in the path.  Well like a great lead dog Bandit stopped the team when I yelled. Well he looked back at me and watched me pick myself up and walk to the sled, I got about 5 feet from the sled and he takes off.  So I yell again and sure enough he stops, I walk to the sled (sure enough he’s watching me) and yep I get 5 feet away and he takes off again this goes on for like 3 miles and I swear he was laughing at me the whole time….. I guess he got bored messing with me because he finally let me get back on the sled, that was typical Bandit.

Bandit was diagnosed with lymphatic cancer, he was a strong to the end and would show no pain during the whole ordeal,  he passed away  on father’s day in 2013.

I've lost the heart to sled, but in honor of Bandit I'm sending this tag out with the hope that it makes it to Alaska (hopefully along the Iditarod Trail) and over to the Yukon Territory (Yukon Quest) and then back to MN and hopfully back home again to be put on the mantel.

This Travel Bug is starting out at cache GCYE8X N 44° 16.916 W 093° 14.845 a place dear to both Bandit and me.

Attached to this travel bug is a small stuffed Huskie that was given to me and Bandit after our first race, and Bandit's Name Tag that I used on his race collar.