Old Woman Mountain
As I struggled out of bed after the time change, I immediately thought, “How does he DO it???” The spring time change always makes getting up a bit of a bear, but thinking about Pete and the Team going with much less rest day after day, made my little morning whine hardly worth noticing.
Pete and the Team were out of Kaltag this morning at 5:40am. There are 10 dogs still in harness which is good news after the string of drops that we saw the last couple of days. Trail time for Team Kaiser has been very respectable and I am thinking that problems earlier may have worked themselves through. The Iditarod is hard enough, but add health issues and weather and it becomes a serious challenge.
Pete’s time last night between Eagle Island and Kaltag tied the fastest time at 8:55 of Ray Redington Jr.
The story of the day will be landing in Unalakleet. Mitch Seavey and Aaron Burmeister are battling it out for first with Jake Berkowitz a bit behind. Looking at times and postions, I wouldn’t count Jeff King out of the hunt. His time to Kaltag was very good as well and over the Kaltag run he has overtaken several Teams.
Delta FOURce- Update-
Mike Jr is into Kaltag, he is one to watch today. Mike Sr. is into Eagle Island with Richie just behind making very good time last night.
Trail of the Day-
Pete and the Team have been over this section of the trail twice already this year in the Paul Johnson Norton Sound 450. In fact as sections of trail go, Team Kaiser has been over this section more than most mushers on the Trail. (So have Aaron Burmeister and Dee Dee Jonrowe) In the Norton Sound 450 with a fresh team, Dee Dee Jonrowe made the Unalakleet to Kaltag run in just over 9 hours. Currently Aaron Burmeister has 12 hours on the trail and is 13 miles from Unalakleet.
From Iditarod.com-(Note- Norton Sound 450 calls this 90 miles)
The distance to Unalakleet is actually about 82 miles. Plan on 10 to 15 hours for this trip, depending on whether you want to camp along the way, and for how long. (By this stage of the race your team may be able to make it without a major rest.) If the weather gets bad, though, this trip can easily take 18 or 20 hours. There are two excellent resting spots on the trail, fifteen miles apart: the Tripod Flats cabin is 35 miles from Kaltag, and the Old Woman cabin is 15 miles farther on, about 35 miles from Unalakleet. Both are snug log cabins maintained by BLM and the local villages and can provide welcome refuges in case you encounter a storm.
Today’s Mushing Weather-
Click for weather forecast
EASTERN NORTON SOUND AND NULATO HILLS- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...UNALAKLEET...STEBBINS...ST MICHAEL... ELIM...KOYUK...SHAKTOOLIK 425 AM AKDT SUN MAR 10 2013 .TODAY...SNOW EARLY THIS MORNING BECOMING SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS BY NOON. SNOW ACCUMULATION UP TO 1 INCH. AREAS OF FOG. HIGHS IN THE LOWER TO MID 20S. NORTHWEST WINDS TO 10 MPH. .TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY IN THE EVENING WITH SCATTERED FLURRIES. PARTLY CLOUDY AFTER MIDNIGHT WITH PATCHY FOG. LOWS AROUND 5 ABOVE. NORTHWEST WINDS 5 TO 15 MPH.
