Good Mornig Race Fans!
Well, it’s happening! The Race is ON and the excitement of the Iditarod is Full On this morning!
As the multitudes of mushers leave their 24 hour rest in Huslia, the trail from that checkpoint South towards the Yukon is filled with the sounds of dogs and sled runners.
Leading the pack is Wade Marrs who left last night at just after 7pm followed by Dallas, Joar, and Mitch. Through the night there was some jostling of position, but only due to rest breaks. This morning finds Wade about 2 hours or so out of Koyukuk and still maintaining the lead.
The next group left out of Huslia, including our own Pete Kaiser just before 4am.
In terms of “Race Analysis”, it is a still a bit hard to judge who the true leader might be. It is still looking like Wade at this point as the next musher behind him with an 8 hour completed is Nicolas Petit who is almost 8 hours behind him. The three mushers in the lead right now can almost take their 8 hour before the next group of mushers having that break reach them.
Pete and Richie are in that predicament this morning as well, as they have to take their 8 hour at some point before Kaltag.
As I wrote before, it’s actually only a 4 hour advantage, but still quite a bit of time.
The thing about the Iditarod is that some Teams, our own Team Kaiser included, put it into overdrive on the coast. This race is NEVER over until a musher is standing under the burled arches in Nome.
At this point, the best strategy is to stay within striking distance and that is where Pete and that second group are sitting. Wade, Dallas, Mitch, and Joar are definitely watching their rearview mirror!
The trail this morning follows the snowmachine trail overland through the woods and lakes between Huslia and Koyukuk. It will pick up the Koyukuk River about 15 miles from the Koyukuk village and then mostly follow it into the checkpoint.
Weather forecasts are calling for a cooling trend and there is a bit of snow and fog on the coast, so weather may find its way into this race after all. Right now the temperatures are around 10 degrees and calm winds. Perfect Mushing weather. Can you believe that the temperatures were almost 50 degrees cooler earlier in the race! Wow!
Remember to “Spring Forward” this evening!
Go Team Kaiser!
