Welcome to the Wednesday Delta FOURce Update!
Leading the Four YK Delta Mushers is our own Pete Kaiser. Pete and the Team left Takotna this morning after his 24 hour layover at 1:15am with 14 dogs. He quickly made it over to Ophir, dropped another dog and returned to the trail at just past 4am this morning with 13 dogs. The Kaiser team made great time towards Iditarod and are presently camped out resting just 20 miles from Iditarod. We expect him to rest for a few hours and then return to the trail. I am thinking that his preference was to get as far as he could in the warmth before camping out and waiting for it to cool this evening. Go Team Kaiser
Mike Williams Jr. left Takotna after his 24 hour layover at just past 6 am this morning with 14 dogs. He was in and out of Ophir a bit before 7am and is currently on the trail to Iditarod. I would expect that Mike Jr. would also break this trip of 103 miles into two parts as well and rest during the heat of the day. We will see though as Mike Jr. is full of surprises.
Mike Williams Sr. has been traveling with his son since the Start and left Takotna just a couple of hours later than Mike Jr. He was in and out of Ophir just before noon with 15 dogs. He commented yesterday that it was an honor to be traveling together with Mike Jr. He must be so very proud of his boy and no better seat in the house than on the trail with him.
Go Team Williams!
Richie Diehl of Aniak is just out of Takotna after his 24 hour layover as well. Tracker is showing him moving, but we don’t have a count on his dogs yet. Richie has slowly been creeping up the leaderboard and with his conservative run, should keep that up as they move North. I am hearing that his Dad may meet him in Anvik to watch him go by. Maybe we will get some photos from there as well. Richie’s Facebook page has been going crazy with all of his fans! Way to go Richie!
Collage of Iditarod Alaska Ghost Town used as the Checkpoint for the Southern Route.
With warm temperatures in the forecast and a team that looks like it is on fire, Pete and the Team look like they may push all the way into Iditarod for their break. This isn’t a new thing for them as a couple of times in recent memory they have done pretty long runs in previous races. Tracker shows the team at a pretty good pace and moving along nicely. We will see how it goes. 20 miles sounds small, but that is still a couple and a half more hours to put on the team.
They now are 20 miles from the Iditarod Checkpoint. This move definitely plays his hand in some ways as other teams have decided to stand pat and break up the run with a rest.
The logic here is probably weather related. If he goes all the way into Iditarod it will be a long run, but he can then rest a bit longer during the heat of the day and go back out on the trail in the evening when it is cooler. Basically the longer he runs in the day with good time will give him even that much more this evening.
It is definitely a power move, but one that Aaron Burmeister is also doing as he approaches Iditarod as well. Both team went head to head in earlier races this year, so it is fun to see them go at it again.
Stay tuned, but the excitement of the trail has not left us yet! Go Team Kaiser!!
Good Morning Kaiser Race Fans! Pete and the Team were out of Ophir early this morning at 4:03 leaving a dog before moving back on the trail. They are currently running in 13th position factoring in the teams in the pack that haven’t taken their 24 hour layover. The run between Takotna and Ophir was one of the faster times posted and almost identical to Jake Berkowitz the night before.
Pete’s Times-
The trail from Ophir to Iditarod will take the team Southwest through the rolling hills towards the mining country of Flat and Iditarod. It is a long stretch of trail winding down to the Mining Ghost town of Iditarod.
From Iditarod:
This is one of the emptiest legs on the entire race, a full 90 miles of lonely country and endless trail. The trail crosses a mix of terrain and vegetation, ranging from taiga (black spruce) to barren upland tundra to thick river-bottom forests to brushy ravines and hillsides to swamps and lakes. This leg has no major problems, although are always patches of minor overflow, plenty of hills, and some potentially rough trail across the uplands. Its biggest feature is, as somebody once said of driving through Texas, miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles.
You should plan for 12 to 18 hours, including a good several-hour rest somewhere along the way. Many drivers stop at Don’s Cabin, 36 miles out of Ophir. It’s a ramshackle plywood hut but it’s sheltered in the trees and has a stove. Another good camping spot is the tree line at the Windy Creek crossing, 10 miles past Don’s Cabin, or the Dishna River, a couple of miles past Windy Creek.
Don’s Cabin
Mushing Weather Forecast:
The story of today is undoubtably going to be about weather. Predictions are for high winds, but luckily for Pete and the Team they will actually play into their favor if it works out right. Presently it is warm, but below freezing with Northeast winds at their backs. Preditions are for the wind to switch to the East, but that is okay as from Iditarod to Anvik is an Eastward trail, so again wind will be at their back.
Present Anvik Weather:
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...RUSSIAN MISSION...GRAYLING... HOLY CROSS...SHAGELUK...ANVIK...FLAT 328 AM AKST THU MAR 7 2013 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT AKST TONIGHT... .TODAY...SNOW. A CHANCE OF LIGHT FREEZING RAIN. SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 1 TO 2 INCHES. HIGHS IN THE LOWER TO MID 30S. EAST WINDS INCREASING TO 20 TO 35 MPH WITH LOCAL GUSTS TO 45 MPH. .TONIGHT...CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SNOW. A CHANCE OF LIGHT FREEZING RAIN IN THE EVENING. AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW. LOWS IN THE UPPER 20S TO LOWER 30S. EAST WINDS 20 TO 35 MPH WITH LOCAL GUSTS TO 45 MPH. .FRIDAY...CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SNOW. AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 30S. SOUTHEAST WINDS 15 TO 30 MPH.
As teams prepare to return to the trail the new drama of the 2013 Iditarod will be the storm bearing down on Western Alaska. Predictions are for wind, snow, and rain in the next few days. In a word, ugly. The unknown is how long it will take to materialize or if it will dissipate before it reaches the trail. Oftentimes coastal storms will lose a great deal of their energy as they make their way inland. Here in Bethel, it hasn’t begun to blow yet, though temperatures have been warm all day.
Pete and the Team will return to the trail at 1:15am. Rested and ready, this next phase of the race could determine the next winner of the race. Unlike last year where it was a horse race, if Mother Nature is involved, anything can happen.
The trail to Iditarod is 128 miles from Takotna. This is an Odd year (2013) so leaving Ophir so it is the Southern Route of the Iditarod Trail. In many ways it is a whole new thing. Pete may be a 3 time veteran, but this will be only the second run through this trail. Leaving Ophir, the trail will head southwest into the mining country of Flat and Iditarod. It is largely rolling hills and few trees. If a south wind materializes it could be a bit of a challenge. I would think that Pete will have to take a break during this stretch of the course. When we awake in the morning we will see how well teams are making it through the stretch.
Here are his 2011 Stats through the trail (Click to Enlarge):
AKZ215-071500- LOWER YUKON VALLEY- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...RUSSIAN MISSION...GRAYLING... HOLY CROSS...SHAGELUK...ANVIK...FLAT 255 PM AKST WED MAR 6 2013 ...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 3 AM THURSDAY TO MIDNIGHT AKST THURSDAY NIGHT... .TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY. ISOLATED SNOW SHOWERS TAPERING OFF WITH SNOW REDEVELOPING TOWARD MORNING. SNOW ACCUMULATION UP TO 1 INCH. LOWS IN THE LOWER 20S. NORTHEAST WINDS 15 TO 25 MPH. .THURSDAY...SNOW...MIXING WITH FREEZING RAIN IN THE AFTERNOON. SNOW ACCUMULATION OF 1 TO 2 INCHES. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 20S TO LOWER 30S. EAST WINDS 20 TO 35 MPH GUSTING TO 50 MPH. .THURSDAY NIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY. SCATTERED SNOW SHOWERS...MIXING WITH FREEZING RAIN IN THE EVENING. LOWS IN THE 20S TO LOWER 30S. EAST WINDS 25 TO 35 MPH. .FRIDAY...CLOUDY. PERIODS OF SNOW...MIXING WITH FREEZING RAIN. HIGHS IN THE LOWER 30S. SOUTHEAST WINDS 15 TO 30 MPH.
Tonights Edition- Kaiser Racing history – Storm Effects – Martin Buser’s Run
Tune in and gather round just like the old days!
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Check out the Kaiser Super Dogs in Mushing Magazine!
