Tracker is showing Pete and the Team taking a break at the 6 hour mark since Huslia. With cold temps and half a race to go, Pete’s strategy will be a smart one. After a break, its a 4 hour run or so into Koyukuk, where I am thinking he might keep moving through to break the Huslia to Kaltag run of 155 miles into three legs. In this case, a 6hour run/4 hour rest would put the 6 hour runs almost exactly in three legs.
As usual it’s a wait and see game, but Mr. Kaiser definitely has a plan. Joar Leifseth Ulsom is running with Pete and I am thinking this is pretty smart. This happens many times where Mushers play two hands and we get to see which hand plays out best. It will be interesting to see, after this run by Jesse Royer and Thomas Waerner, with no break, will allow them the speed they need on the coast.
At this point in the race, tired and cold, it can be easy to make a mistake for a rookie, but the teams at the front are all veteran mushers with a plan they have been thinking about on the back of the runners for quite some time.
This is what makes the GPS so much a part of the new sport of Sled Dog Racing. To be able to watch this all play out is great fun on a spring day. On the other hand, it’s tough to get much done for the entirety of the race when you can’t “tear” your self away for fear of missing something.
Stay Tuned!
Iditarod Standings don’t show it, but the tracker has Pete and the Team out of Huslia on the river trail south to Koyukuk at 4:30am this morning after a 6 hour break. The 10 hour 20 minute run was a tremendous move in to Huslia last night that required a bit more snooze time for Pete and the Team.
Jeff King is into Koyukuk after another solid 11 hour run down the river. King did this run with no stops in a chilly -40F evening that had to be pretty cold for his Team.
Some teams are breaking this leg of the race into two with a break in the middle. I’ll be curious to see what Pete and the Team will do this morning. They are traveling closely with Joar Leifseth Ulsom, Jessie Royer, and Thomas Waerner. This little group is in the third group of top mushers traveling behind King with a pretty solid lead and the second group of Danny Seavey, Mitch Seavey, Aaron Burmeister, and Aliy Zirkle. It should be noted that Mitch, Aliy, and Aaron are still needing to do their 8 hour breaks. This could liven up the standings board later today.
Weather this morning is in a word- Cold! It’s -36F in Huslia and -38 in Galena. Winds are calm and skies are clear, but it is very cold. Photos of some of the mushers has me hoping Pete and the Team are dressed warm and are missing out on some of the frostbite that seems to be prevalent among many of the mushers.
Mushing weather Forecast:
LOWER KOYUKUK AND MIDDLE YUKON VALLEYS- INCLUDING...GALENA...NULATO...HUSLIA...KALTAG...RUBY...KOYUKUK 458 AM AKDT SAT MAR 14 2015 .TODAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS ZERO TO 10 BELOW. LIGHT WINDS. .TONIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS 17 TO 32 BELOW. NORTHEAST WINDS TO 10 MPH.
Nulato Sunrise – Sat- Mar 14
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