Category Archives: Tanana to Huslia

And on the 3rd Day, Pete said- Let’s Rest!

By | | ,
Comments Off on And on the 3rd Day, Pete said- Let’s Rest!

husky_sleeping-001

After 3 days and nearly 400 miles of trail, Pete and the Team are taking a breather in Galena.

It’s been quite a long haul over the last week. Not just the race, but all of the activity leading up to it combined with the Race has just been a busy time. A 24 hour break in Galena is going to be a great respite from all of the goings on. Pete and the Team will be able to get refocused, recharged, and do a bit of relaxing until tomorrow at 11am when they can return to the trail.

The way the Restart happened in Fairbanks was a bit detrimental to sleep and race preparation. We got into Fairbanks in the early evening, but then a new place, tons of tourists, and a hotel, weren’t the ideal place to get focused. THEN we had to be up at zero-dark-thirty (5:30am) to get out of the hotel parking lot before it closed.

Bethany reports that Pete’s little guy, Ari, wasn’t feeling well during the night as well, so Pete really didn’t start the race with much sleep in the bank.

Normally, on a Willow restart, Pete secludes himself away from the activity at Doug Dorland’s ranch the night before the race and when he arrives on site at the Start line, he has sleep in the bank and many miles can be had without it.

So as Pete finally gets to snooze, I am thinking we will see a more race ready Mr. Kaiser come tomorrow morning.

Sleep well Pete and the Team!

Go Team Kaiser!

Share

Blinded by the Light

By | |
Comments Off on Blinded by the Light

galena

Pete and the Team just posted the fastest time from Ruby to Galena in a blazing 6 hours 4 minutes! What a great run!

After a 6 hour run, it will be interesting to see whether Pete will take a break, or go out a couple more hours on the trail to split the next leg of a bit over 84 miles to Huslia. It is a tough question– Should you stay or go. 84 miles is a bit much for a single run, but two 40 mile runs are a bit too little for a break. Pete regularly does 100 mile training runs though, so he will be the best judge. This run has to give the Team some great confidence and surely Pete is pleased with their performance on the run.

The sun is now warming the Interior and in Galena temperatures are rising. It may reach zero by the time Pete and the Team head back on the trail. It is blindingly sunny in Galena at this hour, with calm winds and clear skies.

A musher has to have all kinds of protections from the elements including the eyes. In traditional times, arctic native cultures were pretty creative with many different types of eye protection. Slits through wood were very common though.Inuit_snow_goggles

Share

8 hours complete – Strategies play out…

By | | ,
Comments Off on 8 hours complete – Strategies play out…

Screen Shot 2015-03-12 at 7.44.10 AM

Good Morning Race Fans!

After arriving just before 9pm last night, Pete and the Team opted for an 8 hour layover before taking to the trail this morning at 5:00am sharp. After a 119mile run with a break in the middle at Bible Camp, a bit more break should put a little more spark in everyone’s step this morning. You know how it is when you zap the alarm and get another hour– Recharge!

Presently Pete and the Team are about halfway, or about 27 miles from Galena. It’s another 82 mile run into Huslia. Given Pete’s location and the time of the day, I am hedging at this point on a run into Huslia to take a 24 in the home of George Attla today. Coming off an 8 hour break, it seems plausible at this point.

This morning’s jack rabbit is Aaron Burmeister, who is through Galena on the trail to Huslia without a break in that checkpoint. Aaron hasn’t taken his 8 hour layover, so he is going with a fairly aggressive strategy by remaining on the trail, more than likely to take his 24 in Huslia. Looking at his analytics, he is sticking to a 6/4 run/rest schedule and not staying in a checkpoint to break.

As we see everyone’s strategy’s play out, it looks like yesterday’s trail leader, Mitch Seavey, is taking his 24 in Ruby, while most others are opting for a move further down the trail before beginning to take theirs.  Jeff King, who left Ruby with no break last night, slowed a bit on the trail last night after a push into Galena with no break. But he claims the Millennium Hotel Gourmet meal and $3500 in gold, so I’m looking for him to take his 24 in Galena and enjoy his dinner, but stay tuned.

It’s a nippy -20 on the trail to Galena this morning and it will get much colder just before daybreak. The point just before sunrise on a cold morning will be just that much colder before the energy of the sun begins to warm the day. Winds are expected to kick up during the day dropping wind chills into very cold -50 or better. It’s going to be a cold one. Tonight will be even worse as ambient temperatures drop into the -30’s. The thing about the Interior though is that wind is not common like a coastal area and low temperatures often mean calmer winds.

Crystal clear with a half-Moon to their left, Pete and the Team should have a beautiful sunrise to greet Galena this morning.

Go Team Kaiser!

This morning’s Mushing Weather Forecast:

LOWER KOYUKUK AND MIDDLE YUKON VALLEYS-
INCLUDING...GALENA...NULATO...HUSLIA...KALTAG...RUBY...KOYUKUK
443 AM AKDT THU MAR 12 2015

.TODAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS ZERO TO 5 BELOW. NORTH WINDS 10 TO
20 MPH. WIND CHILL AROUND 55 BELOW.
.TONIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS 18 TO 30 BELOW. NORTHWEST WINDS
5 TO 15 MPH.

 

 

Share

Into Ruby! Let the Chess Game Begin!

By | | ,
Comments Off on Into Ruby! Let the Chess Game Begin!
In this Friday, March 9, 2012 photo, an aurora borealis swirls in the sky over the Yukon River village of Ruby, Alaska, a checkpoint of the Iditarod Trail Race.

In this Friday, March 9, 2012 photo, an aurora borealis swirls in the sky over the Yukon River village of Ruby, Alaska- www.spokesman.com

Pete and the Team are into the Ruby Checkpoint at 8:52pm. It’s been a long day on the trail, but a very good run with satisfying times across the longest leg of this year’s race.

There are three 80 mile or so legs ahead, but the balance of the trail is segmented into much smaller legs which might allow resting in checkpoints. With the tourists behind them, mushers might opt for checkpoint stops with warm water and a cozy cot after many miles in the deep freeze of interior Alaska.

It’s hard to say what might play out here. Teams don’t want anyone to get out too far ahead and Teams not having their 8 hour layover may hold on to it in case of weather. The 8 hour layover must be completed by and including Kaltag. Tomorrow night’s forecast calls for some severe cold temperatures. I am not sure if Mushers are allowed weather reports, but hopefully they are. If they see the forecast, you may see Teams hunkering down for their 24 or getting in position for their 24 hour layover before the cold sets in. That would mean a push to Huslia or a 24 in Galena after the 50 mile trail from Ruby.

If Pete were to take 4-5 hours in Ruby, that would put him out on the trail by 1am or 2am. A 6 hour run would put him into Galena at 8am or so.

It’s really hard to feel out what is going to happen here in the next 24 hours. I am thinking 24 hour layovers are about to begin. It is going to be like watching a chess game, but we don’t know the plays. In an Anchorage to Nome race it is fun to see different strategies play out from Rohn to Cripple. In this race we really haven’t seen that yet. We have basically been watching a horse race with closely matched Teams doing fairly similar rest schedules. Now the fun begins!! Who has the best recipe?

Go Team Kaiser!!

Tonight’s Mushing Forecast:

LOWER KOYUKUK AND MIDDLE YUKON VALLEYS-
INCLUDING...GALENA...NULATO...HUSLIA...KALTAG...RUBY...KOYUKUK
217 PM AKDT WED MAR 11 2015

.TONIGHT...BECOMING MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A FEW FLURRIES IN THE
EVENING. PARTLY CLOUDY AFTER MIDNIGHT. PATCHY FOG. LOWS 15 TO 25BELOW.
NORTHWEST WINDS TO 10 MPH.
.THURSDAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. HIGHS 5 BELOW TO 5 ABOVE. NORTH WINDS
TO 10 MPH.
.THURSDAY NIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY. LOWS 20 TO 35 BELOW. NORTHWEST
WINDS TO 10 MPH.
Share

Under the Half-Moon Sky

By | |
Comments Off on Under the Half-Moon Sky

tanana

After a warm 5 hour break in the Tanana checkpoint, Pete and the Team took to the trail early this morning at 1:00am on the dot. From the times I am seeing, Mr. Kaiser is in “Full Race” mode to be sure. He was into the checkpoint at just after 8:00pm and out EXACTLY at the top of the hour. When his is in race mode, his focus is on the clock and every minute counts. As he has grown into an Iditarod threat, this mode has really become his mantra as he knows these minutes add up over the course of the race.

On this 6th run for Team Kaiser, we are seeing a very different strategy from Pete and the Team. In past races, Pete was content to stay in the pack, happy to be within the top 25, and make his move up the coast from Unalakleet to Nome. Today we see him solidly within the top 10 group of mushers and holding 7th position on the trail to Ruby. A number of factors allow this strategy, but a solid performing dog Team truly makes this possible as well. Go Team Go!

The 119 mile stretch from Tanana to Ruby will most likely be completed in two legs with a rest break on the trail somewhere close to the middle of the leg. Musers are presently bedding down near the Kokrine Hills Bible camp, just about the half-way point between the checkpoints.

Tom Huntington put out a very good trail description for the first part of the race. Here is his trail description for Tanana to Ruby:

Tanana to Ruby; distance of 114 miles. The trail from Tanana downstream is usually good, but can be hard drifts if it’s been windy. 18 miles past Tanana is Roy Folger’s camp(active). At 60 miles is the Kokrine Hills Bible Camp(active). Good trail, except the crossings at 20 and 37 mile were rough earlier in the season. Probably drifted smoother now. From the bible camp to Ruby is 54 miles. Good trail except there was a 4-5 mile section of beach glacier off and on, starting about 5 miles after the bible camp.

Trail conditions couldn’t be more perfect this morning, but a camp out on the trail is going to be a bit chilly. Skies are partly cloudy with a brilliant half moonlit glow. Temperatures are in the -20 below zero, but it is almost dead calm. It will be a little challenging to get camp setup, but once the cooker is going and after the dogs have eaten and are asleep in their beds, a short nap will be a welcome break.

Mushing Weather Forecast:

LOWER KOYUKUK AND MIDDLE YUKON VALLEYS-
INCLUDING...GALENA...NULATO...HUSLIA...KALTAG...RUBY...KOYUKUK
354 AM AKDT WED MAR 11 2015

.TODAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY IN THE MORNING THEN BECOMING PARTLY SUNNY.
OCCASIONAL FLURRIES. HIGHS ZERO TO 10 BELOW. LIGHT WINDS.

Go Team Kaiser!!

 

Share