20 miles to go!

gweek

The “Back Trail” is an old wood cutting and hunting trail that Pete has traveled for many years. After a short journey across the Gweek river, it is the “Back Trail” that will lead Pete and the Team towards Bethel, a warm bed, his waiting family and friends, and the Finish Line.

It is looking positive for the Team, but in Dog Sled Mushing nothing is for certain until the first paws cross the Finish Line. As we have seen so many times, there are always unknown challenges and Pete won’t feel confidence until he sees the lights of Bethel in sight and the cheer of the crowd as he and the Team cross the Finish Line.

At this point in the race it there are still games to be played. Mushers will run with their lights off and sneak up on the leader if he isn’t careful.

The big race to watch right now is between Joar Leifseth-Ulsom and Brent Sass. They are neck and neck and it is going to be fun to see who wins the battle.

Presently Pete has about a 4 mile lead on Joar followed by Brent a mile back. Richie Diehl is holding 4th and Josh Cadzow in 5th. The “Young Guns” have made their mark on this race as Brent is the “Old Man” of the five, at 36 years old, and the remaining mushers under 30 years old. Fun to see the younger generation not only involved, but showing great success and dedication!

Currently in Bethel the winds have subsided a bit to 20mph and the temperature is a balmy 13 degrees.

It is looking like about 2 hours from now, or between 10:30 and 11:00am for the Finish, so put the DVR on to record the Mighty Seahawks, and head on down to the Finish Line to Cheer on Team Kaiser!

Go Team Kaiser!

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Off for the Finish!

outtlk1

outtlk

Good Morning Race Fans!

After arriving with a 34 minute lead and taking his mandatory 4 hour break, Pete has taken the Team back to the trail for the 53 mile run to the Finish! After dropping 2 more dogs, Team Kaiser is now 7 dogs and their fearless driver, Pete Kaiser!!

Pete arrived into Tuluksak 34 minutes in front of Joar Leifseth-Ulsom after carrying a dog down from Kalskag at 1:17am. He is out of Tuluksak exactly 4 hours later at 5:17am. Joar is also out after his layover at 5:51 with 6 dogs as is Brent Sass  with 9 dogs, who is just 11 minutes behind Joar.

This is going to be an exciting finish for sure with just a 30 minute separation anything could happen! Pete made the run from Tuluksak to Bethel, last year, in 4 Hours 53 Minutes, which if conditions are similar, or perhaps better, a finish just after 10am this morning. So get your coffee, or just a few more winks and let’s meet down at the Finish Line to cheer on Team Kaiser!!

2016 K300 Finish Weather:

KUSKOKWIM DELTA-
INCLUDING...BETHEL
444 AM AKST SUN JAN 17 2016

.TODAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS IN THE LOWER TO MID 20S. NORTHEAST
WIND 15 TO 25 MPH.

Go Team Kaiser!

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Into Tuluksak! Rest and Race!

tlk

Pete and the Team have been holding off Joar Leifseth-Ulsom since leaving the Kalskag checkpoint earlier this evening. The interval between the two mushers is only about 30 minutes or about 4 miles and has been that way all night. As the Teams come into the Tuluksak Checkpoint they will be met by the Veterinary team and then will have a 4 hour mandatory layover before heading down the 53 mile trail to Bethel.

Word from the trail is that Pete had to put one member of the team into the sled right out of Kalskag, so the next part of the trail should be a bit more relieved without the added weight.

Further back just a bit, Josh Cadzow and Richie Diehl are battling it out for position. Josh is staying with the Kaisers and Richie is Pete’s long time buddy. Fun to see them racing as well. It’s going to be an exciting morning!

Given the hour and using the Bogus Creek and other Historical information, we should see a Finish in the early daylight between 9:30 and 10:30am. Of course we will keep you posted so we can run down and cheer on our favorite Team.

Current Bethel Weather has the temperature rising slightly to 10F above with Northeast winds to 30mph.

Go Team Kaiser!

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Déjà vu???

Ever get that feeling you have been somewhere before and you are there? That Déjà vu feeling??? Well Pete and the Team are feeling it now, but what is unbelievable is that it isn’t just a feeling!!

Believe it or not, last night they were in the EXACT same place at the EXACT same time! Unbelievable. The Tracker shows the detail. I thought it was noteworthy, so here you go! Things that make you say HMMM in the middle of the night watching the tracker! 🙂

dejavu

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Racing the Wind down to Tuluksak

901

It’s still a blustery trail in the 2016 Kuskokwim 300. Pete and the Team were into Kalskag at 6:49pm and left right on time at 7:50pm dropping 2 dogs. The competition is as tight as can be with Team Kaiser having a 19 minute lead over Joar Leifseth-Ulsom. The Teams are literally neck and neck with only a minute difference in the trail time from Aniak to Kalskag. Brent Sass, who was first into Kalskag has now taken all of his layover time and is also back on the trail. Richie Diehl is having an EXCELLENT race as well. His trail times have been getting faster and he is now inIt’s going to be exciting folks!

We got word from Pete that the trail over from Aniak was horrible with tussocks everywhere, bare tundra, no snow, and slick ice. Pete had a dog in the basket most of the way around the loop. He was in excellent spirits and excited for this part of the Race.

I checked last year’s stats and Pete and the Team left Kalskag at 4:16pm on the way to Tuluksak. The 2015 Finish was at 5:31am. That would put a 2016 Finish between 7am and 8am tomorrow morning. We will see how this materializes as Teams arrive into Tuluksak for their 4 hour mandatory layover.

Go Team Kaiser!!

K300 Finish Evening Weather:

KUSKOKWIM DELTA-
INCLUDING...BETHEL
343 PM AKST SAT JAN 16 2016
TONIGHT...PARTLY CLOUDY IN THE EVENING...THEN MOSTLY CLOUDY AFTER
MIDNIGHT. ISOLATED SNOW SHOWERS DEVELOPING FROM BETHEL WEST DURING
THE EVENING. EARLY LOWS 5 TO 10 ABOVE...WARMING TO 15 TO 20
ABOVE AFTER MIDNIGHT. NORTHEAST WIND 15 TO 30 MPH.

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