And the fog clears… The fog kept Unalakleet under a blanket of white and it cleared in the evening. So does the strategy at play with some Teams this evening. Pete and the Team are party to this new strategy and I’m curious to see how it plays out.
Pete and Richie left Kaltag at nearly the same time, but the two friends have a different game to play when it comes to the Iditarod.
Richie stopped halfway from Kaltag to Unalakleet, while Pete kept moving. He just stopped in the same general location that Mitch Seavey, Joar Leifseth Ulsom, and Jesse Royer. I was wondering why only 20 miles from Unalakleet…
Then I started looking at the mileages and it now makes sense. It’s 50 miles… The magic number is 50.
Pete actually ran 60 miles from Kaltag before he stopped, but after a break, he’ll not stop in Unalakleet. He will make for Shaktoolik, 50 miles from his present resting place. At that point, each of the next legs can be broken down into 50 mile legs all the way to White Mountain and the 8 hour mandatory rest.
Rest to Shaktoolik – 50 Miles
Shaktoolik to Koyuk – 50 Miles
Koyuk to Elim – 50 Miles
Elim to White Mountain – 50 Miles.
It makes sense to keep the legs consistent- The Team should like it and the musher should as well.
Let’s see if my calculations are correct!
Oh! I almost forgot!! A couple of years ago Google actually was in Unalakleet for the Iditarod!!
Click on this Link to be taken to Unalakleet at the Checkpoint (2015) Then click the little Street View Man and drop it near the River and you will be transported to the Iditarod! Very Cool! You need a break from the refresh button anyway 🙂 You can click and hold and look around 3D!
The time change has put the sunset an hour later by the clock, but that clock is pretty meaningless when you’ve been on the back of a dogsled for almost 700 miles!
Pete and the Team were out of Kaltag at 3:12pm after an almost 4 hour break from the Trail. Leaving just a few minutes behind Richie, the Teams left the Yukon River, which has been under their runners for almost a week and entered the portage trail on the way to Unalakleet.
This 85 mile run can be accomplished in a single long run with a few short water breaks. Last year Pete and the 2016 Team made the run in 9hrs 31min– a very fast time.
This year a top 10 finish is at stake for both Teams and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them go all the way to the coast, but a break keeps the Team happy and that is always most important.
Either way, Lee Ryan and his “Homelanders” will be waiting at the checkpoint to welcome him into town. Unalakleet is known for the best breakfast in Alaska and with Middy Johnson at the cookstand, there will be mountains of food. (At this point in the race, the smell of that bacon has been known to draw mushers in from the trail just to snag a taste!)
I did a little sleuthing and come to find out that there is a correlation between leaving Unalakleet and arriving at the Finish Line. Looking at several Teams over the years puts the Finish line between 46-48 hours for the top Teams. Not wanting to look too far in the future, but it is looking like a Finish for our fearsome duo, early in the morning Wednesday.
One other thing that must be mentioned– everyone is talking about Mitch Seavey winning this thing and such. But I’d have them ask Jeff King about a “done deal.” The weather doesn’t look bad, but there are so many factors ahead, that I’d bet Mitch isn’t taking any risks and has several rabbits feet in his pockets.
Stay tuned for another exciting evening of clicking the refresh button!
Comments Off on Nenana Checkpoint – Action on the Go
We don’t often get a chance to see what happens in a checkpoint. Here’s action from Checkpoint 1 in Nenana last Monday. It’s officially throwback Sunday! 🙂
As we look to Nome, a look back to a chilly day in Fairbanks that was hot with the action of the Iditarod Trail Starting Line. Hard to believe it was just a short 6 days ago! Thank you to everyone!
A foggy morning in Kaltag finds Pete and the Team checking in at 11:13am, just 35 minutes after Richie Diehl.
Traditionally Teams will take a short breather here to feed and water the Teams before heading over the Portage to Unalakleet. Some Teams though, head out on the trail and break it into two runs and this section of the race is where we begin to see the different strategies play out. We have seen years where Teams look past Unalakleet and rest according to a Shaktoolik goal and further. In any case, the chess match starts here and is always fun to watch.
I’d guess that Pete and Richie will take their break here and then move on out in a few hours.
Unalakleet is also pretty foggy this morning, so it may be a little brisk on the run. Fog just sucks the heat out of a Musher, so it won’t be as comfortable as it could be. The lead teams are showing good times on the portage trail, so it may be in good shape for the 85 mile run and last long run of the Race. After Unalakleet the checkpoints are closer together, but that doesn’t mean that Teams won’t add long runs to the mix, but it does mean that we will be able to better gauge how the Race is progressing.
Pete’s 2016 time across the Portage was 9:31 and a bit over 11 hours in 2015. That would put him into Unalakleet late this evening.
The toughest part of the Race… Half way to Nome and just outside of the Top 10.
The weather has been great, but a Team a bit out of sorts is a bigger challenge in this Race. It happens to everyone at some point. Aliy Zirkle had it in her Team and she expressed the same feeling. “Not much you can do. You want them to do well, but if they aren’t 100%, you just do what you can do.”
I always call Pete “Doggy Yoda” as he is so “Dog Smart” about mushing and dogs and stuff. After the 300 Win in January he called and said they would be going to do the Willow 300. It was a new race and I was asking about it and he told me that more than anything he wanted to have the Team exposed to the other Teams. Much like a child in Kindegarten, when the Team is exposed to others they some times get the sniffles and such, just like kids do. “I want them to build some immunity,” he told me.
A pretty smart move, but unfortunately it was so cold that it just didn’t happen like he planned and the Team got a bit of the trail flu into Galena.
The good news is that now the Team is looking up and that helps everything. The dogs feel better and that puts the smile back in Pete’s face.
The trail in from Huslia was 86 miles of soft trail. Pete and Richie traveled together and split the run into two runs over the day yesterday. In Koyukuk he took his 8 hour layover and reported to the insider that it was some of the toughest trail so far. Very soft and in the heat of the day–quite an ordeal. The dogs are eating well which is the biggest indicator of health. They are hungry and perky and so this challenge is hopefully behind them.
Listen to Pete’s Insider Interview in Koyukuk
Now back on the Yukon, Pete and the Team will make their way down a fairly nice trail to Kaltag before heading over the portage to Unalakleet that is the part of every Race. With the amount of snow we have had this year, it could be pretty soft as well, but it is more heavily traveled and has more of a coastal influence, so should be easier to deal with than the Huslia loop. Down in Bethel the Sun has started to impact the lakes and trails substantially. I was out yesterday in my plane and the snow on most lakes was showing the effects of the sun by melting away the snow. This happens each year as we move into the spring season. Kaltag is 200 miles North or so, but I would assume the same conditions are occurring.
We are ecstatic for Richie Diehl! He is running his best Iditarod ever and is almost an hour in front of Pete and the Team at this hour. He made it over the soft trail after the middle break quite a bit faster than Pete and Richie’s Team looks awesome! This is Richie’s 5th run of the Iditarod and there is no one we would rather see do better that them. Go Richie! He has to feel pretty good about his race so far!
Weather today is still pretty fair, but calling for falling temperatures. It won’t matter though, for as Teams move towards the Bering Sea coast, temperatures will be warmer due to the maritime influence. Wind may become a factor, but for now it’s nothing really to speak of– 10 to 15mph from the Northeast on the coast, calm on the Yukon.
It’s the final Sunday of the Iditarod and veteran fans have many, many memories of this day. The drama usually begins around this point and this year proves to be no different. We are now a bit more than 350 miles from Nome!
The long distance endurance of the Race is showing it’s effects now that the Iditarod is now on the 2nd half. Three long runs are pretty tough and mental endurance as well as physical endurance are necessary to compete at this level.
Pete and the Team arrived into Koyukuk just before 8pm after 16 hours on the trail. I’m anticipating him taking his 8 hour here after the long 86 mile run. Running in 9th place just behind Richie and his Team, Pete is still in good position to move up several places before the finish.
The Team looked pretty lively into the checkpoint, barking and holding their tails up. A good long break here will be a good respite from the trail.
Overcast skies and warm temperatures were the manner of the day, but a cooling trend is in store for Teams for the near future on the trail.
Mushing Weather for this evening-
Tonight
Partly cloudy, with a low around 2. North wind around 5 mph.
Sunday
Mostly sunny, with a high near 23. North wind around 5 mph.
Comments Off on Over The River and Through the Woods… To Koyukuk We Go!
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!
