Category Archives: 2017 Iditarod

Ahhh, that lovely Tracker! What would we do without it? In the olden days of dogsled racing, the race happened and then we read about it. Now it’s a completely different matter. Refresh- Refresh- Refresh!!

As Pete and Richie draw their day to a close, it surely was a beautiful day for mushing! Warm temperatures, clear skies, and the sound of the Team making their way through the woods and taiga of Interior Alaska.

At the front of the Pack, things are heating up and the fog the field will clear to show who the leaders are for this year’s running of the Iditarod.

At this hour Wade Marrs, Dallas Seavey, Joar Leifseth Ulsom, and Mitch Seavey are leading the mushers, but none of those Teams have taken their 8 hour layover. At this point in the race, the 8 hour layover is really a 4 hour advantage as Teams will take the extra 4 hours of a planned 4 hour rest in a checkpoint to make up the 8 hour rest period. So a 4 hour advantage lies to those who have taken an 8 hour layover. In this case, this means Nicolas Petit, who is finishing his 24 in Huslia, is 4 hours closer to those in front of him. When he leaves Huslia, will still be behind Wade Marrs by about 4 hours.

Now there is quite a bit of mushing to go and many, many rest periods that Teams will have to take, so the fog of this section of the race will be with us at least until Unalakleet.

Pete and Richie are just out of the front pack, but not by much and are in great position to strike, as they usually do, when headed up the coast. They just need to stay close enough to the front runners that when (And they always do) they make a mistake, Pete and Richie are their to take advantage.

I Love Iditarod, and soon there will be little sleep to be had as we watch this all play out.

GO Team Kaiser!

Pete is on the Trail, but he reads each and every message once he returns from the Race! Post your message below- Go Team Kaiser!!

Ready to GO!

Richie Diehl

A nice trail, great weather, and a common interest. What a better day to spend an afternoon in Alaska! Not to mention on the Iditarod Trail.

At this hour, Team Kaiser and Team Diehl are breaking together half way between Galena and Huslia. Richie did his 24 in Ruby and by the time he reached Galena and was ready to go, it was almost time for Pete to take to the trail as well.

Pete and Richie have been mushing partners for many years. Veteran Fans will remember Delta Force, and the many other times that these two have shared the trail. They have trained together and helped each other many times, so it pretty cool to see them together on the trail again. Richie was also one of Pete’s “Best Men” at his Wedding to Bethany this past summer.

The weather is warming and couldn’t be better for a break along the trail. It is the warmest part of the day and taking a snooze in the sun will do both Mushers and their Teams good.

It is 38 miles up the trail to Huslia, where some of the best food and hospitality of the Iditarod awaits.

Go Team Kaiser and Go Team Diehl!!

Galena – March 10 Morning.

Good Morning Race Fans!

It’s been about 24 hours since Team Kaiser arrived into Galena and took their mandatory break. Today will see a run up into the Koyukon Valley and the welcoming checkpoint of Huslia.

Pete and the Team arrived into Galena at 8:47am with 15 dogs. Apparently Sagel was not performing up to par and he got a free ride home from Ruby. A time differential will be added to Pete’s 24 hours before he can head back on the trail. Richie Diehl, who took his break in Ruby, left that checkpoint after 25 hr 44 minutes, 1 Hour 44 minutes added. He is bib number 21, so Pete, with bib 25, should have 8 minutes less time added to his rest. With that calculation, Pete will need a 25 hour 36 minute break which will allow him to leave at 10:23am this morning.

The run up to Huslia is 82 miles. The fastest time so far is Nicolas Petit, who did it in 10hrs 41 minutes. With a fresh Team, we may see faster times as long as trail conditions hold up on this run into Huslia. Nicholas did the run with no breaks, which I am not sure Pete will do this early in the race, so I expect him into Huslia later this evening.

Weather is warming dramatically in the area where it is already 10 degrees above. It is expected to be sunny with temperatures close to 20. This will also be a factor in terms of breaks as Pete may want to take a break to cool off the Team.

Pete looked tired last night in the interview. Short runs with short rest is hardest on the musher. A 3 hour break has at least 2 hours of physical work, cooking, feeding, getting ready, caring for the dogs, and so on. Once all that is done, the dogs are rested, but the Musher really hasn’t gotten any rest at all. Mushers are truly athletes and this endurance game is what this sport is all about.

It’s getting to the point in the race where the ‘Race’ happens and I can’t wait for the excitement to come!

Go Team Kaiser!

After a good long run on the Iditarod Trail, it is going to be good to have a warm break!

Pete and the Team left Ruby at 2:42am after a 3 1/2 hr break on the trail to Galena. The temperatures have been rising and the trail last night was a balmy -17! At this hour temperatures are rising steadily and Galena is reporting -8 with no wind.

This is the section of the race where we also get to take a bit of a break from the Tracker. With Pete and the Team bedded down for a 24 hour nap, news on the trail begins to taper off until tomorrow morning when Teams will return to the Trail!

Have a good rest Mr. Kaiser!!

Galena Morning – Day 4 of the 2017 Iditarod

The lights of Ruby are surely a welcome sight after hours and hours of miles and miles! Pete and the Team are sure to take a break here after a 7 hour run into the setting sun of the Yukon River.

Team Kaiser is 7th into the Ruby checkpoint 346 miles from Anchorage and 335 miles from the Fairbanks Starting Line.

Time to turn in for the night in anticipation of another exciting day of racing!

See ya in the AM!