Category Archives: 2019 Iditarod

Community Center waiting for the next Arrival or Departure.

Pete will be thinking about getting ready to leave in a couple of hours or so. The Time Differential is based on the last musher leaving. In this case there were 52 Teams. 52-9=43 x 2 minute interval = 86 minutes, or 1 hour and 26 minutes. Pete arrived at 21:59 or 1 minute before 10pm. That means he can take the Team out towards Ophir close to 11:30pm.

I was thinking about how the Iditarod is really four sections of trail. Throw in a 24 hour layover and an 8 hour layover and it becomes somewhat of a chess match.

You have the Alaska Range, The Kuskokwim, The Yukon, and then The Coast. That is wildly simplistic, but separating each into parts really is what we see. We are transitioning into the Yukon tomorrow that will lead us from Shageluk to Unalakleet via Kaltag. In some ways each part of the race has a separate personality. The Alaska Range with dramatic scenes and mountains. The Kuskokwim with river and mining trails. The Yukon river and the Portage. And then the Coastal Run to Nome. Mushers need to be in the moment, but also remain vigilant for the next section of the race.

Takotna ended up being a good choice for his 24 hour layover, but listening to Pete, that was the plan all along. It’s easy and they are used to it. So no problem there.

Even if he would have wanted to go last night, Takotna was still a good choice. Slow times between Takotna and Ophir indicate a slow trail. Nic Petit made the run into Ophir and his 24 hour layover in 3 hours 3 minutes. Compare that to last year when Pete made the run in 2 hours 17 minutes. That’s almost 45 minutes slower.

For those camping in Ophir, it isn’t a bad choice either. The only problem with Ophir or even Iditarod, is that a Team cannot drop a dog there. So if in the morning a musher awakes to a problem in the Team, he must carry the dog with him all the way to Shageluk. Another plus for Takotna. This is incorrect. Teams can, in fact, drop dogs at these checkpoints. Sorry for the mis-information!

Leaving Takotna tonight temperatures will be below freezing. It may be the last of the cooler weather. Last night it was snowing pretty heavy, but tonight the ceilings have lifted and it is just a dark night. An advantage for Pete and his Leaders is that the trail over to Ophir has been packed down with the Teams that decided not to stay at Takotna.

Aliy Zirkle made an interesting move and did not stay in Ophir. Martin Buser also has joined her on that trail. A fully rested Team that is making 7-8 miles per hour may be able to go to Iditarod with just one stop. Aliy is seeing speeds of only 5-6 miles an hour. This means maybe 3 breaks for her into the goldfields of Iditarod.

For some reason, the last 3 years I have gotten a cold when Pete is laying over in Takotna. Not sure how, but it happens quite a bit. So I’m going to hit the hay and we shall all arise to the next challenge of the trail.

Go Team Kaiser!

Mushing Weather Forecast-

Teacher Erica Lindamen in Iowa:

Hi there, we are the 4 th grade classes from Eagle Grove, Iowa…a small rural town… each student is very excited and eager to follow their musher and learn all about the race… just giving a shout out!!! Best wishes from Iowa!!!

Awesome Kids! What a great experience to follow along. (Click the photo and you’ll see they have the trail with checkpoints, mile markers, and who is at each place!) So cool! (Click the image to expand)

In case you were wondering where that is?

It’s snowing and dark and a warm bed is right around the corner… What’s not to like. 24 hours from now, we’ll be sending Team Kaiser off for the Yukon River and North to Nome.

Nic Petit is still blazing a fast trail. It’s blowing and snowing, but he has a Team that still looks real nice. Off into the night after a quick check-in to the Takotna Checkpoint, I’m thinking Nic has his sights on Iditarod. It’s a gamble to be sure. Ophir is 20 miles down the trail, but Iditarod is 80. Decisions… Decisions.

Weather may be a factor in his decision making, but we will see in the morning the hand he played.

As for Team Kaiser’s decision? Never a bad idea to stop in Takotna. Take a breather, some sleep, and a shower? And those Pies!! Haha! By the time Pete awakes tomorrow, there will be loads of Teams in the little town downriver from McGrath. This once a year Musher migration will be a good breather for all of the Teams, but Joar, Jessie, and Pete will be the first ones out.

See Ya in the Morning! It’s break time!!

We have been focused on the stories from the front of the trail, but we haven’t forgotten our Norwegian friend driving the B Team.

Nik and the young puppy Team are really doing nicely! Nik has been really being conservative and taking ample breaks and it is paying great dividends.

Let’s take a look at the stats for the younger Kaiser Team.

These are how the Team Ranked in times between checkpoints:

Skwentna – 15th – 3 Hours 21 Minutes (26 minutes off the fastest)
Finger Lake – 20th – 4 Hours 52 Minutes (29 minutes off the fastest)
RainyPass – 31st – 3 Hours 33 Minutes (37 minutes off the fastest)
Rohn – 8th – 3 Hours 53 Minutes (17 minutes off the fastest)

Now it needs to be said that long distance dogsled mushing is not a speed game. Jeff King likes to say that success is to run a team the fastest slow you can go.

What I am seeing as an armchair musher, though, is very encouraging. Nik is running a conservative schedule, but the Team when it is on the trail is doing very nicely. Go Nik!!

To his fans and friends in Norway: Velkommen! Vi har oversetter nederst til høyre på denne nettsiden som kan oversettes til norsk hvis du vil.

The Jackrabbit is in the hole! Nicolas Petit has stopped in McGrath…

The strategies we are seeing are very interesting and exciting. Bruce Lee said this morning: “The winner is always one of the Top Ten into Nikolai.” Joar led Pete into Nikolai, but Pete added an hour of rest and let him go on, not chasing, but resting. Hmmm… (Correction by Team Kaiser friend Jake Berkowitz– 3 of the last 8 winners were NOT in the top 10 into Nikolai. Dallas twice and John Baker were not in the top 10 into the checkpoint)

Nic and his Team blasted through Nikolai and mushed into McGrath looking like they just started the race. Jesse Royer also took a bit less rest. Hmmm… Double Hmmm…

Pete has traditionally taken his 24 in Takotna. I’ve written for years about the lure of the smell of pies and delicious food. It’s comfy, but it has become a real hub for 24 hour layovers.

In the early years, McGrath was the traditional 24 hour layover spot. In fact, since it was really a bush hub in those days, it was a place where we could find out the news from the trail. But in those days the Iditarod was a much longer race. Slower teams more off the work trail than the race trail.

Now is a totally different thing. Teams train almost year round. Mushers have all kinds of gizmos to exercise the Teams, not to mention Glacier tours to keep the dogs happy and health athletes. Consider that the first race took over 20 days. (We need to mention the passing of the first Champion of the Iditarod, Dick Wilmarth. He died just after the end of the Iditarod last year. Read More…)

Dick won in 20 days 49 minutes in 1973. In 1983 the winner, Rick Mackey won it in about 12 days. In 1995 Doug Swingley broke the 10 day barrier. Less than half as long to get to Nome. Now we are in a new era of dog care with mushers “managing” their athletes with nutrition, rest, exercise, and more. It is incredible.

What this means is that the McGrath checkpoint was a good place to stop for the 24. Then it was pushed out to Takotna, just a couple of hours down the trail. Yes it’s an easy stop with all of the amenities– Easy water. Good food. Pleasant company….

But Teams are here to win this race. Last year Joar did his 24 in Iditarod. Rested up, he was able to blast through a blizzard and tough trail and the Team, just rested, was not so affected as it may have been after 150 miles.

What does this mean? It means I’m not so certain that Pete will stop at Takotna and I’m sure we will see other Teams move forward. The weather is predicted to be warmer with a possible tough trail once the race hits the Yukon. Nic needed to rest and he has a beautiful Team. Probably the Team to beat.

Joar, Pete, and several others have several tricks up their sleeves as well and also a bit more rest in the tank to possibly break this game wide open! Does Pete and some others want to take advantage of the cool weather and hard trail or are those pies a-calling?

Don’t you love it?? So exciting! It’s always like watching a chess match. We will see if the moves these Mushers make now will allow them to say “CHECKMATE” under the burled arches in Nome!

Go Team Kaiser!!

I hope you all got a chance to see Pete’s pre-Race Interview. It was remarkable, at least to me, of our favorite Musher’s demeanor. There was all of this activity, two Teams, tons of details, and yet, Pete was having a blast! I’ve covered him for many years and although smooth, there were times where the mood around the Team Trailer was a bit anxious. Weather, trail, and so many factors to think about.

Yet at the start of the Race Pete was just smiling and relaxed. Reminded me a great deal of Jeff King. He was talking about this race and the Teams and how it works into the larger plan for next year. It was an obvious change, to me, and in the interview we talked about it a bit. Check it out!

So I guess it just shouldn’t be a surprise to hear about a tough trail and the “FUN” of the trail! Haha! If you haven’t subscribed to the Insider– Well, just do it! It’s the best $34 you’ll spend. Live cams, the tracker, and more. To get the whole experience it just makes it a fun deal. I went to see “The Sound of Music” and it was $80 for a two hour show. Get a whole week of fun for half the price!! Get your Insider Here!