Category Archives: Trail Tails

I talked with Pete’s Mom, Janet, this morning and asked about the In and Out of Cripple and she said that Pete has a definite plan for the race. He may have gone through Cripple and THEN rested along the trail. GPS Tracker shows him stopped 10 miles or so up the trail from Cripple. Most musher have been taking long breaks in Cripple, so if he breaks on the trail instead of Cripple, we should expect him into Ruby fairly late this evening. Stay Tuned!

-6 °F Clear

Pete is in and out of Cripple.

IN- 6:40am OUT- 7:00am DOGS- 13

This stretch follows mining roads most of the way into Ruby.

Once Pete reaches Ruby, he’ll also reach the first checkpoint on the Yukon. If you were to split the race into quarters, the first part is from Willow to McGrath- Mountains and such, Then McGrath to Ruby- Tundra Trails, then Ruby to Kaltag- Yukon River, Kaltag/Unalakleet to Nome- The coast. Each section is a bit different. Pete and his dogs will be used to the river trail and the wind that is sure to accompany it.

GPS Tracker shows Pete in and stopped in Cripple. The Standings Page from 6:30 hasn’t shown this yet, but the Tracker appears to be working (When it has failed it has showed him farther back, not forward).

After such a long run, I am expecting him to rest in Cripple for a bit. Other mushers have been resting at this checkpoint for 5-6 hours before headed out for Ruby. Ruby is 65 miles up the trail from the checkpoint.

The speeds listed on the Standings Page from Iditarod cannot be accurate. I believe they are using the old mileages. On the Mileages listing, they show this:

Ophir to Cripple- 59
Cripple to Rubby- 112

But on the Checkpoint descriptions they say that the Cripple checkpoint was moved:

-From Iditarod–Important Note The Cripple checkpoint was moved for the 2000 race. It will be located approximately 45 miles farther toward Ruby, at the Poorman airstrip. This is the same location used by the Iron Dog snowmachine race for its checkpoint. This significantly changes the nature of this portion of the race. The distance from Ophir to Cripple is now about 105 miles instead of the previous 60, and the distance from the Cripple/Poorman checkpoint to Ruby will be about 65 miles, instead of the previous 112. The Trail Notes have been revised to reflect this change.

Yet if you look at Jeff King’s time, he made the run from Cripple to Ruby in 9.47 hrs at a speed of 11.45mph. Simple Math shows 112 miles. I am confused.

From the times I am seeing, I think that the Note above is correct, but the speeds are wrong. We’ll ask Pete when we see him:)

LOWER KOYUKUK AND MIDDLE YUKON VALLEYS-
INCLUDING...GALENA...NULATO...HUSLIA...KALTAG...RUBY...KOYUKUK
322 AM AKST FRI MAR 12 2010
.TODAY...MOSTLY SUNNY. PATCHY FOG IN THE MORNING.
HIGHS ZERO TO 10 BELOW. LIGHT WINDS.

Current Ruby Weather

-19 °F Light Snow

Melanie Gould of Talkeetna pulls into the halfway checkpoint at Cripple IDITAROD 2002
												

This night will be brutal for both dog and man. Either Pete is stopped, or the darn GPS tracker is offline on his sled (Again). Leading teams have been averaging about 10 hours for this leg. The gal that left Ophir right after Pete, Judy Currier, is about 15 miles from Cripple, so I would expect Pete to be close to her. The next leg this evening, after a break at the Cripple Checkpoint is 65 miles into Ruby. Cripple marks the Halfway point in the race.

From the Iditarod Trail Description:

This is now the longest leg of the entire race on either the northern or southern routes. The new distance is approximately 105 miles for the 2000 race. It will probably not run less than the posted mileage and will seem to take forever. It will now be necessary for most teams to camp for several hours along this leg. The trail generally runs along the Innoko River, crossing it three times. It then runs northeast away from the river, crosses the North Fork of the Innoko, and then runs along ridges on the east side of Poorman Creek. The terrain is mostly wooded with some open stretches in the river valleys. Expect 12 to 18 hours for this run. The trail has some rolling hills in the section between the North Fork of the Innoko and the Poorman airstrip.

LOWER KOYUKUK AND MIDDLE YUKON VALLEYS
INCLUDING…GALENA…NULATO…HUSLIA…KALTAG…RUBY…KOYUKUK
843 PM AKST THU MAR 11 2010
.TONIGHT…PARTLY CLOUDY. PATCHY FOG. LOWS 15 TO 30 BELOW. LIGHT
WINDS.
.FRIDAY…PARTLY CLOUDY. HIGHS ZERO TO 10 BELOW. LIGHT WINDS.

Pete’s Official Ophir Times:
IN- 2:20pm OUT- 2:35pm DOGS- 13 (11.11mph!!)

Pete was back on the trail right on time at 12:05pm. GPS tracker has him out of Ophir as well.

Once Pete completes his 24 hours layover (24 hours and 10 minutes with the differential) he will return to the trail that will take him north bound for the halfway point of Cripple and the Yukon River. Dallas Seavey and John Baker battled it out for the half-way prize early this morning with Seavy winning the $3000 in gold. GPS Shows them back on the trail to Ruby. The front runners are headed for Ruby, but haven’t taken their 24 hour yet.

We’ll see how this strategy pays out. Many mushers are taking layovers just before the half-way point, but others are moving past the half-way point. We have seen this before, but I don’t remember this many. It is still to early to see who is really leading the race, but my bet is that the group leaving with King, Neff, Seavy (Mitch), and Schnuelle is the group to watch.

Pete will be able to return to the trail just after noon today. (The mushers that left early in the starting order actually get a couple hours extra rest in addition to being first out of the starting gate as the differential is added to the layover)

Weather for Today:

UPPER KUSKOKWIM VALLEY-
INCLUDING...MCGRATH...NIKOLAI...TAKOTNA...FAREWELL LAKE
353 AM AKST THU MAR 11 2010
.TODAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH FLURRIES. HIGHS ZERO TO 10 BELOW.
NORTHWEST WINDS 5 TO 15 MPH.
.TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY. FLURRIES IN THE EVENING. LOWS AROUND
25 BELOW. LIGHT WINDS.

LOWER KOYUKUK AND MIDDLE YUKON VALLEYS-
INCLUDING...GALENA...NULATO...HUSLIA...KALTAG...RUBY...KOYUKUK
353 AM AKST THU MAR 11 2010
.TODAY...CLOUDY. PATCHY FOG AND FLURRIES IN THE MORNING. HIGHS
AROUND ZERO. LIGHT WINDS.
.TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLOUDY. FLURRIES IN THE EVENING. LOWS 15 BELOW
TO 25 BELOW ZERO. LIGHT WINDS.
.FRIDAY...CLOUDY WITH FLURRIES. HIGHS ZERO TO 5 ABOVE ZERO. LIGHT
WINDS.