Is it just coincidence that we have a musher from Jamaica that we think of the movie “Cool Runnings” and that’s more than likely what Pete was waiting for. Word from the trail is that it was 38 degrees in the shade at Rainy Pass today. That explains the early rest for Pete and the Team. Pete and the Team took a 4 hour break and left back on the trail at 8pm. I expect him into Rohn before Midnight and am thinking that he will continue a couple of hours before breaking to split the run between Rohn and Nikolai.
Here’s my perennial look at the Dalzell Gorge– It’s a Doozy, but times have been decent and I expect it isn’t as bad as it has been in the 4 preceding runs.
From Iditarod.com-
This leg is not as long as the official mileage indicates. It is really only about 32 miles, and should take three and a half to five hours. It has some very tough trail, including the notorious Dalzell Gorge. Given a choice, most mushers prefer to do this during the day, although a nighttime run is entirely feasible, and with a bright moon can be ethereally beautiful. If possible, leave Rainy Pass Lodge so as to be at the summit of Rainy Pass about dawn (about a two or three hour run). If you do it in the afternoon, plan to be at the summit with at least two hours of daylight remaining.
The trail runs in the open on the tundra of Ptarmigan Pass from Rainy Pass Lodge to the mouth of Pass Creek, which it then follows northwest up to the summit of Rainy Pass itself. Then there are several miles of sometimes steep downhills and often tight, twisting trail through scrub willow southwest along Pass Fork to Dalzell Creek. The trail then drops into the infamous Dalzell Gorge for a few miles and finally onto the Tatina River for the last five miles to Rohn.