Pete Kaiser is headed back to Deshka Landing!
A short 6 minute stop to grab a few supplies and Pete was back on the trail. As expected, the long layover on the trail was the plan to effect a quick turnaround bound for Ophir. Pete is still traveling with Richie and Joar, as the trio chases Ryan Redington and Dallas Seavey.
As Pete left Iditarod, Seavey had a 16 mile lead and Redington had a 6 mile lead. The fly in the buttermilk is that Seavey has more current rest, having spent almost 4 hours in Iditarod and Redington has already taken his second mandatory 8 hour layover. Over the course of last night, Pete and Richie were gaining on both Teams, so we will see how this all plays out. Dallas knows who is on his tail and can’t make any mistakes. Ryan as well has the Kusko mushers in his rearview mirror and it’s never good to see Pete or Richie getting close like that.
There are over 400 miles to the finish and we are just at the halfway point, but eyes are now on the finish as each move becomes more and more crucial to a win. Take too much rest, run too hard, encounter bad trails? All of the factors can cause Teams to lose minutes. It seems odd to be counting minutes when there are at least 55 hours to go in the race, but they add up quickly. In the early days, Pete learned the hard way about losing minutes at checkpoints. Today his is brutal in his timing and each move is calculated and orchestrated for efficiency. Richie as well has really come a long ways to that end. It is super-cool to see these two guys that started as just young men, now veteran Iditarod competitors. All the cooler for Myron Angstman, surely watching with pride that this dream of keeping mushing alive, very similar to Joe Redington’s dream, is playing out on the world wide stage.
Tonight will be full of action as Pete moves North to Ophir. I’m expecting a break at some point to split the Iditarod to McGrath segment. We shall see!
Weather again is supposed to be phenomenal. Cold and clear, just like Teams like it. It will be interesting to see if the trail holds up after so many Teams. Way better to be at the front of the pack than at the rear in this race for sure!
Stay tuned! Go Team Kaiser!
