Pete is out of Shageluk right on time at 4:55pm. More as soon as we get it. Wahoo! Here we go boys and girls!
Pete and the team will be readying to go at this point. The first half of the race over, mushers will now concentrate on the prize– Finishing the 2011 Iditarod! All layovers will be over at this point so it’s a new race and a new part of the State.
Mushers will head north on the mighty Yukon river to the Kaltag. Then over the portage to Unalakleet and then up the coast to Nome. A far different race awaits them.
At 16:53, Pete will be able to depart Shageluk onward to Anvik.
I can’t wait for the report from Myron and Ron this evening which I’ll pass on to you as soon as I get it!
Pete got into the Shageluk checkpoint at 08:53 this morning. He has now been there long enough that I expect he has declared his Yukon River 8 hour layover. This makes sense because he ran good times last night and may have moved to a Night Run Day Rest schedule because of the warm weather.
No word from Shageluk. Word is that the phones may not be working.
By KNOM
audio by Laureli Kinneen; text by David Dodman
Pete Kaiser says that a 24-hour layover means about the same thing to him as it does to his dogs: “eat and sleep.”
At a moment when he was doing neither, the young Bethel musher talked to KNOM trail reporter Laureli Kinneen. Kaiser was in the middle of his mandatory 24 in Takotna, where he regretted to report that portions of his team had been hit with a stomach virus.
In Laureli’s interview, he talked about the “stars” of his dog team, his emphasis on improving their health – hopefully sooner rather than later – and his status as an “up-and-comer”:
KNOM trail reporter Laureli Kinneen caught up with both veteran mushers in the Nikolai checkpoint.
The 23-year-old Kaiser noted the “pretty punchy” conditions of the trail, which – on top of the warmer weather – have kept his dogs at a relatively slower pace. Kaiser also shared his thoughts on taking a 24-hour layover, as well as how he’s dealing with less sleep than last year:
KNOM Interview in Nikolai
Photos from Around the Web- This is Nikolai- If you have contacts on the trail. Get them to the checkpoint and get us some photos!!
Pete’s time from Iditarod to Shageluk was second fastest of the 18 mushers into the checkpoint. Myron Angstman has a contact in that checkpoint that spoke to Pete when he got in. Pete is going to be there “awhile.” But who knows how long that will be.
Temperatures last night were pretty chilly and I am speculating that going later was probably better as the trail probably hardened in the cold night air. When you stir up loose snow, it takes a couple of hours, but it gets as hard as iron when it’s cold.
Pete’s Dad and Myron are flying to Shageluk and at this time are airborne. Richie Diehl took off from Aniak at 5 this morning to show up and cheer the team on as well. It is a 90 mile ride from Aniak by snowgo and a 150 mile ride by airplane.
Nice Job Pete!! (And the team!!! 🙂 )
The Tundra Drums are in crisis- Help if you can!!
The next 48 hours are critical for KYUK
by Mike Martz on February 16, 2011
The U.S. House and Senate continue to debate the next steps in keeping the government funded before the current Continuing Resolution expires on March 18th. The focus of the debate is on cutting government spending in the face of the enormous deficit facing the country. Proposals to eliminate all federal funding for public broadcasting are still included in the legislation being proposed. The next 48 hours will be critical to the effort to retain federal funding for public broadcasting in Alaska and throughout the country.
For KYUK, like most small rural public stations, federal funding accounts for up to 60% of our annual budget. Without those funds we would be unable to provide news, information, cultural programs, music, emergency information and community messages at the level we do now. In fact, the loss of our federal grants may force us off the air.
Senator Lisa Murkowski, along with Congressman Don Young and Senator Mark Begich, has been a strong supporter of public media in Alaksa in the past. She understands the critical role public radio stations play in Alaska. However, she needs to hear from more Alaskans that they value their local public radio stations and the services they provide. These calls must be made now.
If you value public media in Alaska and your local public media station, KYUK, I urge you to call the office of Senator Lisa Murkowski at (202) 224-6665 today or visit her website to send an email.
Thank her for her support. Tell her how you value the services KYUK provides and urge her to support continued federal funding for public broadcasting.
Also contact Congressman Don Young at (202)225-5765 or visit his website to send an email and Senator Mark Begich at (202) 224-3004 or visit his website to send an email with the same message.
If you’ve already made a call or sent an email, thank you, but please call or email again over the next two or three days. Your expression of support for the value of public media in Bethel and the Y/K region is vital to keeping our delegation members in Washington DC fighting to maintain a level of funding for public broadcasting.
Thank you for your support of KYUK, public media for the Yukon/Kuskokwim Delta.
Mike Martz
General Manager, KYUK AM/FM/TV
Check out the Kaiser Super Dogs in Mushing Magazine!
