Team Kaiser’s Major Sponsor Ryan Air has the motto, “The Tough Get Going.” Well, this is where the tough get going for sure. Word from Ambler is that Pete is suffering with a stomach bug, but tracker shows him back on the trail right on schedule. I imagine he is thinking about the virus that hit his team in the Iditarod and moving along like they did. The fresh air will do him good as he moves up towards Kobuk, but he’ll have stories to tell for sure!
GO TEAM KAISER!!
| Elapsed Time to Ambler | to Ambler | |
| 1 | King | 8:53 |
| 2 | Browning | 9:03 |
| 3 | West | 9:09 |
| 4 | Neff | 9:11 |
| 5 | Faille | 9:11 |
| 6 | Smyth | 9:12 |
| 7 | Kaiser | 9:32 |
| 8 | Shandelmier | 9:34 |
| 9 | Keith | 9:35 |
| 10 | Berkowitz | 9:37 |
| 11 | Anderson | 9:46 |
| Position after Rest Adjustment | ||
| Minutes Back | ||
| 1 | King | 0 |
| 2 | West | 17 |
| 3 | Smyth | 21 |
| 4 | Neff | 24 |
| 5 | Nichole | 26 |
| 6 | Browning | 28 |
| 7 | Shandlemeir | 59 |
| 8 | Anderson | 1:16 |
| 9 | Berkowitz | 1:21 |
| 10 | Keith | 1:26 |
| 11 | Kaiser | 1:37 |
Tracking Daddy!
Good Morning Race Fans!
As dawn begins to break on the 2013 Kobuk 440, Kaiser fans will find Pete and the Team about 9 miles from the front of the pack on the way to Ambler. This race is a bit different than other races we have seen lately as there are no mandatory layovers. All mushers have 20 hours of rest in the “bank” and need to spend it before the finish. This adds to the strategy as a musher could spend a bit at each checkpoint or go a long way and with longer breaks. At this point all of the mushers seem to be on the same rest schedule. Most of the Teams took about a 4 hour break in Kiana before heading back on the trail. I am thinking that after this long run into Ambler that many teams will take a longer break before doing the Kobuk Loop.
After Teams leave Ambler, they will head up the trail to Kobuk and then back to Ambler before taking the trail over to Selawik.
Weather for today is great for mushing. A bit sunny, but great. I was talking with Ron Kaiser yesterday and he related how Sunshine can actually be a hindrance at some point. In our long spring days, the sun on the snow is brilliant. Actually too much so and the brightness can actually cause the dogs and mushers a bit of snowblindness. Too much sun and the reflection from the snow can really give the musher and the dogs a bit of pain and make it a hard to see. For thousands of years Eskimos made “sunglasses” to protect themselves.
Ancient “Sunglasses” used by Eskimo Hunters. Slits in the ivory reduce the glare from the sun.
Today’s Mushing Weather.
UPPER KOBUK AND NOATAK VALLEYS- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...AMBLER...SHUNGNAK...KOBUK 456 AM AKDT FRI APR 12 2013 .TODAY...SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE TEENS. LIGHT WINDS. .TONIGHT...INCREASING CLOUDS. LOWS AROUND 7 BELOW. LIGHT WINDS. .SATURDAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY. CHANCE OF SNOW. HIGHS IN THE TEENS. LIGHT WINDS.
Good Evening Race Fans! Pete and the Team are patiently working the race as they arrive in Kiana. 450 miles is half of an Iditarod and a musher has to be careful with only 12 dogs to make sure that he makes it to the Finish Line.
Pete and the Team were into Kiana this evening at 8:46pm. This first day of the race will show several different strategies, but I anticipate Pete will hold back and not get in a hurry. Myron Angstman said it best earlier this year when he mentioned that a musher has to figure the fastest, “Slow” that the team must go to finish the race near the top.
Go Team Kaiser!
Check out the Kaiser Super Dogs in Mushing Magazine!
