Petit Wins First to the Coast Award!

Nic is now in Unalakleet and enjoyed getting some gold for being there first.  At this point in time he is still resting, but I suspect he will get moving again soon as the chase pack closes in.

There are several areas Teams can stop and rest along the ancient portage route connecting interior Alaska to the Bering Sea Coast.  Tripod Cabin is about 3 hours from Kaltag, and Old Woman Cabin is about halfway to Unalakleet.  Old Woman Cabin was a favorite place of the late Susan Butcher....and some of her ashes have been spread there.  It is also famous for being a time suck....Dee Dee Jonrowe once said she lost a day there and didn't know where it went.  Others report hearing wailing from Old Woman Mountain, or whispers in the wind from days gone by.  Probably more due to sleep deprivation than anything else, but the lure of Old Woman makes this part of the trail special.  I believe several Teams are parked there right now.

Here is the Rundown according to the GPS:

Nic is still resting in Unalakleet, mile 737

Kaiser is running at mile 720
Jessie Royer is running at mile 719
Joar Ulsom is also running at mile 719

Needless to say Kaiser, Royer and Ulsom are pretty well matched up in speed.

Mitch Seavey is resting at mile 718
Failor just left Old Woman Cabin and is now running at mile 701
Jesse Holmes and Aliy are resting at Old Woman Cabin
Paige Drobny is running at mile 693
Reddington is running at mile 684
Matt Hall is resting at mile 681

Sebastian Schnuelle reports Nome is getting hammered with snow....another 6 inches has piled up.  No real talk of wind...and its still warm.  Tomorrow is suppose to be about 10 degrees cooler, but still warm in Alaskan standards.  It can get cold with a wind chill, but with the snow being so heavy maybe ground blizzards like 2014 wont be an issue?  Time will tell!

Petit is in the drivers seat....but anything can happen, and usually does on the coast.  The race between Royer, Joar and Kaiser will be fun to watch as they chase Petit to the finish.