Another Iditarod Coming to a Close

A few surprise shuffling of the 6-10 spots into Nome made for an exciting end to the top ten:

Millie Porslid just came in 15th....its been a while since a woman won the Rookie of the Year Award...was Jessie Royer the last one way back in 2001???

My friend Aliy will be placing in 18th this year....she knew early on she didn't have a competitive Team, so I hope she enjoyed the scenery on this trip!!   She always gives her best, usually with a smile on her face!  I will wait to see her arrival under the Burled Arch before heading to bed. 

Thanks for following along this year....please take care and hopefully the world will be in a better place next year at this time. We can only hope!

Top 5 are in.....next 5 are close!

As expected, Waerner took the 2020 Crown, followed by Mitch in an awesome coastal run with lots of speed to capture 2nd.  Then it was Jessie, Sass and now Burmeister. 

The next 5 are coming in quickly....here is what it looks like from the Tracker:

Ulsom and Paige are within a mile of each other, 3 miles from the finish! 

To the Finish!

Thomas Waerner pulled the snow hook in White Mountain and will be in Nome sometime tonight. There is nothing to stop him now....he will be the 2020 Iditarod Champion!

There will be plenty if racing in this last 72 miles to Nome for the rest of  the top ten.....here they are in the order they came into White Mountain.  Each one will have to serve out 8 hours of rest and then the race to the top 10 in ON!

Places 6 - 10 will be especially fun to watch!  Minutes separate these placings into White Mountain....Ill keep you posted all day tomorrow because I took the day OFF!

Waerner Pushes on to White Mountain - Seavey Speeds into 2nd Place

In a surprising realization this morning, I see Mitch Seavey got into Elim before Jessie Royer and Aaron Burmeister!  He knows he can not catch Waerner….but wow, he can certainly catch some of the other front runners.

Thomas is about halfway to White Mountain, where he will enjoy his last 8 hours before heading to Nome and winning the 2020 Iditarod.  He rested 2 hours in Elim, before checking out prior to Mitch arriving.

Here is the Tracker.....my girl Aliy is getting off the ice in Koyuk…..go Aliy!

And here they come!

Jessie leads the charge, followed by Burmeister and the rest.  Interviews in Koyuk reveal their acknowledgement Thomas Waerner is out of reach....each placing themselves in a good position with a rested Team to pounce in case something goes wrong for Thomas.

Burmeister says the crossing of the Norton Sound was HOT....and the snow was like mashed potatoes....slow going....4 to 5 mph in the heat.  Six snow machines passed the chase pack, they were caribou hunters....their sleds softened the surface and it could not harden in the heat....leaving the chase pack to slog through Norton Sound......it was foggy and the air was stifling....the dogs were not happy, and the Mushers were not either.  Some like Paige and Sass pulled over and rested in the sun, while the others continued the slog to Koyuk.  Right before they arrived, Waerner pushed out of Koyuk.  He needs to be careful.....the hills out of Koyuk are long and steep...doing this in the heat may zap the dogs energy.  Its happened before.....even in this race Richie Diehl had a problem with getting his dogs to leave Nulato….today he scratched.  Aaron Peck also scratched....so catching Waerner would take a catastrophic hiccup in his Team.  But he will have plenty of time to give them rest in Elim with a 22 mile lead over the chase pack.  Easy Thomas....don't blow it now!

Here it is from the Tracker:

Waerner the Ghost Musher

"Don't ever let the competition see ya....leave town right before they get in....it will demoralize them."

This has been the mantra of Mushers in the lead for decades....if I were to guess, the chase pack has run out of chase, and is resolved to hand this over to Waerner without challenge.  Why?  Because they know their Teams, and don't want to push their Teams to a point where they wont want to go (Brent Sass 2016).  Or perhaps they know they cant catch him, and will strategize for a placement in the top 5.....after all, they can see and size up those Teams.  For whatever reason, there does not appear to be any Musher who is willing to run after him....so he is gone.....like a ghost.

As Waerner Rests his Team in Koyuk.....

Here is the first wave of the chase pack.....will Waerner leave Koyuk before Jessie and Burmeister make landfall?

Cat and Mouse Game Continues Up the Coast

Thomas Waerner ran to Old Shaktoolik, the makeshift resting area (not a checkpoint) outside of the main village.  Here he rested until the chase pack lead by Jessie Royer got within 4 miles of him, up and gone in true cat and mouse fashion.

Brent Sass apparently stopped and rested 10 miles out of Unalakleet, allowing for the chase pack to move beyond him.  He is apparently setting up for a long massive haul, no stopping at Shak, across Norton Sound in pursuit of Waerner. All but Sass took a 3 to 5 hour rest in Unk, but he did rest....just on the trail.

Here is how the GPS looks at 6:15 Monday morning.  Ill update with quick screen shots through the day as I practice more social distancing!

12 miles of Separation

Brent Sass was the only musher who blew through Unalakleet to chase down Waerner….he stayed 7 minutes....just enough time to resupply and continue the chase.

But the gap remains....12 miles. Brent rested on the trail to Unk….but Waerner also got to clock in 5 hours of rest before disappearing down the trail before Wade Marrs pulled into the checkpoint....thus locking in that 12 miles of separation between his Team and the nearest chase pack.

The location of Mushers from here until Koyuk will only be known by GPS...so check into IditaDacks often for updates!

Classic Iditarod Move....Waerner Leaves Checkpoint Before Chase Pack Arrives

In a classic cat and mouse Iditarod move, Thomas Waerner slips out of Unalakleet BEFORE the first chase pack Musher Wade Marrs arrives to the checkpoint.

Well played Thomas, well played!  Its good to know the next 300 miles will be a good game of cat and mouse....catch me if you can....no body better sleep tight or risk an old fashion Elim slip (you snooze (Jeff King), you loose)….wow.....get ready for some racing folks!

Also, fresh off Face Book it looks like the locals fixed up an abandoned building outside of town, complete with a porta john outside and a wood stove inside!  At least Mushers will have a place to dry out and warm up out of the elements before heading out on the frozen Norton Sound!

Waerner First to the Coast....Who the Heck is Waerner?

Sorry to all my Office Iditarod Players....I did not have Waerner on my top 20 picks....my bad.  HE was not on my radar as he has only run 1 Iditarod (2015) and came in 17th....Rookie of the year....but I missed the big clue.....and I SHOULD have known better, I was there at the Iditarod Start in 2015 and saw the Robert Sorlie, 2 time Champ from Team Norway seeing Thomas Waerner, his protégé off on his first Iditarod.  I should have had him in my top 20 picks....so no bonus points got awarded on the board for Waerner making it to the Alaska Coast....sorry bout that!

OK....back to the race.  As Thomas enjoys the relative Social Distance silence in Unalakleet….the entire chase pack took a long rest at Old Woman Cabin, about 15 miles from where Thomas was resting in Unalakleet.  Look for these Teams to blow through Unk….perhaps leaving any dogs if they show signs of fatigue at that checkpoint, and on to the next 90 mile these folks will go.  Right now it looks like Wade Marrs is leading that charge:

Now that I am back from my own trek with Team Adirondack....I will be sure to post through the night as the race up the coast heats up!

Closing in on the Coast.....non-stop racing!

Wow....looks like the top teams are just running straight to Unalakleet, with only short snack breaks.  This is probably due to the fact Shaktoolik is no longer a checkpoint....so it looks like they are running this 90 miles pretty much non-stop....and then quite likely will all take another big rest at the Unalakleet checkpoint before taking on the next 90 mile leg all the way to Koyuk with no place to bench a dog before heading over the frozen Norton Sound.

The Tracker right now looks like this:

Waerner is keeping about a 11 to 12 mile lead over Royer and Burmeister.....speeds are about 6 mph on the average.  The Teams will encounter more snow as the get closer to the coast.....probably more wind too.  Waerner is breaking trail, but the trail becomes blown in behind him, so Royer and Burmeister are also having to break the trail again.  Burmeister is notorious for not breaking trail and following someone who is actually doing the work.  It appears he is using this tactic with Jessie on this leg.  Its not a very sportsmanship stance to take....normally there is an agreement the teams will take turns.  Back in 2013 Jeff King toyed with Lance Mackey by dogging him all the way down the coast....making him break the trail.  Back in the 80s and early 90s Rick Swenson was also notorious with setting the snow hook right behind Susan Butcher....forcing her to break the trail. In this race Burmeister was in an interview stating he looked at the trail and decided someone else can break it as he continued to rest his Team.  Anyhow, just thought Id point that out.  Don't look to Burmeister to help doing any of the trail breaking.

As I write this both Jessie and Burmeister are stopped.....probably snacking their dogs....or perhaps Jessie is saying to Burmeister "after you.....do your part of trail breaking".  

Race to the Coast!

Finally everyone out in the front of the pack have taken their mandatory rests....so apples to apples....its all about the balance between strength and speed.

As Royer and Sass served out their 8 hour rest in Kaltag, Thomas Waerner got in and rested his Team about 5 hours before being the first one to head down the ancient portage trail between interior Alaska and the Coast.  Its a 90 mile trek, so most Mushers break this up into 2 or 3 chunks.  There are 2 shelter cabins along the way that I'm sure the Mushers will have in their strategy to use.  Here is a screen shot of the Teams out on the portage trail:

Thomas Waerner out in front, with Burmeister and Royer right next to eachother, followed by Marrs, Sass, Redington, Ulsom and Seavey in that last cluster.

If you are wondering where Richie Diehl is, his Team had a difficult time leaving Nulato, so they returned for a longer stay.  Richie was not quite sure what happened, he mentioned there was an interest in one of his female dogs so it could be a heat thing....or it could be Richie played too closely to the line of asking his dogs to do more than they could do.  The remedy....more rest and don't push it!

The weather is now the issue....last I heard 6 to 8 inches of new snow had fallen, and Thomas Waerner is now breaking the trail for the chase pack.   This is always an issue on the trail....some pull over in hopes a snow machine comes along to break a new trail (the official trail breakers have already been through and do not return to re-groom the trail).  There are many village folk who travel the trail by snowmobile, and also you have tourist groups on snow machine too.  Its a public trail, so there is no way to reserve it for the race.  Right now, it does not appear to be a great trail, as everyone is traveling about 6 mph, even after a 8 hour rest!

I will post snap shots of the lead pack throughout the day to keep you all informed of what is going on.

On another note, Aliy has made it through that portion of the trail between Galena and Nulato where she was attacked by the snow machine in 2016.  She did this portion of the trail in the daylight and was with a good group of other Teams, which I am sure she found solace in being there with them.

Shaktoolik no longer a checkpoint...why this is critical....

When I first heard Shaktoolik was no longer a checkpoint I thought "so what, its not like their drop bags, HEET fuel for cook stoves and straw for dogs wont be available, that will still be accessible 2 miles out of the checkpoint".  But after looking at a map and listening to Jessie Royer talk in Nulato….and knowing what the weather has in store for the next 24 hours, it hit me.  The Teams will have to travel 90 miles without shelter....with 35 mile winds and snow...and half of that distance is over the frozen Norton Sound.

The word harsh doesn't do this justice.....this can be brutal, disorienting, cold.....you must have a Leader in the Team that will work with their Musher to assure the Team they can do this.  Mother Nature wants her say....and we must listen when she speaks!

The trail is reportedly slow....grabby....sticky.  Its snowing, making it punchy for the dogs.  This is what the tracker is telling me:

Royer at mile 619
Sass at mile 610

Both must take their 8 hour rest in Kaltag, mile 629

Waerner is running at mile 601
Kaiser is at mile 597 (still needs to take 8 hour in Kaltag)
Burmeister at mile 593
Marrs at mile 591

All the other top teams are in Nulato still resting.

Its quite likely Teams will pass Royer, Sass and Kaiser as they take their mandatory 8 hour rest in Kaltag.  But this may be good for them....Teams will be breaking the trail to Unalakleet, making it easier for them to chase for the lead after their 8 hour rest.  The storm is suppose to rage until 4 pm tomorrow...gusty winds and all....hold now, check in with IditaDacks often, and enjoy the socially distant coverage from HOME!

Sass and Royer leave Nulato!

Looks like both Sass and Royer will be serving their mandatory 8 hour rest in Kaltag, as they have both left Nulato (mile 582).

Brent left first and pulled over to rest on the trail at mile 592....Jessie is closing in at mile 585.  Both of these Mushers will have to rest in Kaltag for 8 hours before continuing.  Kaltag is a strategic 8 hour rest spot due to the long 90 mile trek from the interior of Alaska to the Coast of Alaska.  There are no checkpoints along that area, so both Brent and Jessie will leave Kaltag with probably more rest than their competitors.

Diehl, Kaiser and Drobney have been in Nulato and might be serving their 8 hour rest if they dont get itchy and make a break to Kaltag like Sass and Royer did.

Also in Nulato is Burmeister and Waerner who can leave at any time since they already served their 8 hour rest.

Coming into Nulato any moment now is Mitch Seavey and Michelle Phillips....neither of them have served their 8 hour rest.

Further down the trail we have these 4 Mushers who have taken their 8 hours and can leave any checkpoint whenever they want...

Ulsom at mile 577
Ryan Redington at mile 576
Wade Marrs at mile 568
Lance Mackey at mile 563

Once we get the 8 hour rests done we can start comparing apples to apples to once and for all figure out who is in the lead.  I have a feeling things are going to remain close.

Nulato and Beyond.....

Jessie Royer was the first into Nulato…..around 10:00 am Eastern time.....the stats have not updated yet, but it looks like Richie Diehl has just gotten into Nulato….that would be about 1.5 hours after Jessie.

Nulato is at mile 582....and the Mushers between here and Galena are running like this...

Thomas Waerner is approaching Nulato…..he HAS already taken his 8 hour rest, so technically he is in the lead, as Jessie and Richie have not yet taken their 8 hour rest

Brent Sass is running at mile 582
Pete Kaiser at mile 581
Paige Drobney resting on the trail at mile 578
Aaron Burmeister at mile 576 (he has taken his 8 hour rest)
Mitch Seavey at mile 571
Michelle Phillips at mile 570
Ryan Redington at mile 566 (he has taken his 8 hour rest)
Joar Ulsom at mile 566 (he has taken his 8 hour rest)
Wade Marrs still resting at mile 559??? (he has taken his 8 hour rest) I wonder if his GPS fell off
Mackey at mile 553

Jessie Leading the Pack!

Jessie is still leading the pack into Nulato….she is currently at mile 575...followed by:

Richie Dielh at  mile 570
Pete Kaiser at mile 567
Brent Sass at mile 566
Thomas Waerner at mile 565 (has taken 8 hour rest(
Paige Drobney at mile 563
Aaron Burmeister at mile 560 (has taken 8 hour rest)
Wade Marrs resting at mile 559 (has taken 8 hour rest)
Mitch Seavey at mile 555
Michelle Phillips at mile 553
Ryan Redington at mile 550 (has taken 8 hour rest)
Joar Ulsom at mile 550 (has taken 8 hour rest)

Everyone else is still in Galena, probably serving their 8 hour rest.

Please listen to the IditaPod podcast for reactions of the Mushers hearing about the pandemic as they have been out on the trail.  Another podcast giving updates is Dog Works Radio...they do a decent job with the race.

Also check the radar....its snowing ALOT in Alaska....probably explains the decreased speeds on the trail to around the 6 to 7 mph range.

Cororna Virus and a Snow Storm....what next?

While the Teams make their way down the Yukon River, they are learning about changes to the race due to the Corona Virus....not only have they canceled all festivities in Nome, but now the checkpoint of Shaktoolik is no longer going to be a checkpoint. The Mushers will be able to pick up cooker fuel (HEET), drop bags and straw about 2 miles out in "Old Shaktoolik", and there will be no race officials there.....why?  Corona Virus....the village of Shaktoolik does not want all the media, mushers and hoopla in their village this year. You cant really blame them....these villages have health facilities only...no hospitals....so their health facilitates could very well be inundated with just a few cases....so they are taking this very seriously.  Other checkpoints that remain are not allowing the Mushers to use their facilities, like schools and Rec halls to sleep in, which is a bummer for the Mushers.

And then there is the impending storm....yes....wicked winds and about a foot a snow is predicted...its already snowing on the coast and its moving east into the Yukon River area.  This is a game changer....wind and snow can really mix things up.  Many Mushers have continued their trek down the River and will opt to take their mandatory 8 hour rest at the last checkpoint in Kaltag….Teams who have stopped at Ruby for their 8 hour rest may have just allowed the storm to get closer to them instead of taking advantage of a trail without a ton of new snow on it.  We will soon find out how the storm will impact progress of the Teams.

A look at the Tracker has Brent Sass resting on the trail midway to Nulato at mile 558
Jessie Royer is running at mile 557
Richie Diehl is running at mile 552
Wade Marrs is running at mile 549 (has taken his 8 hour rest)
Pete Kaiser is running at mile 547
Thomas Waerner running at mile 546 (has taken his 8 hour rest)

The rest of the top Mushers are resting in Galena....possibly taking their 8 hour mandatory rest, or just a shorter rest before heading down the trail to Nulato.

Fan favorites Nic Petit is running at mile 520, and my girl Aliy is at mile 517.

Tim Pappas (running Martin Busers A Team) is running at 495

Sean Underwood (emergency step in for Jeff King) is running at mile 461

John Schandelmeir who was an emergency step in for his wife Zoya Denure is running at mile 454

Jessie Royer First on the Yukon!

Jessie and her 14 Team Mates arrived to the Ruby Checkpoint (mile 495) about 45 minutes ahead of Thomas Waerner and Aaron Burmeister.  Brent Sass, who completed his 24 hour break in Cripple came in 35 minutes later.  Over 2 hours from Jessie arriving, Richie Diehl, Joar Ulsom and Ryan Redington filed into Ruby one after another.  Needless to say no one is running away with this race....its all very close.

Jessie invited all her competitors to share in the gourmet meal prize for being first into the checkpoint! How nice is that!!! The feeling of camaraderie is strong in these front runners.

Waerner has 2 wheel dogs....King and Kong that are very boisterous...and is thinking of taking his mandatory 8 hour rest here in Ruby.  No one has left Ruby yet....but I suspect it will be Brent Sass first since he just came off his 24 hour rest 70 miles back in Cripple.   Burmeister too will be serving his 8 hour rest here in Ruby.  The trail is reported to have a lot of drag on the sleds with some new snow....so Teams need to recover a bit before heading down the river.  Wade Marrs and Pete Kaiser finish out the top 9 Teams into Ruby.

On their way to Ruby sets up like this:

Mackey at mile 493
Paige Drobney at mile 487
Millie Porsild (Rooke) at mile 484
Michelle Phillips at mile 484
Jason Campeau at mile 481
Travis Beals at mile 480
Mitch Seavey at mile 475
Jessie Holmes at mile 474
Aaron Peck at mile 471
Ramey Smyth at mile 466

Other Fan Favorites that are not really in contention this year is Nick Petit at mile 445, and Aliy at mile 444.

Once on the Yukon, the checkpoints are about 45-50 miles apart....no real long legs here. They will be on the river for about 150 miles.

Brent Sass First to Cripple!!!

Sass stuck to his schedule and camped outside of checkpoints as he and his Team of 14 sled dogs made their way to interior Alaska to take the Dorothy Paige Halfway Award!!  Congrats Brent!

About 3 hours afterwards Michelle Phillips came in, and I believe Lance Mackey just came in now according to the Tracker.  Paige Drobney and Mitch Seavey are about to enter the checkpoint as I write this.

Kelly Maxiner (running dogs from Dallas Seaveys Kennel) is 15 miles from the checkpoint of Cripple.

Aliy Zirkle in a surprise move left Ophir last night and pushed on towards Cripple, and is presently resting at mile 390.  Beals looks to be serving his 24 hour rest in Ophir.

It is unclear at this time if the Teams in Cripple will actually stay for their 24 hour OR push on to Ruby on the Yukon for their 24 hour rest and gourmet dinner for being the first to the Yukon!

Remember those Mushers who pulled into Takotna yesterday morning to take their 24 hour rest....well they just took back to the Trail with rested Teams....here they come Cripple!! First two Teams to come off their 24 hour rest are:

Jessie Royer at mile 335
Richie Diehl at mile 331

Kaiser, Failor, Holmes Redington, Burmeister and Smyth are still in Takotna serving their 24 hour rest.

I will be keeping an eye on Cripple to see if any of those out in Cripple may take a run to the Yukon!

Halfway Prize at Cripple Coming Up!

Wow....what a day!

It started with hearing the news Petit scratched.....apparently there were several bad things happening for Nick...from leaving a Parka home, dogs getting frost bite over Rain Pass, and then some dogs getting sick.  A few articles were written about his coming scratch in Nikolai, but the stats never showed it.  Now they are back tracking and saying Nick will be regrouping and may....may continue down the trail  Not competitively, but may continue after a 24 hour rest in Nikolai.

Jessie Royer and her Montana Alaskan Huskies continue to be on fire down the trail....she is presently resting in Takotna for her 24 hour rest.  Diehl, Burmeister, Waerner, Reddington, Kaiser, Holmes, Failor, Peck, Smyth, Pappas Millie Porslid, Campeau and Fiedler are among the 24 layover mushers in a very busy and crowded Takotna checkpoint.

Looks like Ophir just has Beals and Aliy camped out for their 24 hour rest.  Ophir is a more remote checkpoint a little further down the trail from Takotna...no pies but I'm sure Aliy is enjoying the peace and quiet!

Who is on the move to Cripple at mile 425 you ask?  Well, here is the rundown as of 7:45 pm eastern time.

Sass at mile 387
MACKEY....yes MACKEY at mile 382
Paige Drobney at mile 379
Michelle Phillips resting at mile (bet she will start moving soon)
Maxiner resting at mile 364
Mitch Seavey resting at mile 363

The race to the halfway is ON.....wow!

Jessie Royer First into McGrath and on to Takotna

A very chipper Jessie Royer pulled into McGrath about 10 minutes ahead of Richie Diehl last night.  It was her very first time into an Iditarod Checkpoint in first place....and what a checkpoint to have that happen.....she was awarded the First to McGrath Spirit of Alaska Award!  She graciously accepted it, told a very short story of 2 moose on the trail, and pulled the snow hook and headed to McGrath.  Richie came in right behind her and did the same, minus the award of course.

In Takotna, Richie was again a mere 3 minutes behind Jessie, who was first into the Checkpoint.  The next 7 mushers filed into the checkpoint in close succession, all doing the run in about 6.5 hours.  This is a very close race....with A LOT of miles yet to go.  Teams will start to take their 24 hour rest, many in Takotna where the village makes their famous pies for the Mushers.  I suspect Brent Sass, currently on the trail to Takotna may push on to Ophir and even Cripple, which are more remote checkpoints to take the 24 hour rest.

Right now in Takotna resting (not sure if this rest is part of their 24 hour rest) is: Jessie Royer, Richie Diehl, Burmiester, Waerner, Ulsom, Reddington and Pete Kaiser in order of arriving.

The tracker is showing Holmes at mile 324, Sass at 323, Failor at 324, Peck at 321, Smyth at 316, Millie Porsild (Rookie) at mile 314, Beals at mile 312 and Campeau at mile 311 all on the way to Takotna.

Many Teams are still in McGrath....possibly taking their 24 hour rest.

Who will continue on to Ophir or Cripple???  Someone has to do it....my guess is Sass since he has been on a completely different run/rest schedule. Its going to be hard to work today without checking the tracker again and again!

Jessie Royer Takes Charge!

Jessie Royers Team is doing fantastic....she has been playing it from behind and made a move into Nikolai right behind Richie Diehl.  After resting around 4 hours +, both Teams took off with 14 dogs and are neck and neck out on the trail.  They passed a resting Brent Sass on the Trail, he was the only one who blew through Nikolai and opted to camp out on the trail. Jessie is extremely happy doing her chores in Nikolai, and she mentioned she didn't even have to use her speed leaders on that last stretch!  WOW!!  The commentators also mentioned how good her Team looks...its early yet but things are looking great for Jessie!

Watching the Insider videos, it appears Pete Kaiser is having some dogs in heat issues, and they tend not to eat well.  So he has given the Team a bit more rest, and the boys on the Team are besides themselves with the girls out in front of them.  He is down to 12 dogs.

The run down at this point (9 pm East Coast time) is:

Jessie Royer and Richie Diehl at mile 280
Sass resting at mile 275
Wade Marrs running at mile 275
Mackey at mile 273
Ulsom at mile 272
Beals at mile 272
Waerner at mile 270
Kaiser at mile 268
Phillips at mile 266
Paige Drobney at mile 265
Ryan Reddington at mile 265

Everyone else is resting in Nikolai at mile 263


 
 

25 Above to 25 Below! On to the other side of the Alaska Range

We are about 200 miles into this race, with the trail getting better each mile up the Alaska Range.  The wind had packed the new snowfall down and its turned into a wonderful trail for both Mushers and dogs.  The wind was in their faces as they crested the range through the pass, and the temps on the other side are quite cold (-25) but with wind jackets on the dogs that is perfect.  I'm not hearing any treacherous stories from the Teams going down the Dallzell Gorge....so all is well on the Iditarod Trail!

I have to give a shout out to Lance Mackey.....its got to feel great for him to be out in front.  Right now he is resting in Rohn, but was in the lead pack into the checkpoint.  Hopefully he will have plenty of hand warmers to assist with his Raynauds Syndrome...last year he had devised a sheltered cockpit for himself to get him though the cold areas but I don't think he used it.  With 25 below temps on the backside of the range I hope he has something to help him keep warm!

Most Teams look to be passing through Rohn to camp out on the 80 mile stretch to Nikolai just to break up that long run...Lance, Richie, Kaiser, Beals and Burmeister got in there first and stayed in Rohn for 4 to 5 hours before heading out to Nikolai.  It will be interesting to see of these guys stop on the trail of make one big monster run to the next 80 mile distant checkpoint. 

Right now here is the rundown of Teams on the way to Nikolai:

Jessie Royer resting at mile 209
Thomas Waerner resting at mile 209
Joar also resting at mile 209
Diehl just passed these resting team and now is in the lead heading to Nikolai
Mitch and Paige are running together at mile 205, but I suspect they will pull over to rest soon
A rested Kaiser is running at mile 203 and will be trying to catch Diehl
Michelle Phillips is running at mile 203
Aaron Peck running at mile 201
Aliy running at mile 200 (race stats have her still at Rohn 20 miles back, but she is on the trail!)
Lance looks to be up and running after his rest at mile 200
Burmeister is right behind him at mile 199

Now with the Alaska Range behind them, the Teams will begin to think about where to stop to take their mandatory 24 hour rest.  A favorite checkpoint for this is in Takotna....but last year Aliy continued to the midway checkpoint of Iditarod (Cripple this year) and claimed the halfway prize.  Unfortunately the trail set up better behind her for the chase pack, but it was still a bold move!  Who will push their 24 hour rest to the halfway point of Cripple in 2020?  Time will tell! 

The Happy River "Steps" - Boring???

The Steps are a famed section of trail, where there is a series of switchbacks....the more Teams who travel down the Happy River Steps the more trenched the trail gets...to a point where the brake isn't making any connection with the snow to slow the Team down.  Looks like Kaiser, Diehl and Lance Mackey were the first down the steps....and Lance described them as "boring"!!  Wow.....at least for this first group of mushers it appears the trail has been groomed to perfection!  And so far NO moose!!!  Yeah!

As I write this there is a parade of Teams making their way into Rainy Pass.  This is a popular fly in check point for fans....but the weather has been sketchy for bush plane traffic with the storm.  It appears to have let up...and as the Team traverse down the west side of the Alaska Range the temps are going to plummet below zero....those are temps that typically do not make snow, and they are also temps that dogs LOVE!  Looks like many of the Teams will run this next leg that includes the Dalzell Gorge during the night!

Its interesting no one is camping outside of Rainy Pass....so I suspect the plane traffic is not so much and Teams are opting for rest in the checkpoints.  With all the snow, camping out is more of a chore because you might have to put on your snowshoes and stamp out a rest area for your dogs to use.  Time is everything to a competitive Musher....these people are living off of 10 and 20 minutes of cat naps, so there is not much time for extra.  The check points provide the Mushers water!  When they camp out they have to melt snow for water to make the kibble soup...which again takes time.  Many Mushers will not stay in Rainy Pass due to all the commotion of the planes and fans...but this years appears to be an exception.

Right now there are 10 Teams resting in Rainy Pass, with Jessie Royer the next one to arrive any moment, followed by Aaron Peck, Millie Porslid (Rookie!!), Mitch Seavey, Aliy, Michelle Phillips, Kelly Maxiner, Brent Sass, Lindwood Fiedler and Robert Reddington stretched out about 8 miles from the checkpoint. 

Slow Going.....

With all the snow it appears the overall speed of the race is definitely slower.  Im seeing a lot of 7 - 7.5 mph on the tracker instead of 8+ mph.  There were reports it was snowing 3 inches an hour at the Restart, making for packing the sled without getting all your gear wet somewhat challenging.  I see Kaiser rested for a few hours on the trail and has now blown through the checkpoint of Skwentna...right after he blew through it looks like he stopped to snack his dogs but is now leading the race (its SO early yet, so there is not a lot of meaning when I say that) traveling about 9 mph!  His average moving speed is impressive.....8.1 mph!  Richie Diehl has also left the checkpoint in pursuit. 

Nic Petit is running a bit slower than the other favorites of the race....not sure if that is strategy or something else.  He has always tried to be out front early as he does not like to be around other Teams at all.  His bib number is 17, so comparatively speaking its a relatively low bib number.

Pre-Restart interviews had folks chatting about their snowy training conditions....so Alaska overall has gotten a lot of snow.  Brent Sass was noted as having the most snowy training conditions in Eureka...he is presently hanging back and looks to have rested on the trail towards Skwentna. 

Burmeister and Royer are some miles ahead of Sass and resting....Mitch was with them but is now moving....look for these Teams to blow through the Skwentna checkpoint like Kaiser did.  Most Teams did this leg in 3 to 3.5 hours.  Those who rested on the trail will do it in 5 hours.  Must be enough room to get off the trail to rest teams, and it looks as though there is room to make passes too. 

It will be interesting to hear some interviews from the Teams in Skwentna once Iditarod posts some.....Im very curious of trail conditions with the storm!

Iditarod 2020 - Got Snow!!!

Welcome back to IditaDacks.....the BEST Iditarod coverage from the Adirondacks in northern NY!  YES, its that time of year again, and unlike other more recent years, the Iditarod Trail has LOTS of snow....maybe even too much????  No....never too much right?  Well, we will see....I for one like it....this years race will be touched by the whims of Mother Nature....in the past it has been warm temps,  in fact last year Norton Sound barely froze over...and there was open water in Nome and rain up the Yukon...that is just not right! I'm hoping this year will be more like the Iditarods of old...lots of snow...a slower pace.....Teams taking turns breaking trail....and unfortunately moose.   Yes, moose...they much rather walk on a nice packed trail than wade through deep snow.....moose and dog Teams do not mix.....at all!  I am keeping positive thoughts that any moose encounter will end in the moose retreating from the trail.....we don't need moose drama....please moose....behave! 

SO....what has the build up to the race been like?  Well, some surprises have taken place....like Jeff King being hospitalized and giving the reins to his handler just 4 days before the start....a Iditarod Rookie....no pressure Sean Underwood....no pressure!  And then there is Buser.....he handed over of the reins to Tim Pappas, but that was the plan all along.  I have watched these 2 icons for decades...it will be fun to watch how these handlers take to the trail with the A Teams!

I have to wonder how Mitch Seavey will do this year.  Even Dallas (now a commentator covering the race) says at the age of 60+ its hard to stay competitive. Plus Mitch excelled at a hard fast trail....its not going to be his kind of conditions....I may not even have him in my top 10.  On the other hand, Teams who finished the Yukon Quest in the top positions are known to have good Teams for deep snow....Sass and Michele Phillips will be ones to watch.  Then there is Kaiser, Failor and Ulsom all doing well in the Kusko 300....and what about Nic Petit winning the bone chilling cold Copper Basin!!!!   

The race has started, just hours ago...check back often....I hope to have an update every morning and evening as the race progresses.  I really love the Iditarod Insiders new tracker.....for those of you who don't have it I will try to give updates in between the long stretches of trail.  So make IditaDacks part of your morning routine! 

Outlaw and Chena ran 3 Iditarods each with SP Kennel! Go Aliy and the Red Team!!!