Everything is going to be alright, is playing here in Nikolai in the background. Alright things indeed are for the mushers who have found their way into the first town of the Interior. A long, difficult at times run is behind them, and the dogs are comfortably resting in the sun. Its warm out and sunny. Dogs sleep much better in that, than they run in it. It is also very nice for the veterinarians to perform their checkups on the dogs. Stethoscopes are not freezing up, hands can be bare to massage and stretch dogs. This past fall, I did a talk with Iditarod Veterinarian Tanja Kruse in her hometown in Bremen. Finally here in Nikolai we meet again. The friendships formed along the trail, is a huge part, which keeps us all coming back.
The second wave of mushers is arriving, but depending on their starting numbers their position looks a bit different, Mitch is actually right ahead of Lance, as he started 39th. Jake Berkowitz commented on his pass: “ You do not believe what I am driving here “, pointing out how well his team runs. While some were trotting by at a brisk pace, his were actually loaping and more looking like they were in a mid distance race.
Dogs bedded down, Aaron is headed to sleep for a bit. He relayed his tale, of going up the glacier last night and missing a turn and all of his team getting stuck under a downed tree. He had to unhook the dogs from the gangline, tie them to little shurbs and than straighten everything out again. It took him the better part of an hour and than his team was ready and screaming to go. “ After we got going again, we bounced of the rocks and dirt like a ping pong ball “. Much of the trail in the early part of the run over the infamous burn was down to bare ground. Driving 16 energetic dogs through that can be trying at times. Specially , as the dogs seems to sense…. When Musher is hanging on for dear life, which just seems to give them another burst of energy.
Below a few more shots of the teams arriving. Check out the insider for some great mushers interviews, as they are telling their trail tales!
Enjoy Sebastian
Jake Berkowitz
Jake Berkowitz
Dee Dee Aaron Burmeister at the School
looks like his sled could have a reverse