Today, Iditarod started in Fairbanks for only the second time in race history. There were droves of fans that lined the trail for a mile of more. There was an army of volunteers who directed spectators, guarded the trail and handled dogs. The City of Fairbanks and Pikes Waterfront lodge really rolled out the red carpet for Iditarod 43.
There were many styles of sleds anchored to dog trucks while the mushers awaited the 10:00 start. Of the “new” models, the caboose won hands down on popularity. Actually though, I have a picture of Jeff King from around 2005 with a dog kennel attached to the back of his sled and a dog in it at the start. Why would a musher want a caboose trailing behind their sled? The easy answer is, to rest dogs. So,with a caboose, a musher could pop one or two dogs into the carrier and give them a rest while the other dogs continued moving down the trail. After enough miles, every dog would have it’s turn to ride. The trail on the river is very smooth so the ride might be pretty comfortable. That was one consistent comment from the mushers, the trail was so smooth. There’s a lot more smooth trail on the rivers between here and the coast. Wonder at what point they’ll leave those caboose sled behind?
John Baker left FBX as number 78. As he was in the half mile long chute awaiting his turn at the banner, John decided to change socks. Handlers where holding his dogs. His brother Andy stood on the sled brake and John rummaged through is sled bag for a new pair of socks , took off his boots, slipped out of the old sock, into the new socks then put his boots back on. Wondering what he did with the pair of Smartwool socks he was wearing? He tossed them to an Iditarod fan standing along the fence. Really!
While in route to Nenana via Cessna, many teams were on the trail below. It was incredibly beautiful to see two, three and even four teams separated only by a few hundred yards. They came into Nenana in much the same way, fast and furious with only a few hundred yards separating them. Martin Buser wearing bib 4 made the checkpoint first at 1503. That gives him a run time from FBX of 4 hrs, 57 minutes. Martin and team are moving. The final mushers to make Nenana will be Christian Turner and Lisbet Norris. They’re camped up river. Most teams bedded down here in Nenana for a five to six hour rest while some teams (Martin Buser, Michelle Phillips, Thomas Waerner) camped 20 miles further down the trail. The first leg of the race to Nenana was 60 miles. From here it’s 90 to Manley and another 66 to Tanana. What’s the strategy of those front runners moving on while Mitch Seavey and Jeff King rested at mile 60?
Ninety years ago this past January, the life-saving serum reached Nenana by train from Seward. There the first of twenty mushers, Wild Bill Shannon, was waiting with dogs and sled ready. He received the carefully wrapped package and instructions from the conductor at 11:00 pm and proceeded to Tolovana, where Dan Green, the next musher for the relay would be waiting. Shannon covered a distance of 50 miles when 25 miles was considered an “extreme day’s mush.” Temperatures on the run ranged from 40 to 62 degrees below zero. Read more about the great mission of mercy in the “Cruelest Miles” by Gay Salisbury and Laney Salisbury.
Just checked GPS tracker to see several teams clustered between mile 95 and 102. Nicholas Petit is letting his dogs speed on down the trail. They’re out in front at mile 110. The dogs looked great on the river as they were ready to make the little climb into the village and check in at the checkpoint. The mushers were doing their chores and saying how smooth the run was and what a great day it was to be on the runners. As the temperature dips into the teens below zero tonight, the sky should be star studded and who knows what might happen with the northern lights.
The checkpoint in Nenana is at the community center. It’s a very large fairly new building that can hold lots of people. They’ve got hot dogs, spaghetti , soup set out for the mushers and volunteers to enjoy for supper. There are padded benches along the walls. While the dogs rest on straw outside, the mushers are catching a nap inside. These early checkpoints fill fast and clear out fast. Before the sun rises on Tuesday, it will only be volunteers and villagers who remain in Nenana.
