It’s Thursday morning and the GPS tracker is starting to take on some color again. Teams are coming off the 24-hour mandatory rest so green flags are popping up along the trail from Takotna, through Ophir and beyond toward Cripple. While the GPS looks like there’s fewer teams, it’s only because the flags are stacked on top of each other in the checkpoints. Seven teams continue their rest on Ophir, five in Takotna and ten in McGrath.
Richie Beattie did indeed take his 24 in Nikolai. Leaving Nikolai at 22:42 on 3/11, Beattie was the first team to complete the long rest. Up front, Jessie Holmes departed Takotna at 23:30 on 3/11. Mille Porsild left Takotna at 01:00 on 3/12 and hopefully the zipper of her sled bag is thawed and her sleeping bag and boots are dry. Ryan Redington left Takotna at 01:30 on 3/12. Pete Kaiser, Jessie Royer and Wade Marrs have also completed their stay in Takotna.
Paige Drobny, Michelle Phillips and Travis Beals are all out of Ophir with checks in their 24 hour box at Takotna. The rules require the 24 hour rest be taken in a checkpoint. It is up to the musher which checkpoint. There was speculation early on that some teams would go all the way to Cripple to 24 but given the cold, wind and sugary snow, mushers decided to be cautious putting more emphasis on resting while the team was still strong.
What you see on GPS tracker now tells the true story of the race. The leader on the trail is the leader of the race. Every musher has a unique strategy created around the training they’ve done with their dogs. Every musher has a different perspective on where to “start” racing. They’ve been strategically racing since taking the trail but the payoff on those strategies will become apparent further down the trail. Some say they start racing on the Yukon River, others say the coast. Now it’s all about adjusting and executing the plan, tweaking run times, rest length and speed. Stay tuned. There’s serious excitement to come.
Siri Raitto is in McGrath and has captured some awesome photos of the activities or should I say lack of activity while teams rested. Enjoy her photos and the story she tells without using any words. More of her photos as well as David Poyzer’s can be found in the Iditarod photo gallery.
