a giant water heater at UNK, operated by volunteers, to help mushers
The Case of the dueling Mushers
10:30 AM, Mitch Seavey and Aaron Burmeister in to Unk
Both Mitch and Aaron reached the Bering Sea Coast at Unk this morning. Mitch’s in time was recorded at 10:13 AM. Both teams were tired after two days of tough trail conditions. Both mushers also had that look of “man that was a long night on the trail” and functioned on automatic to spread straw and take off booties for their huskies.
The race is far from resolved with my panel of pundits suggesting that the real champion might be lurking 10 or even 30 miles back in the pack. In a way, the front group of mushers have been dueling in show downs to the front and they may have challenged the wrong intruder on their territory.
As we explored in previous articles, Jeff King (the cagey and well experienced 4x champ who has had his share of over ambitious game plans that didn’t work), Dallas Seavey ( who has an uncommon sense of patience and understands that a well preserved team can make inconceivable advances in the closing of a race) and even John Baker (“I am basing my entire race strategy on my schedule and that the front runners won’t be able to execute at this pace”, presently running 33 miles back are positioned to take the front if it was to weaken. Several of my contacts and I believe that Seavey and Aaron need to camp here for a good six hours instead of the abbreviated four hour rest we often see at this point. In some ways, mushers behind are thinking, OK you guys stay busy and duel it out to the front, we’ll take our time and win the race.
The amount of patience required, the ability to move at an opportunity, are making this race increasingly interesting. I can remember races in Doug Swingley’s era when those in the press were desperate to find some kind of tension, realizing that the air went out of the race by the time he reached Kaltag. In 2013, this race is wide open.
Note photos of the grand water heater of all time, available for musher’s convenience.
As a sidebar to the race, I just happened to catch Kenny Dubie, the human equivalent of a mule, before he and his associates motored out of Unk in direction Elim. They are the Iditarod trail breakers, a group of machiners who stay more or less 24 hours ahead of the lead musher, along the way making sure the trail is safe, well marked, groomed, and scrutinized for overhanging branchs, stumps, and obstacles. In the process they encounter overflow, open water, indecipherable trail, deep snow, fallen timber, and the unexpected—like nearly complete rebuilds in a cabin by the trail. These guys are not celebrated but they are the ones I would chose for an expedition.
The checkpoint is now packed with locals and volunteers, checking periodically on the tracker projected on a flat screen TV.
Final thought
Watch for King and Seavey the Junior (Dallas.) Also, does Joar still have some magic?
seavey team
vets, as is their customary habit, examine each dog in the team
gold for seavey, a prize for first to the Bering sea coast
Kenny Dubie, his crew goes all the way to Elim this morning—if all goes well
