Peter Kaiser Makes the Gold Coast
Traffic in Unalakleet will pick up in the next few hours. Nicolas Petit arrived at 09:46 Sunday Morning. He made the run from Kaltag without resting at either of the traditional resting spots – Tri-pod Flats or Old Woman Cabin. When Petite brought his dogs down the river, past the AC Store and into the checkpoint they were happy and energetic. Nic bedded them down, fed them and then went into the checkpoint to get a plate of sour dough pancakes and bacon. He devoured UNK’s breakfast specialty quickly then found a bed to nap in. At 14:48 he was on his way to Shaktoolik.
Joar Leifseth Ulsom on the Gold Coast
Joar Leifseth Ulsom, Peter Kaiser and Jessie Royer were resting about 19 miles short of the coast on the trail from Kaltag. Mitch Seavey joined the trio at their resting spot. While Seavey stayed put, Peter, Joar and Jessie finished the run to the coast. They picked their way around overflow in the slough where the UNK checkpoint is situated. Each team checked in, talked with the Vets and then headed up the coast to Shaktoolik. The move made sense as they had taken a good rest in the warmest part of the day 20 miles short of UNK. They were ready for the next 40 miles to Shaktoolik.
Jessie Royer into Unalakleet
Ahh, there was one little glitch in Jessie Royer’s plan to keep on going. Friends had ordered her pizza from Peace on Earth. The pizza was delivered to the checkpoint by snowmachine. The delivery guy received the news Jessie had already left. That’s not going to stop a pizza guy from delivering the pie. He buzzed up the trail to catch Jessie and give her the pizza. She devoured a couple pieces and then offered to share with nearby spectators.
Mitch Seavey Makes UNK during the “Blue” Hour of Photography
We are waiting for Mitch Seavey, Matt Hall, Jessie Holmes and Aliy Zirkle to arrive within the hour. They rested along the trail so it’s only a guess as to whether they’ll stay in UNK or continue on.
Rounding out the top ten is Matthew Failor and Paige Drobny. They are both on the portage trail. Eight more teams are out of Kaltag and will make Unalakleet before noon of Monday, March 11th. Thirteen teams have completed their Yukon River run for 2019 and are sitting in Kaltag. Sixteen teams are spread out between Shageluk and Kaltag.
Richie Beattie is leading all rookies on the trail right now. He is resting in Kaltag. The other nine rookies are either on the river or soon to be on the river at Anvik.
The weather is quite a-typical for Unalakleet. It’s warm, there’s some precipitation which has recently come in the form of snow flakes. The winds have been present but mild. There’s overflow on the slough around the checkpoint and it’s very overcast. Low light doesn’t do much for pictures but I keep trying. Volunteers were able to get out to checkpoints up the trail as the morning was good for flying.
Stay up to date with the race through Insider Video and GPS Tracker. We all do the best we can to access internet for posting but sometimes, things just slow down so we don’t get information out to you as quickly as we’d like.
