Pete Kaiser talks with Jessie Holmes as he changes sled runners at the Nikolai Checkpoint on Tuesday March 8, 2022 during the 50th running of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

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As Wednesday draws to a close, we’re going to begin seeing some check marks in the 24-hour column of the standings.  Aaron Burmeister was first to pull into McGrath.  He originally was planning to move on to Ophir for the long rest but modified that plan.  Other top contenders are also resting in McGrath and will be heading out yet tonight.  Matthew Failor decided on a very early rest and stayed put in Nikolai.  He is on the trail now as the first musher to complete the long winter’s nap.

The very back of the pack mushers are in Nikolai and glad to be there.  From the stories that front runners have told about the grueling trail between Rohn and Nikolai, the final teams to depart Rohn were in for a challenging 75-mile run.  Kailyn Davis who has been at the tail end of the pack delt not only with overflow, ice, dirt and gravel but animals, large animals too.  Word has it that she has had to wait for not only moose but also a few American Bison to vacate the trail, thus it’s taken her quite some time to reach Nikolai.  She’s in Nicolai now and undoubtedly sharing her story with Ryne Olson, KattiJo Deeter, Julie Ahnen, Yuka Honda and Lisbet Norris.

Up front, Brent Sass has reached the half-way checkpoint of the trail, Cripple.  He’s leading the handful of mushers who are pushing to Cripple before taking their 24-hour layover.  Dallas, Hugh, Mitch and Ryan will be arriving to join Brent later this evening.

Looking at the GPS tracker, there are many more orange flags which signify a resting team than there are green flags marking moving teams.  There’s nobody on the trail between McGrath and Ophir.  Aaron Burmeister will soon change that as he’ll finish his required layover and be heading out at 18:35.  Only a half dozen mushers are traveling at this time between Nikolai and McGrath.  As more teams hunker down for a nap, comms and race stats people get a little breather but by tomorrow at this time every one will be up and running.

Matt Paveglio experiences heavy wet snow near McGrath (Photo Credit Dave Poyzer)

There were several human interest stories that came to light today.  Most of the Golden Rule variety – do unto others as you would like them to do to you.  Mushers are really good at that because at any minute they could be the one in need of a spare sled or some help stabilizing a stanchion or fixing a broken gang line. 

Michelle Phillips damaged her sled just out of Rohn and hadn’t shipped one out to McGrath.  It was Ryan Redington to the rescue.  His sled was in fine shape after the punishing run into Nikolai so he passed the sled he had shipped out to McGrath onto Michelle. 

Anna Berington had a broken sled runner that needed to be repaired before she could tackle the gorge and beyond.  What she really needed was a drill.  Of course she didn’t have one but was able to borrow one from the Perrins family of Rainy Pass Lodge.  She’ll make it to McGrath where she has a spare sled waiting.

Even though Takotna isn’t a checkpoint for the 2022 race, they are still doing what they’ve always been famous for – feeding mushers.  They’ve organized a TO-GO lunch service.  When a team passes by, a village resident is out standing by the trail with a sack lunch for the musher.  And that’s at any time of the day or night!  Jessie Holmes was so taken back by the unexpected pleasure of receiving that bag of goodies that he took a wrong turn.  Holmes said he was so busy putting mayo and mustard on the sandwich and munching on chips that he ended up taking a wrong turn and found himself at the town’s landfill.  It was just a little side trip of about a mile.  Perhaps in 2023 mushers will once again be able to enjoy the sit down hospitality and pie Takotna is so famous for.

Richie Diehl was feeling a little bruised and tired after the jarring run through the burn into Nikolai and was really looking forward to McGrath and the long rest.  It was family that surprised him.  His three nieces made their way to the checkpoint to wish their uncle well.  That brought a smile to the face and warmth to the heart of a very tired musher.

Insider interviewed Thomas Waerner at his home in Norway.  After COVID gripped the world, Thomas had a difficult time getting home to Norway after winning the 2020 Iditarod.  Waerner finally ended up hitching a ride on a retired DC-6B cargo plane that was leaving Fairbanks and going to Norway to become a part of an aviation museum.  Returning to defend his championship is 2021 was affected by COVID travel restrictions and travel restrictions foiled his plan to return to race in the 50th Iditarod.  Waerner is racing and training in Norway with a dog team that’s in prime condition.  As Iditarod mushers run to the Bering Sea at Unalakleet, Thomas will be running in the Finnmarkløpet which covers a distance of 1200 kilometers or 720 miles.  When asked who he thought would win Iditarod, he said it would be the musher who did the best job, made the best decisions and took the best care of his/her dogs.  He was rooting for fellow Norwegian Hanna Lyrek to achieve rookie of the year honors.  Did you know that after winning Iditarod 2020, Thomas had the burled arch with his leaders, K2 and Bark tattooed on his left shoulder?

There’s a storm brewing in the interior that will make things interesting as the racers begin to move again.  Winds and 6-8 inches of snow are in the forecast.  How will this play out?  Will the mushers who rested at Cripple have the advantage because they were ahead of the storm?  Will the mushers who rested at McGrath and Ophir have the advantage because the dogs are rested to push through the storm.  Only time will tell!