I had the pleasure to watch Robert Sorlie arrive in Nikolai. He was visibly tired and beaten up from the trip over. His dogs on the other hand seemed to be totally oblivious to the fact that their musher was tired. They were barking and lunging to go. Robert had no more drag mat on his sled, and in his tired frame of mind kept on forgetting that, stepping into nothing. Trying to park his team ,I was hanging onto the snowhook like we do at leading the teams to the starting line. And it sure felt the same way as when they drag me through the dog lot. And that is getting parked… not getting ready to go. There is some amazing power in that team. They look uniform.
Sitting down with Robert for lunch, he clearly commented that this is the best team he has ever driven. Running into Nikolai he had to survive, now he can start to race. I am certain we are going to see him put on the heat later on in the trip to Nome. His first question to me was, ” Where is my son ?” I had no idea that he was part of that Norwegian snowmachine group. I guess Robert is showing him the trail this way already for the years to come. Thomas Waerner, whose dogs are in Robert’s team, will run Iditarod next year. He is the leader of that snowmachine group. I really wonder what he is thinking of that trail and what he will think about running the race next year.
Aliy, Nick, Jeff and Hugh have gone outside and are beginning preparations to hit the trail. This is not the ideal time to do so right in the warmest part of the day. They are very fortunate that it has clouded over and is snowing lightly. So heat and especially sun is not an issue.
Eventually I will be headed over to McGrath, while Joe Runyan is going to Takotna– that way we we are a bit spread out in the checkpoints. If you have not already done so, check out the fantastic arrival video on the Insider!
Below are a few pictures of Robert Sorlie here in Nikolai.
Happy trails-
Sebastian
Robert arriving on the river
Getting into the checkpoint
Wheel dogs from Team Sorlie
Getting signed in
Explaining the parking procedure
Where the drag mat used to be
POWERFUL team
Robert Sorlie enjoying lunch
