Grayson Bruton and Jody Potts-Joseph departed Nulato at 05:05 and 05:37 respectively on Monday morning. Each had 10 dogs on their line. With their departure, the number of checkpoints achieved with only one scratch has moved to Nulato at mile 582.
How’s the dogs traffic over all? Mille Porsild is on her way to Koyuk with 15 dogs. Lauro Eklund in Unalakleet with 14 dogs. Jesse Terry is heading to Unalakleet with 14 dogs. Sadie Lindquist is in Kaltag with 14 dogs. Nine mushers are running with 13 dogs. Half dozen mushers still have a dozen in harness. Richie Beattie is out of Kaltag (mile 529) with 8 dogs in harness.
Remember back in 2023 on the southern route when Jason Mackey was carrying his brother Lance’s ashes and his mother’s ashes in his sled. Jason left Anvik (Mile 512) with 8 dogs, Kaltag (mile 652) with 7, Koyuk (mile 827) with 6 and Elim (875) with 5. He adjusted both schedule and speed to cater to the five dogs he needed to finish. He came to the arch as the Red Lantern musher and was voted most Inspirational Musher by his peers.
Only five teams remain on the Yukon River. Rookies Sadie Lindquist, Sam Paperman and Adam Lindenmuth are in Kaltag. Veteran Grayson Bruton and Rookie Jody Potts-Joseph are on the Yukon between Nulato and Kaltag.
Many sections of the trail are rich in history. The section from Kaltag to Unalakleet is no exception. The route between Kaltag and Unalakleet is an old portage trail that connected Unalakleet on the Bering Sea Coast to Kaltag on the Yukon River. Russian fur traders and Athabascan hunters and trappers used the trail to meet up and exchange furs and handmade goods from the interior for Russian merchandise.
The portage trail has two safety cabins often used by mushers during the 85 mile run. The Tripod flats cabin is located about 35 miles inland from Kaltag. The Old Woman cabin is located at about mile 50. Many mushers choose to stay at one of the cabins to break up the long run. Some choose to camp twenty miles out from Unalakleet in the shelter of a forest.
Who is the old woman the cabin is named for? Linda Fenton, Teacher on the Trail in 2013, shared two versions from the Alaska Dispatch. First, the woman died in an avalanche as a result of a curse for doing men’s work on a mountain used by men as a hunting lookout. Another version says the woman and her husband were trappers who lived in the area long ago and were caught in an avalanche. The woman was buried and her husband, refusing to leave her, eventually died on the mountain as well.
Legend has it that mushers should leave food for the Old Woman at the cabin when departing, otherwise she’ll send bad luck your way for the rest of your journey. Who would want to chance that kind of bad luck?
Three rookies running in the middle of the pack are challenging each other for the honor of Rookie of the Year. Sam Martin behind a 17th Dog Failor team left Kaltag at 18:11 on 3/15 with 13 dogs in harness Canadian Jesse Terry’s team came to life on the Yukon River to be a contender in ROY competition. Terry departed Kaltag with 14 dogs in harness on 3/15 at 18:56, just 45 minutes behind Martin. Kevin Hansen from Kotzebue is slipping back a bit from earlier in the race but could still make a move to overtake Terry and Martin. Hansen left Kaltag at 20:50 on 3/15 with 10 dogs. Where are they on the portage trail? Sam Martin is closing in on Unalakleet at mile 701. Kevin Hansen is at mile 688. Jesse Terry is at mile 681. The next closest rookie eligible for the award is Joey Sabin running 12 dogs at mile 653. Keep an eye on these guys as it will be interesting to see what their race plan is. Also remember that Brenda Mackey, Richie Beattie and Sydnie Bahl are re-rookies so aren’t eligible for the honor.
The top 10 mushers are out of Unalakleet making their way to Shaktoolik and beyond to Koyuk. As the front runner in Koyuk, Jessie Holmes is feeling pressure from behind. Travis Beals has climbed into second from 6th and is very close to Koyuk. Paige has jumped from 5th position back to up to 3rd and has closed the gap between herself and Holmes to less than 2 hours.
After receiving the Ryan Air Award in Unalakleet, Holmes altered his intended plan of going through UNK to resting in the checkpoint for 6 hours before the run to Shaktoolik. When he woke from his power nap, he realized that both Paige and Travis were closing the gap, he was questioning his cautious move. However after the run to Shaktoolik he knew it was the right decision. He classified the run through the Blueberry Hills in route to Shak as the best run of his mushing life. His team was energized and performed magnificently. The rest and additional calories paid off.
As to the rest of the top ten, Mille Porsild is following in 4th and Wade Marrs is holding 5th. Jeff Deeter is climbing the ladder as is Matt Hall. Lauro Eklund has ,for the time being, claimed the final position in the top 10 while Ryan Redington has now settled in at 14th behind Jessie Royer, Pete Kaiser and Hanna Lyrek.
Kjell Inge Rokke completed his Expedition Iditarod journey on March 16, 2026 marking a milestone for the newly created Expedition Class. Expedition participants are not included in official race standings, are not eligible for prize money or special awards and are not competing for the Iditarod championship.
When interviewed at the arch, Kjell was asked what was the most difficult part of the trail. He replied, “Everything about it. I crashed, I wiped out, I was drug on the snow and I had only 12 dogs. The big guys they have 16. That’s a train coming down the trail. It was cold, -52. But you can dress for that.” His first order of business in Nome? A shower! Kjell also thanked Mark Nordman for being receptive to the idea of an Expedition Class and making it possible. Rokke said he was excited to see where the Expedition Class might go in the future. Just click on featured videos to see this and all the Insider finisher’s interviews.
