Arriving in Skwentna was kind of abrupt and an opportunity for a workout.  The pilot delivered me to an empty airfield.  He pointed out the trail and said it was about half a mile.  Well, it was more like a mile, though some in the checkpoint said it was two.  Anyway I got a great workout in full gear.

Skwentna Station is my next stop on the Iditarod Trail and all the teams come through over about a twelve hour period.  Most of them stop, feed and rest, so the roadhouse is a buzzing place.  The organization when the dogs come through under the banner works like a well-oiled machine.  Information is taken from the musher and radioed to the people in the cabin who log it and send an email to Anchorage Comms which is then included in the race stats on the web site where you get to finally see it.  Everything is checked and re-checked.

Failor was  the last musher to check in at 6:05:this evening and most everyone was gone around nine in the morning except for Dan Seavy who said he would not leave until one as he was on a very strict schedule.

Before the first musher arrived, the crew at Skwentna had a meal altogether and had a general meeting about organization, then separate team meetings so that in the darkness and cold things don’t have to be done twice.  Though there is always  moments, all mostly goes smoothly.

The night got cold, about 20 below down on the river, and the green Northern Lights came out so it was a true Alaskan night.   The bustle of the Skwentna Sweeties greeting and cooking their way through the darkness warmed everyone.  The mushers came in ate and chatted before finding a quiet corner to rest.  Everyone that entered the station was greeted with a welcome, a cloth of warm lemon water, the traditional coffee and Tang and then a meal.

Apparently there is a storm coming in and there is a hustle to get us out before we are snow-in again.  Let’s see where I go next.

Trying to get down the trail.

Blynne