Dense: closely compacted, and that pretty much describes the flow of teams through Yentna and Skwentna that took place on the first night of Iditarod 50. Those check points are set up and staffed to handle the dense traffic. There are many checkers, there are many vets and the whole set up of the checkpoint is geared for efficiency.
The teams flowed through the five check-in lanes (think of toll both lanes on an expressway) at Yentna beginning with Martin Massicotte at 17:59 and concluded when Yuka Honda arrived at 04:50. She was in the checkpoint for 17 minutes then and headed down the river to Skwentna. Just like the gold towns of days gone by, Yentna went for boom to bust in a very short period of time.
Ryan Redington in bib #17 led all mushers into Skwentna at 21:23. His time enroute from Yentna was 2 hours and 59 minutes with an average speed of 10.4 miles an hour. That’s what happens when the sun goes down and the trail runs fast. Dance Kaduce wearing bib #28 was the first musher to leave Skwentna at 23:59. With an hour, nine other teams had followed him back onto the trail. Grabbing drop bags and moving down the trail from Skwentna to camp where it’s quiet is a popular strategy amongst mushers. At this time before sunrise on Monday, Skwentna awaits Chad Stoddard and Yuka Honda.
Teams at the front of the pack are through Finger Lake and tackling the portion of the trail that contains the Happy River Steps. When mushers arrive in Rainy Pass they will have stories to share about the hair-pin-turns and switchbacks that characterize the steps. The first teams to go through usually experience a good trail but as more teams follow and brake to control their descent, the trail becomes rutted and a bit more challenging for each musher. According to Race Marshal, Mark Nordman, this portion of the trail has ample snow.
Joe Delia was the checker at Skwentna for years. He was instrumental in locating and opening the Old Iditarod Trail for the first race back in 1973. Young Joe Delia was running a trap line in the area harvesting beaver, lynx, marten, mink, muskrat, otter and wolf. Well before the advent of snowmachines, Delia’s mode of transportation along his 125 mile trapping trail was dog team and skies. Once he set eyes on the spot where the Outback Cabin and the Post Office currently stand, he resolved to build a place to live right there and make a life for himself in the woods. He took on the job of being the Skwentna Postmaster in 1950. Over time Joe became a legend as a woodsman and trapper and when asked would share his knowledge with other young aspiring woodsmen.
In the early 70’s when Joe Redington was dreaming about racing 1,000 miles to Nome, he turned to Delia for help in opening the old Iditarod Gold Trail. Norma, Joe’s devoted wife of more than thirty years shared the story of how they became involved in the Iditarod. She told Mike Nesper of the ADN, “Joe was out on his snowmachine and came across a couple of guys on skies. Come to find out, the two fellows were working with Joe Redington and Dave Olson on putting in a trail to Nome. Delia liked the idea of a sled dog marathon and agreed to help establish the route from Skwentna to Rainy Pass.” He also offered to host a checkpoint for the race at the Delia home.
Today, when the volunteers who run the Skwentna checkpoint – the Sweeties, Darlings, Judges, Vets and Communications workers all arrive, the total number of Skwentna volunteers ranges between forty and fifty. The Sweeties, mostly from the Mat-Su Valley, plan the menus, do the shopping and prepare the food for all the volunteers and the mushers. The Darlings, a large crew of about 15, come in from Tacoma, Washington. They organize the river portion of the checkpoint. The sign has to be erected; the straw spread bales are spread out on opposite sides of the river. The drop bags are sorted and stacked alphabetically in the middle of the river. A mega BTU two-burner stove is set up next to a hole that’s chopped in the ice for water. Skwentna is one of the checkpoints that heats water for the mushers.
Where Yentna and Skwentna were the heart of the race for Sunday night and very early Monday morning, Finger Lake and Rainy Pass will take over the bulk of the action on Monday. Yentna and Skwentna will close down. The same crews that welcomed mushers will now become the clean up crew. Vets will be transported to new locations on down the trail as will comms workers and race judges.
Following the race from home has comfort advantages and with the technology available through GPS Tracker and Race Standings fans know where the teams are, their speed and also their run rest patterns. Add the excellent Insider coverage by Greg, Bruce and Liz and you’re right there with the mushers in the checkpoints – no warm boots, parka or insulated pants required. Don’t miss the great photos by Dave Poyzer posted in the photo gallery and come back to Eye on the Trail often for race updates.
