Nighttime Arrival McGrath (Photo: Siri Raitto)
Nikolai to Ophir accurately describes the position of teams on the trail – EXCEPT, Dallas Seavey has departed Ophir for Cripple and is resting out of Ophir. Maybe the extra/unplanned rest his dogs got while he dealt with the previously mentioned moose 14 miles beyond Skwentna set him up for a longer run to his 24-hour layover.
Jessie Holmes is sitting in Ophir while ten teams are parked in Takotna. Of those teams, Travis Beals arrived at 21:59 with 16 dogs. The others have returned a dog or two.
Gabe Dunham and Nicolas Petit are on the trial to Takotna powered by 16 dogs. Matthew Failor and Jeff Deeter are also headed to the place with pie.
Resting in McGrath (Photo: Siri Raitto)
That leaves five teams in McGrath resting. Of that group Wally Robinson has 16 McNeal dogs on the line. Wally is a substitute driver for Josh McNeal who injured his shoulder in an earlier race and had to sit out this Iditarod. McNeal and Robinson are neighbors so for the past month, Robinson has been training and getting to know McNeal’s team.
Jessica Klejka, Bailey Vitello and Deke Naaktgeboren are traveling with Sean Williams, Erin Altemus and Anna Hennessy from Nicolai to McGrath. Eleven other rookies are resting in Nikolai after the rough trip from Rohn. From run times listed on the stat sheet, all rested along the way on that 75 mile run.
While there are teams moving right now, there won’t be much action later today and into tomorrow. Everyone will be pretty much settled into the long rest. While there won’t be sleds moving, mushers will feed their teams every six hours and then it will look like any town America around the checkpoints as there will be people out walking their dogs. Not just regular citizens and not just regular dogs – mushers and sled dogs.
When it comes time to pull the hook and take to the trail after the 24-hour rest, the race takes on a different look for the fans. Now the musher out in front is really the leader. Now the first year rookie closest to the front, is the leading rookie with an eye on Rookie of the Year.
The distance from Nikolai to McGrath is 54 miles, a distance deemed skiable by the teachers in Nikolai back in 2012. Dennis and Joyce wanted to give their eight students a challenge to get them moving and get them outside. They acquired boots, skies, poles and high quality long johns for each student then they trained every day for the journey. The original plan was to ski during Iditarod but exceptionally cold weather postponed the adventure to mid-April. The students and teachers supported by a snowmachine crew that toted gear, set up tents and cooked meals headed down the trail. They camped for a few nights and skied during the day. They did real outdoor education lessons when on the trail. Many projects throughout the school year were based on their upcoming trip. The students enjoyed the planning and preparation and felt a great sense of accomplishment when arriving in McGrath.
