A view of the Yukon River From Ruby at Sunset during Iditarod 2006 (Photo Credit Terrie Hanke)

Teams are spread out from McGrath at mile 311 to the Yukon River.  Ruby sits at mile 495 and Brent Sass checked in just before 0600 then headed down the river to Galena.  Traffic between Cripple and Ruby is heavy.   The trail crew at Ruby will have plenty to do today as seventeen mushers are out of Cripple and headed their way.

The question is who will stay in Ruby to rest and who will head down the river toward Galena.  Sass has shown his strategy as he spent just five minutes in Ruby, long enough to check in, grab supplies and have a small army of vets check his team.  The run from Cripple to Galena is exactly 120 miles.  Looks like Sass is breaking that into two 60 mile runs.  He left Cripple last evening before supper then camped about 60 miles down the trail,  around midnight.  Leaving roughly 10 miles to Ruby and 60 miles to Galena.  Those shorter runs followed by rest really invigorate the dogs.  Watch the GPS Tracker to see what strategies Brent’s closest challengers choose. 

Richie Diehl of Aniak left Cripple at 16:06 followed by Jessie Holmes of Brushkana at 19:41.  Both those guys served the long rest and differential at Ophir.  Dallas Seavey and Hugh Neff finished the long rest at Cripple and followed Holmes down the trail. 

Michelle Phillips who rested at Ophir, Aaron Burmeister who rested earlier at McGrath and Peter Kaiser who also rested at McGrath are out of Cripple as the 6th, 7th and 8th mushers to challenge Sass and the other leaders.  Ryan Redington and Mitch Seavey both served their 24-hour at Cripple and are on the trail in 9th and 10th position. 

Of those top ten, Diehl, Holmes, Phillips and Kaiser went on through Cripple.  Have they strategized for three runs of 65 miles between Ophir and Galena?  Watch the tracker and the stats page to see how long they are in Ruby.

Weather is turning colder and the storm system has passed.  The temp will reach into the low 20’s today in Ruby then will make the teens tomorrow and single digits heading into the weekend.  The trail that was once mashed potato soft will be setting up to faster and harder.

Of the 47 mushers that remain in the race, all but six have completed their 24 hour layover.  Jeff King says he’s going to Ruby and Jeff Deeter will accomplish that in Cripple.  The quartet of Julie Ahnen, Yuka Honda, Lisbet Norris and Kailyn Davis are camped in McGrath.  The next question for all teams is where will they take the required 8 hour Yukon River rest. 

What do the rules say about the long rest?  The information is found in rule 13 –   

Rule 13 — Mandatory Stops: A musher must personally sign in and out to start and complete all mandatory stops

Twenty Four-Hour Stop: A musher must take one mandatory twenty-four (24) hour stop at an official checkpoint during the race. The starting differential will be adjusted during each team’s twenty-four (24) hour stop. It is the musher’s responsibility to remain for the entire twenty- four hour period plus starting differential. The ITC will give each musher the required time information prior to leaving the starting line.

Eight Hour Mandatory Stops: In addition to the mandatory twenty-four (24) hour stop, a musher must take one eight (8) hour stop on the Yukon River, including Shageluk in odd numbered years, and one eight (8) hour stop at White Mountain.

None of the mandatory stops may be combined.

Veteran musher Ryne Olson of Two Rivers scratched yesterday in McGrath.  She has completed Iditarod in 2012 with a Zirkle/Moore team from SP Kennel.  That’s when she knew that long distance racing was her forte.  Olson was raised in Durango, Colorado and came to Alaska to take a job at SP Kennel.  Ryne establish Ryno Kennel and has raised nearly all of the dogs in the kennel from puppyhood.  She says, “I’ve always loved dogs and the outdoors and I’m so happy I stumbled upon the incredible sport.  There’s no bond quite like the one between a dog team and their musher.”  Olson finished her rookie run in 31st place then followed with 59th place in 2016 and 18th place in 2021.   Ryne is a Copper Basin 300 Champion and a Yukon Quest Veteran.

That’s it for this post.  A suggestion for you, watch the Insider interviews with 2020 Iditarod Champion, Thomas Waerner.  He is a masterful strategist.  Waerner will be competing in the 1200 km (720 mile) Finnmarksløpet in Norway beginning about the time the mushers hit the Yukon River.