Drop Bags, Straw and Heet Await Mushers Arriving Skwentna (Photo: Terrie Hanke)
Jessie Holmes cruised into Finger Lake checkpoint at 04:02 Monday morning. Brent Sass was close behind at 04:08. Holmes parked his team. Sass spent enough time to chat with the vets, have his vet book signed and he went on down the trail a couple of miles to camp. Richie Diehl, Nicolas Petit and Mille Porsild have just arrived in Finger.
Finger Lake checkpoint is located in front of Winterlake Lodge. The lake received its name because on the map it resembles the shape of a finger. Crews erect tents to house checkpoint operations and a place for the mushers to grab a nap. The lodge is hosting Iditarod spectators who enjoy not only a front row seat for all of the race action be wonderful accommodations and first class cuisine. In the past, the lodge has opened the kitchen door to mushers, serving a prepared before your eyes high protein meal served with all the coffee a musher desires.
Back down the trail, the teams enjoyed a fast trail from Willow through Yentna and Skwentna. Activity was intense for the Yentna checkers and comms people. All thirty-three teams arrived in the checkpoint between 17:52 and 19:17 – that’s 1 hour and 25 minutes! The longest gap between arriving teams was just 10 minutes – hardy time to catch your breath! Yentna is good at handling dense traffic. They set up five lanes for mushers to pass through for dog counts and in times. Imagine toll booths on the express way or when leaving an airport. As the lanes merge into one trail leaving the checkpoint, there is a checker there to record time out and dogs out.
Fastest times from Willow to Yentna were recorded by Brent Sass – 3:30; Jessie Royer – 3:37 minutes and Dan Kaduce – 3:39 minutes. Thirty-two mushers stayed in the checkpoint less than 10 minutes Wade Marrs took a brief rest of 2 hours and 5 minutes before heading to Skwentna.
The Skwentna River crew was on the river and watching for the first headlamp to peak through the darkness up river. Wearing that headlamp was Ryan Redington, arriving at 20:51. He was followed by Hunter Keefe at 21:20 and Eddie Burke Jr. at 21:29. Eight teams made Skwentna prior to midnight.
Only a dozen teams parked below the homestead of Joe and Norma Delia. The other 21 had their vet books signed then grabbed their drop bags, straw and Heet and continued down the trail with a favorite camping place in mind.
Keegan Fritts Talks With Joe Delia in the Skwentna Post Office (Photo: Terrie Hanke)
Several years back, Joe and Norma turned the running of the checkpoint over to younger legs. Keegan Fritts is the head checker, taking over the job from his father who took over for Joe. The River Crew comes in from Washington State to set up the checkpoint and manage all the traffic during the night. The hospitality in the cabin is handled by the Skwentna Sweeties. When a musher walks into the Delia Outback cabin, they are greeted with smiles and a plate of eggs, bacon and toast or lighter fare of yogurt and fruit if preferred.
Thinking about the small field of thirty-three mushers, there are some real advantages. Smaller number means less congestion at these early checkpoints. It’s quieter in the checkpoints and teams can get quality rest. There’s less competition for the preferred camping sports along the trail. And here’s a huge one – less wear on the trail. That’s going to be really important as the teams descend the Happy River Steps, climb up the Alaska Range at Rainy Pass and sled down the Dalzell Gorge. Yup, being one of thirty-three compared to one of 72 (2017) or one of 96 (2008), trail wear and tear will be significantly less.
