Dedicated Fans in Koyuk are beside themselves waiting for the first musher to cross the ice of Norton Bay
11 PM Mitch Seavey leads pack to Shaktoolik
Mitch Seavey led the pack into Shaktoolik at 9;17 PM, a fact anybody can easily access using the Iditarod tools. Our insider crew moved to Koyuk late this evening today , anticipating an early morning traverse from Shaktoolik, across the ice of Norton Bay to Koyuk.
We reviewed the travel speed of front runner Mitch Seavey and Aaron Burmeister and determined that Mitch gained about 45 minute—very significant at this stage of the race—over Aaron. Since Jeff King (running third on the trail), who appeared to have a powerful team in Unk, is yet to arrive, we don’t know for sure about his overall travel speed. What we can say is it’s too close to call for the knot of mushers to the front—-Seavey, Burmeister, King, and a closely following pack of Zirkle, Joar Ulsom, Ray Redington, and Jake Berkowitz. These seven are jockeying for position, surging and resting over the last 24 hours.
Sebastian, sitting next to me, has regrouped from the major emotional bummer of losing photos on his destroyed hard drive ( maybe too much vibration on his snowmachine), and made an exhaustive review of the times. He tells me that King made time on Aaron but actually lost five minutes to Seavey. We agree that King and Seavey may be scheduling a duel, being careful at the same time not to allow anyone else to the front. Better to get 1st and 2nd than to give the race away to the following pack.
Jake Berkowitz appears 7th on the trail, but he may be hiding strength. For example, the lead pack took four hours rest in Unalakleet, more or less, but Jake took a luxurious six hours rest in Unalakleet. He is driving the largest team—15 huskies—-and his fans are bewildered that he isn’t exercising fast travel times to push to the front. Some think he appears tentative. When will he decide he wants to win the race and make a play?
I defend him. The six hour rest will get his team to Shaktoolik well rested. If he doesn’t squander his advantage of speed and strength with excessive rest in Shaktoolik, he could hammer the run to Koyuk. Maybe he will come to the front.
For many mushers, the run from Shaktoolik, an improbably placed village on a exposed spit that is vulnerable to wind, across the ice of Norton Bay, to Koyuk is the one place that mushers universally respect. Aside from a shelter cabin at Lonely Rock, about a 1/3 the way, the traverse is across ice, almost always battered by wind, and there is no refuge. No trees, not a way to build a fire, and not a place to hide. Additionally, the overwhelming white of snow and ice, in combination with the disorientation of a groundstorm of spindrift that can limit visibility even to the lead dog, is disturbingly vertiginous—especially at night when you are tired. The mushers imagines up and down, north and south, but in the white, has no way of verifying it. From our own race experience, Sebastian and I agree that Shaktoolik/Koyuk is the one run on the Iditarod that you want a lively dog team. The only way to do it is take a little rest in Shaktoolik before venturing onto the ice. On a clear night, the lights of Koyuk can be seen from 20 miles. For three hours the tired musher asks how it can take so long to reach the village.
Therefore, Jake should be prepared to make a statement on the ice. That’s what I am watching tonight.
Karen Rampstead arrived this evening in Koyuk and will be the race judge. Fans might remember that Karen, a Canadian musher, completed Iditarods with a gorgeous made for the movies team of Siberians. I asked about her station at Shageluk. Did she see the team of our Russian competitor Telpin. Yes, she was delighted to meet the Russian musher. She likened his team of Russian freight dogs to Innuit Canadian dogs (what are called Canada Eskimo Dogs, a registered breed, in the US.) These dogs are heavily furred and purposeful freighters, not necessarily designed for the job of racing the Iditarod. They are friendly to people and the vets have found them easy to handle. They are, however, dog aggressive, not unlike the large Malemutes, the ones we think of in a movie about the Canadian Mounties on patrol.
Telpin does not speak English, but is alert and quite willing to draw pictures and communicate with hand signals. For example, he spent quite some time drawing maps and communicating to Jerry Willomitzer where he had seen tracks of his lost dog.
Asked about the team, Karen said that Telpin had impressively trained the team. At his command, the 12 dog team rose to their feet and leaned into the harness, uneventfully leaving checkpoints.
Final Thoughts
Watch for a move from Jake Berkowitz. His team should be in position for a stron g run across the ice.
