1am Wednesday in Takotna—Pack settles for 24 hour Mandatory break
Aliy Zirkle continues to maintain steady pace into Takotna, followed by a determined (dogged) group of front runners.
The scene in Takotna
Since we have internet in Takotna, we are able watch the little green dots approach our vantage, noting Zirkle in the lead. This allows time to relocate at the Takotna School, which has been reserved for our crew and a group of Norwegians following Sigrid Ekran. We variously select corners in a classroom for sleeping and a place at tables in the entry foyer for editing video or reporting.
Everyone in this small village is retained for some kind of function. The hospitality is not accidental. In front of the checkpoint I introduce myself to Ryan and Larry, who are feeding a fire with birch and spruce. Perched in the cut out 55 gallon drum is a container of water, now being heated to near boiling. This is for the mushers. Add three gallons of hot water, meat, fat, oil, maybe a commercial kibble, and one has an instant hot meal, a slurry ration that helps hydrate the dogs.
Ryan and Larry take on the hot water detail for the mushers
Inside the checkpoint, girls, boys, men, and women prepare food in the small community center kitchen. The results are stupendous. I pass on the chili and soup and wait for spaghetti, fresh baked bread, and a crisp salad and wonder how this can be. We are hundreds of miles from any road and serviced only by air.
Around the community center, the grounds have been groomed and packed by snowmachines into a huge yard for the dogs. Straw in blue plastic bags, a familiar sight at every checkpoint, are stock piled for easy access.
Flags symbolic of the mushers from all countries fly in the wind, back lit by log candles which have been ingeniously ignited along chain saw cuts.
Flags fly in front of the community center checkpoint in Takotna. Note the log candles ingited on the inside with chain saw cuts
Aliy Zirkle arrives in Takotna, holds off pack from behind
(Please check Iditarod resources for exact times) About 11Pm Aliy Zirkle arrives Takotna, where she is promptly asked to sign the check in sheet. An official asks to check gear. Aliy chats with the crowd gathered to greet the first musher while zipping open her sled bag displaying axe, vet book, booties, sleeping bag, cooker, etc.
I was not aware that the musher was required to display a cache of “extra” dog food—a change in the rules. Previously, the musher was required to start the run to the next checkpoint with an extra ration, but now one is required for the unplanned delay—snow storm, lost trail, and other.
Thinking about the schedule since Sunday, one believes the mushers to be exhausted. Aliy, however, is sharp as she closes her sled bag and prepares to park the dogs. Someone in the crowd wonders why she has not declared a decision to take a 24 hour break. The rules now do not require a declaration. She merely has to document that she stayed for the required time in the checkpoint.
True, mushers are actually different in trail times because they left the starting line in staggered times. Therefore, mathematical geniuses compute the adjustment and add the time to the 24 hour mandatory. Ray Redington (he started number 2) actually has to wait 26 hours plus before departing, while his brother Ryan (he started 67) starts around 24 hours. It’s all been worked out.
As leader, Aliy gets to choose the parking spot. She asks to park behind the community center, only fifty steps or so from the entrance. Good choice—-the wind is broken by the building, and Aliy is close to a place to sleep and eat.
The events as they unfold at the parking spot
This is what happens after arrival! A group of athletic kids, wearing reflective vests with the lettering “Takotna parking Service”’ help lead the team. Immediately Aliy is engaged in conversation with the vets. While she unclips backlines, she discusses the general health and concerns of the dogs.
While the vets examine each dog, occasionally asking if Aliy knew about a slight abrasion on a pad, for example, she continues to work. She offers slivers of chicken skins, a fatty snack that dogs love. This is followed by a mix of beef. We learn that 10 of her dogs actually ran with her husband Allen Moore in the 2011 Yukon Quest.
Many theories abound on the most efficient way to feed dogs. Most mushers agree that feeding constantly, like every two hours, allow the dogs to maintain an even burn and return on their calorie budget. After this, practice diverges. Some theorize that feeding a very lean protein snack immediately after a run replenishes muscle mass. Later, they bump up the fat to provide calories.
However done, we can all agree that a dog burning 10,000kcal per day must possess an incredible physiological capacity to eat, consume and process the ration.
Vets continue to check every dog, in every team
As the vets continue to examine each dog, carefully checking the green plastic numbered tag on each collar, and documenting their condition, other teams have arrived.
John Baker, then Mitch Seavey, Jeff King, et al arrive in a tight knot about a half-hour after Aliy. Takotna Parking Service is very busy. John Baker parks above Zirkle, while Jeff King asks to go up the hill on a snow covered road to camp.
Flags fly in front of the community center checkpoint in Takotna. Note the log candles ingited on the inside with chain saw cuts
Velvet and Snickers (now recovered from a slight soreness in her front elbow), the Baker leaders, spin around in circles at their lead position in preparation for a long rest.
Zirkle keeps working
Notwithstanding the chaos of arriving teams, Aliy next blankets the dogs, lays down straw, and tells the vet that she will now prepare a hot meal.
Back in the checkpoint, I grab a cup of coffee and see a team of trail breakers at the table eating. They are waiting for word from the race judge. If a musher decides to bolt from the pack and continue on the trail to Ophir and then Cripple, they will crank their machines to action and lead the way.
Noah Burmeister, one of the trail breakers, is Aaron Burmeister’s brother. He told me they were ready to go, but hoped he could wait to see his brother arrive in Takotna.
Final thoughts
I canvassed some of our Insider crew and some local fans to test my impressions. I thought Mitch Seavey and Dallas Seavey had very animated teams. Dallas, the younger, seemed to be in possession of a particularly rowdy team, barking, whining, and lunging in the arrival chute.
Asked about the tight group of arrivals, John Baker quietly observed, “WE haven’t really started to race yet.”
