6 am Sat March 10—-Zirkle strategy triumphs, She leads pack to Nulato by Joe Runyan

While others sleep, the front pack of the Iditarod punched, rolled, counterpunched under a very bright sky, Venus and Mars prominent, at -20f temperatures.  When the bell rang after round 1 on the Yukon, we find Aliy Zirkle triumphant as she and team pass Nine Mile Island on the Yukon.

"I have everything," says Aliy to the checker

Locals insiders rode the trail all the way to Nine Mile Island to inspect the trail and find Aliy, reporting only light winds and a hard trail.   Meanwhile, we depend totally on Molly, our communication comandante, who has been alertly following gps positioning through the night, to form the following narrative.

Aliy Zirkle passed the resting pack (taking their 8 hour mandatory) in Ruby and proceeded at a respectable clip to Galena.  50 miles in front of the race, she played a contrary move and declared her 8 hour mandatory (required by the rules somewhere on the Yukon.)

This was a decisive move.  Points go to Zirkle.

While Zirkle sat resting yesterday afternoon, Mitch Seavey and entourage left Ruby and pursued.   In the late evening, Molly tells us that Seavey inexplicably stopped on the trail short of Galena and then started again and passed through Galena and finally stopped at Bishop Rock (a fishing camp near a huge eddy, which eats giant drift logs from Canada in a swirling vortex, known as a fishing hot spot.)

Aliy departed Galena at Midnight, passed the resting Mitch Seavey, and is presently trotting towards our destination as leader of the 2012 Iditarod.   To complete the story, we should mention Jeff King, who is now in pursuit of Aliy with another phalynx including Aaron Burmeister, Dallas Seavey, and John Baker.

Aliy's dogs snack on salmon, a good source of protein, a key to muscle recovery at the Nulato checkpoint

King has emerged in last night’s action as the fastest team on the trail, posting travel times that have bought him back an hour in the standings on the leaders. 

All this information notwithstanding, the bottom line remains—Aliy Zirkle now controls the race as she closes the 52 mile run from Galena to Nulato. Deft moves and a resilient dog team, have in effect put her one checkpoint ahead of the competition in her run/rest schedule.

The checkpoint here in Nulato comes alive at 6 AM . “Zirkle is two miles out!”  Volunteers and residents in Nulato have been exceptionally hospitable.  Now they think of Aliy—“the hot water should be ready when she get’s here!”

Thanks, Molly, for the summary.

Aliy Arrives 

Aliy arrives 14 dogs in harness, some wearing coats and protective leggings (the deep snow sometimes frosts up on the front legs and wears the hair, shorter furred dogs benefit from a coat when its downright cold).  She signs in, smiling, cheerful, then promptly turns them around for a quick exit.  The checkpoint judge checks for mandatory gear, while vets quickly examine dogs and determine resting heart rates, a good indicator of recovery.

Team snacks on salmon, then spins around to action as aliy whistle team on exit toward Kaltag

“Just sign this, and you’re out of here,” says the checker.  “Leave your boots on,”  Aliy admonishes her team dog working on a booty.

“Are you staying?” 

“No,” laughs Aliy, “ I am trying to win this thing.”  Obviously she figures her team is well rested, and determines to continue to Kaltag.

With a whistle, her team is back in a rhythmic trot, leaving Nulato.  In a half mile, the trail will fall off the high bank of the Yukon, back to the bed of the Yukon and 38 miles of trail to Kaltag.

Flash shot of the race   

12 miles to Dallas Seavey

19 miles to Jeff King

28 miles to Aaron Burmeister

Final thoughts   

After viewing aliy’s cheerful exit from Nulato, self described pundits at the checkpoint concur—Zirkle is in control of the race.  After taking an 8 hour rest, she can afford to look back at the pack and dare the field to catch her.