Mitch seavey in Koyuk prepares to bed dogs for break. King advances on ice in pursuit
7Am Lights on the Ice—Seavey leads, King in Pursuit, pack is agitated
Our crew took a nap at the Koyuk school library, then walked a quarter mile to the Koyuk checkpoint in still air. Have I ever been in Koyuk when wind wasn’t blowing? On the ice, lights flicker, some brighter—must be snowmachines—and then, inexplicably, string out in a line as if going to the east.
In the checkpoint we are told that the trail has deviated around pressure ridges, the result of colliding ice pans propelled by wind, and therefore does not follow a straight line. Here I find our race judge, comm expert, and volunteers studying the tracker and time sheets, tools available for the fan, who have made deductions.
Mitch Seavey is leading the pack into Koyuk, but Jeff King passed Burmeister and now just four miles behind the leader. Even with the tracker, movement on the ice is a distant illusion. By shortening rest and travelling faster on the ice, it appears to us that King is closing the gap. The rest of the pack is agitated, with Redington and Joar the Norwegian also bolting from Shaktoolik in an effort to move up the ranks. Aliy remains stable, predictable, with speed, but is not gaining on the leaders.
That’s what we think as what must be Seavey’s light approaches. The checkpoint evacuates, veterinarians with stethoscope around necks, but one kid stays put looking at his smart phone. I look at him like what do you think, he shrugs, “Ah, at least another ten minutes.”
Seavey pull off the ice and advance uphill on a quarter mile slip to the checkpoint and arrives 7:43 am (my time.) The Race judge says to no one in particular, “looks like a solid six and one half hour run,” an average time at this stage of the race. A local says hello, “Beautiful day, no storm.” Its still dark, not even an intimation that there will be a sunrise.
Led by a single leader who jumps right with Mitch’s quiet “gee” (right) and “haw” (left) the ten dog team is parked conveniently on the out trail. Mitch asks, “Is anybody close behind me?” but I don’t hear anyone respond. The lights on the ice must have been a distraction in the early morning and difficult to interpret.
While the vets are examining each dog, the fans in the checkpoint return to examine the Iditarod tracker tool and decide that the pack is not behaving politely. King pursues Seavey, but Ray Redington, the grandson of Iditarod founder Joe Redington, Sr., seems to have passed Burmeister while Zirkle is tracked with Burmeister. The internet crashes, and now all we see is lights blinking in the dark on the ice.
Final Thoughts
This is as gritty as it gets. Dog s and mushers are tired. No one fan is willing to declare a winner. Seavey resting in Koyuk, calculating in a fogged mind how long to rest his team. While King advances, his team rests and eats, an advantage he wants to leverage.
