March 5 Cripple 5:32PM King and Lindner in Cripple, but leaving for Ruby
This is time for the true race fan to contemplate the great forces at work in the Iditarod. Briefly, here are the players. Buser pushed very hard to Nikolai, but in the grand scheme of things, only about 180 or so miles into a 1000 mile race. His theory was to gain such an overwhelming time advantage that he might be able to coast to the finish and triumph.
Next, some theorists, notably including Aliy Zirkle, the Seaveys, Robert Sorlie et al, decided to set the hook in Takotna. Although Takotna is short of halfway, these mushers like it because the accommodations are excellent and they can test their dogs on a short run to Ophir. If a team dog is compromised (cramp, sore wrist, etc) they can leave the dog in Ophir and continue without having to haul a dog long distances.
Third is exemplified by Burmeister, who has pushed first to Cripple and will take his 24 hour mandatory. He likes being far ahead of the race and is close to halfway.
Our fourth group includes Jeff King and Sonny Lindner, two mushers who have decided to forge onto Ruby on the Yukon River. Doing so puts them well into halfway. As Jeff King put it, “You don’t have halftime at the end of the first quarter” which makes sense to football and basketball fans. The theory is that it makes more sense to take a big break when you are actually tired, not early in the event. To make this theory work, a good trail across the seldom traveled trail to Ruby must be good. Caveat—no one wants to look stupid and break trail for the competition.
When asked about this possibility, King answered, “Well, I watched the weather and saw they only had two feet of snow and it rained.” The Iron Dog snowmachine race also ran over the trail and undoubtedly set a bottom on the trail, especially considering the low snow. Lastly, he made calls to friends in Ruby where it was confirmed that the trail looked really good. ERGO, his decision to run to Ruby in 2014.
Sonny offered similar logic but said it wouldn’t guarantee him a win, but it might make the difference between 12th place and 7th. He is always an understatement musher—-having known him for 30 years.
The sun is now low in the sky and temperatures are dropping to an anticipated -30f. The trail should further harden for an overnight run to Ruby. Our experts believe an 8am, plus or minus, arrival in Ruby is logical for tomorrow morning.
