Passing the front runners en route from Shaktoolik to Koyuk. The beginning of the trail was rough, lots of driftwood which had been pushed on shore from some very high tides. The overland part was bumpy and snowless.
First I came by Sonny Lidner who as usual was sitting on his seat. He took his cooler seat off the sled and now still has a bicyle style of seat. His team clipped right along.
Then I saw another dot on the horizon, those turned out to be some bikers who are in the Iditasport Invitaional Race to Nome. I guess they tried leaving Shak before, but turned around because of the wind. Soon after Martin came into view, big time bundled up against the stiff breeze and also sitting down. His sled number 3 is another tail dragger. The light for pictures sure was nice.
Afterwards the gap was a little bigger and and I had passed lonely rock and the shelter cabin. Now the trail is on the sea ice, but much further inland than usual. Very good going for the first 15 or so miles past lonely rock. Here I passed Jeff King. Of the 3 teams I had seen, his team looked the most focused and Jeff was also working up a storm. I have not seen him pedaling in a race too often, but he sure did this morning. His sled looks like a little sprint sled only with a cooker attached at the end of the runners, which also acts as a seat.
Another while ahead was Aliy Zirkle. She was bundled up and not skipoling. Her team also looked very solid.
Internet in Koyuk is a bit tricky, so posts might come a bit slow, sorry.
Elim is another whole story, an elder died and we no longer have the use of the Firehall as a checkpoint. So I might not have any internet there, I will try to figure it out and see if I can sleep at a friend’s place who has internet or even the school. If the posts are slow and far in between, there is a reason…. We are trying!
Trail reports said the trail from Shaktoolik to Koyuk is 52 miles, I had 46 on my speedometer, but who knows….
Pictures say more than a thousand words, so here ya go.
Happy trails
Sonny Lindner
Martin Buser
Jeff King
Jeff King
Aliy Zirkle
Pressure Ridge
Aliy Zirkle
