lathe and what looks like an ancient marker reflector on a tree

Sunday ——–Late Evening—-Waiting for Mushers  to Arrive in Finger Lake

We launch at 5PM, Willow airport, for Finger Lake Checkpoint.  Bruce Lee, Insider commentator is sitting front seat, and we immediately request an overfly of the the Skwetna River to intercept mushers.   On schedule, we view the front pack travelling at a trot within a few bends and short miles from the Yetna checkpoint.   I notice that all the dogs are trotting, which is somewhat of a surprise, because you can often seem fired up dogs alternately loping.  Based on the times into Yetna, just short of four hours, that would indicate a moderately fast trail, not a slippery extremely fast trail.  Maybe there was just enough drag to keep the dogs traveling at that beautiful working trot—the one that competitive mushers always hope to see.

Looking towards the Alaska Range, we see nothing but blue sky, a good harbinger for tonight’s travels.   On arrival at Finger Lake, I immediately take a few photos of the checkpoint environ.   The first thing to notice about this checkpoint are the blue plastic covered bales of straw neatly laid out in rows.  The volunteers have carefully arranged the hay for incoming mushers that want to rest.  Additionally, boxes of Heat (the alcohol that mushers burn in their cookers) can be seen neatly stacked at the checkpoint check in chute, easily available for the musher. 

hay bales arranged in rows for arriving mushers

Conspicuously absent are food bags.  Finger Lake is a checkpoint identified in the rules as a non-food checkpoint.  After landing on the lake, a strip roughed out on the windblown surface of the lake, its not hard to understand the supply difficulties.  Mushers must pack food in the sled from Skwetna.

It’s generally agreed that it’s about 32 miles from Yetna to Skwetna, then  42 miles from Skwetna to Finger Lake.  Mushers exercise a number of plays.  As we discussed previously, even the top mushers commit to different ways of breaking up the runs up the south shoulder of the Alaskan Range.  

As I am writing this post, the volunteers are gathered in the communication tent on the side of the lake.  A pool is established to determine the time of the first musher in.   Therefore, travel times (about ten miles an hour), distance from Yetna (about 72 plus miles) and the possible length of time that mushers will dedicate to resting is hotly debated.   Then, some veteran mushers recall times from previous years.  The final consensus for first musher in, after vigorous debate, is about 4AM. 

Now that you know the numbers, you can calculate how a musher will play it.  My feeling, after talking to some of the front runners, is that they will run it conservatively.  Few of the front runners seem inclined to run their dogs more than six hours before a rest in this early part of the race.   A number may decide to park and rest in Finger Lake.

More on the Alcohol cookers

Why do mushers use alcohol for their cookers?   Cookers that can melt three gallons of water from snow are required equipment in the musher sled.  To do that quickly requires a quick blast of heat.  Over the years the cooker has evolved from wood fired, to kerosene fired, and finally alcohol fired.  The alcohol burner (more like a big bunson burner) has been found to be the quickest fastest fuel for melting water and also has the added benefit of being safer.  It’s hard to blow yourself up with alcohol, which is comforting for the parents and relatives of contrarian and experimental mushers.

The biggest advantage, however, is the clean burning characteristics of alcohol.  Wood smoke, kerosene, blazo, diesel, all leave a residue on the cooked food and basically spoil the soup.  Even the slightest hint of petroleum will contaminate the ration, and dogs won’t eat it.

A walk on the trail

Walking across the lake, one notices about four inches of  lathe with reflective tape emerging from the wind packed surface of the lake.  This is a sure indication that its snowed a bunch in recent days.  Just recently, trail breakers have installed new lathe, which stands a full three feet above the surface.   The trail is crowned.

Often, you would expect the trail to be packed—like a toboggan run—a trough across the landscape.  Insteady, this trail near Finger Lake is constantly being infilled by blowing snow.   The trail is packed, wind blows, and over a winter the trail becomes higher than the surrounding snow pack.  I notice a three inch duff of crystalized snow on the trail.  The trail is reasonable, but not lightning fast.

The temperature now is 2F at 8pm and certainly to drop further before the mushers arrive in the early morning.

Interestingly, I notice that some of the lathe leading to the lodge at Rainy Pass is different than the Iditarod lathe. It is conceivable for the inattentive musher to take the wrong trail at a fork located at the head of the lake.

classic Iditarod lathe with typical reflector and blue tag

Fortunately, the Iditarod is scrupulous about using consistent lathe.  This year, the careful musher must look for wood lathe with an orange carrot top.  Additional, a very high quality reflective tape that will about blast your eyes out when hit by a headlamp beam complements the array.  Further, a blue ribbon, very distinctive, is attached below the carrot top, thereby giving the musher good assurance they are following the right trail

I also took a photo of permanent lathe hammered on trees.  Note that the reflectors are different.  It’s very possible I saw the reflector on the dead tree thirty years ago when I ran my first Iditarod.

If you wondered how the trail breakers groom the trail, check out the fabricated drag, now located in Finger lake.  After a warm up break, the inveterate trail breakers, will go on to Rainy Pass in the dark and dead head there for the evening.  Their strategy is to stay reasonably ahead of the lead pack to insure that the lead musher has a good trail.  Once the trail is broken out for the leader, no further work is done to benefit the followers.

note the drag using by the trail breakers to smooth the trail

Final Thoughts

True fans watching this year’s drama  to unfold are probably looking for a theme.  This is what I think.  Last years early going may have been characterized by an excess of enthusiasm.  I think, therefore, mushers are going to be appropriately studious and careful.  Look for John Baker, the present epitome of a controlled and consistent race, to be the bench mark in the early going.

greg ritchie embarking on scenery shoot of alaska range

 Greg Ritchie, Insider artist and cameraman positions for a shot on the alaska Range, late evening light at the peaks, from a vantage on Finger Lake. 

One always has the feeling the trail is climbing inexorably to the summit of the Alaska range looming ahead.