Right now there are 18 teams resting in Takotna. That is about half of what it has been in most years. I had a brief chat with Larson Monson and Dag Torulf Olson. They are both happy with their teams and taking a relatively conservative approach. The pace feels quick, yet sitting with Aaron Burmeister ( who is flying the trail ) in the checkpoint, he showed me a list with numbers, indicating, that this year’s pace is about 1.5 hrs to 2 hrs behind the 2014 race, which had very similar snow conditions. This year there was more snow in Dalzell Gorge and in the burn than in 2014, therefore the Kuskokwim River seems more bare this time around.
The dogs are burning 10.000 plus calories a day. That is a lot. A good eating dog team is key for moving down the trail quickly. Richie Diehl from Aniak is grinning from ear to ear. His dogs are the sound of success. They are barking when they see Richie come down the line with the cooler, and once the food is in their bowl, they dig right in. That is a sign of a well managed team.
Katherine Keith from Kotzebue commented on how being down to 11 dogs makes putting on booties is much easier than with a larger team. She feels that her remaining dogs are solid. ” I like to pack a lot of stuff, you never know when you need it “. Packing being the keyword, it is time for me to pack up my belongings here and head down the trail. Most likely no Internet in Ophir, so next stop Cripple, hopefully sometime later tonight.
Enjoy the pictures from around the checkpoint:
