It’s been a busy evening here in Takotna – lots of teams leaving and pulling through after taking their 24 hour rests. Blair Braverman pulled in for a short rest at 10pm breaking the trend of mushers who just pulled through after coming off their 24s in McGrath. Shortly after she pulled in, …
Niklas Wikstrand came through at 7:43pm, signing right in and out. Dogs looked good, still screaming to go, they’re Pete Kaiser’s B team and gaining some valuable experience out here on the trail. After Niklas left, the volunteers came back inside to eat a bit more, as well as help one of our race …
Up at the front of the race, teams are reaching Iditarod. Aliy Zirkle and Martin Buser are sitting out the long rest in Iditarod. Nicolas Petit is on his way to Shageluk as is Joar Leifseth Ulsom. Nic has a 4 hour 30 minute lead on Joar. Jessie Royer, Richie Diehl and Peter Kaiser …
The population of mushers at McGrath checkpoint is dwindling. Sebastien Dos Santos Borges, Emily Maxwell and Niklas Wikstrand are making their way to Takotna and perhaps some pie. Like teams earlier in the day, these afternoon departures have indeed been on their feet, barking, howling, lunging and ready to get back on the trail. Six teams …
Emily Maxwell reports she’s having a good time out on the trail. She only met her dogs a few weeks ago, but says she’s already built a great relationship with them. They’re traveling well together, and she’s impressed that the weather hasn’t fazed the young dogs at all.
Aliy Zirkle wins the GCI Dorothy Page Halfway Award in the Checkpoint of Iditarod. As the first musher to reach Iditarod Checkpoint, Aliy was greeted by Bob James who presented the Dorothy G. Page Halfway Award. Aliy arrived at Iditarod at 01:38 on Thursday morning, March 7th. Her run from Ophir took 17 hours and …
Jessica Klejka made a short stop in Takotna, long enough to offer her dogs a snack, grab a couple things from her drop bag, and snag a bagged lunch from the wonderful folks in Takotna that love to feed the mushers. Her dog team was one of the strongest I’ve seen through the checkpoint. She …
All teams have made McGrath. There are 13 teams parked around the checkpoint building and another 38 teams have moved on up the trail. Shayne Traska who scratched in Nicolai is here in McGrath. She’s disappointed in the outcome of her 2019 run, but there was a tiny hint of her ever present smile. There …
Ed Hopkins’ team looked good leaving Takotna. It was obvious that his black leader was focused on Michelle Phillips (his partner, who was trying to hide from the dog), but they left the checkpoint looking beautiful! He’s definitely in contention for rookie of the year, but Richie Beattie is putting up a good challenge as …
