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Iditarod 2021 - That's a wrap!

3/20/2021

 
The 49th Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race saw its 36th and final musher arrive twenty-two minutes after midnight in the wee hours Thursday morning, March 18th. Victoria Hardwick claimed the distinction of being this year's Red Lantern after 10 days, 9 hours, and 22 minutes out on the trail with her dog team. Victoria is only the second musher in Iditarod history to claim two Red Lanterns, having done so on her rookie run in 2019. And it was an incredibly narrow thing this year, as she pulled into Deshka Landing only two seconds after rookie Dakota Schlosser.

Of the 36 mushers successfully finishing the race...
28 were veterans and 8 were rookies.
10 of the initial 13 women finished, including 2 rookies.
26 of the initial 33 men finished, including 6 rookies.

The 10 mushers having been withdrawn or scratching from the race amounts to 21.7% of the field, right in line with the average scratch rate of 21.8% since the race's inception according to my own tally (using information from Iditarod.com's archives). And while I know this year's trail and the extreme cold were challenging, that scratch rate is far below the 40.4% scratch rate from 2020's brutal race.

Ultimately, it is an amazing accomplishment to not only qualify for entry into Iditarod but to complete it. Anna has now finished the Iditarod 9 times. Kristy has finished it 11 times. By my tally, there have been 2,448 finishers in Iditarod during its 49 year history. But that figure includes a whole host of repeat-finishers like Kristy and Anna. To count the number of separate individuals to accomplish this feat, you have to count each year's rookies. With 8 rookies finishing in 2021, again by my own tally, I see that as only 818 separate individuals in history that can say, "Yep, I finished the Iditarod."

By comparison, according to this Reuters article from August 2020, more than 6,000 climbers have scaled Mount Everest since 1953. A bit more recent figure from High Adventure Expeditions has 5,788 different people as of January 2021 having successfully climbed Everest to reach the summit.

818 vs 5,788... If that comparison doesn't successfully highlight how tough the Iditarod is, how laudable it is to have completed it, I don't know that I'll ever come up with one that does.

I am also very pleased to report that all of the 644 world-class athletes that really make this possible - the dogs! - returned home from the trail safe and sound. Yes, of course some of them had to catch a ride home with the Iditarod Air Force along the way, but that is part and parcel of Iditarod. The key from my perspective is they're all home, getting love and snacks and telling their kennel mates about the amazing sites and smells of the Iditarod Trail.

If you watched the video on Iditarod Insider of the twins coming into Deshka, you would have heard Anna rattle off the names of the dogs with her at the finish. I haven't been able to talk to extensively to the twins yet (can't blame them for putting food, a hot shower, and sleep over another interview!), but I did get confirmation of who on their teams were at the finish...

Kristy arrived at Deshka with 9 dogs on the line. Seven of those nine are Seeing Double Dogs, and two of the nine were Iditarod rookies. They included: Mayhem, Crocket, Bulliet, Berzerker, Ruckus, Bogus, Bootleg, Chaos, and Barge. The dogs that returned home a bit early ~ Amp, Rampage, Havoc, Rebel, and Polar ~ are all doing great.

Anna also arrived at the finish with 9 dogs on the line. Six of the nine are Seeing Double Dogs, and four of the nine were rookies. And three of those rookies were on loan from other mushers. It's one of the key reasons other mushers are glad to arrange loaned dogs with the twins - the care they get is top notch and the racing experience priceless. Anna's finishing team included: Drax, Rizo, Yondu, Loki, Diego, Forrest, Secret, Astro, and Rider. The dogs returning home early ~ Aspen, Bandit, Birdie, Randy, and Dane ~ are also well and relaxin' at the kennel.

And with that, folks, it's time to call Iditarod 2021 a wrap! Thank you, as always, to those armchair mushers that came on this journey with me, and everyone that makes the Iditarod possible. Thank you to everyone that has sponsored or donated to the twins and their dogs, cheered them on, written a letter, liked an Instagram post, or bought some merch. You are all part of the force that gets Seeing Double down the trail year after year.

And thank you, most of all, to the dogs. You all inevitably put us two-leggeds to shame.

Be safe, be well, and be sure to come back and join us for the 50th Iditarod in March 2022!

Peace, Love, and Paw Prints...
Your Mad Blogger
​Kat

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Kristy’s Finisher Swag
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2021 Special Edition Finisher Belt Buckle
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Phew! All this blogging is exhausting!

Race Update 8 - Congrats Seeing Double!!

3/17/2021

 
Happy St. Patrick's Day race fans!  Kristy and Anna arrived with their dog teams back at Deshka Landing Tuesday night, March 16th, not long after 7pm Alaska time.  After 9 days, 4 hours, and 3 minutes, Kristy, in Bib 4, finished in 22nd place, successfully finishing her eleventh Iditarod!  She had 9 dogs in front of her sled.  Anna pulled in 10 minutes later in Bib 13 earning 24th place after 9 days, 4 hours, and 13 minutes on the trail.  She also had 9 great looking pups in front of her sled.  This made for Anna's ninth successful Iditarod finish.  Congratulations, ladies and your pups!!  

Rookie Chad Stoddard snuck in between the twins to finish in 23rd place and also claimed Rookie of the Year by being the first rookie in this year's squad of eleven to cross the finish line.  Twenty-eight mushers were into the finish by 7:07am Wednesday, eight are still out on the trail (including six rookies), and our scratched list still has ten names.  

I did catch the live feed of the twins at the finish, and both they and their dogs looked great!  If you missed it (despite my close but ultimately accurate prediction), there is a video posted to Iditarod.com.  And worse case scenario, below are some screen shots.

I'm sure it was a pleasant change of pace to be so close to home upon arriving at the finish, their own beds and dog houses only miles (by truck!) away.  Once they have a chance to catch their breath and rest up a bit, I hopefully will be back with some post-race highlights direct from the twins.

Regardless, I'll keep the blog open, as has been my tradition, until the final team arrives safely at the finish.

Race Update 7 - Seeing Double is Almost Home

3/16/2021

 
Hello dearest Seeing Double fans.  So sorry for neglecting the blog yesterday, but I have some weighty issues commanding my attention on the Wisconsin home front and have had to direct my attentions elsewhere.

That said, I have still be sneaking peaks at race standings and to make sure Kristy and Anna's GPS trackers continued to move along the trail.  There have certainly been exciting developments since my last post - namely Dallas Seavey finishing in first place early on Monday after 7 days, 14 hours, and 8 minutes on the trail.  He had 10 dogs in harness when he arrived at Deshka Landing.  The top 7 teams all made it into the finish with a 7-day handle, and as of this writing we have 15 mushers into the finish.  With one additional musher having scratched from the race, bringing that total to 10, we have 21 mushers still making their way to the finish.

Among them are the twins!  They arrived in Skwentna at 2:40am Alaska time early today.  They will take their 8 hour rest here and should hit the trail promptly by 10:45am for their final 67 mile run.  Given the run times we've seen so far on this final stretch, it will likely take Anna and Kristy a minimum of 8 to 9 hours to reach the finish after leaving SKW.  

So if you're hoping to catch the live feed on Iditarod.com of Seeing Double arriving at the finish, I would plan to tune in by 7pm Alaska time, although I find it more likely they pull in some time between 8-9pm Alaska time tonight.  I'll try to come back and firm that up after I see them leave SKW and can get a look at their traveling speeds.  

​

Race UPdate 6 - 7 Days, 172 Miles Remaining

3/14/2021

 
Seeing Double pulled into Rohn Sunday evening in 22nd and 23rd place.  Both Kristy and Anna had 10 dogs each in front of her sled and they made good work of the preceding 75 mile stretch from Nikolai, camping once along the way.  I expect they'll rest in Rohn, and if they keep their rest time there to a 4-hour handle, I'll take that as a good sign that they're not just traveling, but racing.

The front of the pack is certainly racing, and this year's champion will almost certainly come from one of the first few teams into the final 8hr rest checkpoint of Swkentna - 67 miles from the finish.  Or the start?!  This must be a most unusual race for Iditarod veterans.  Dallas Seavey and Aaron Burmeister look to be the ones that will battle it out at the wire.  Unless something goes a little sideways, as the next closest musher, Brent Sass, has a 2 hour gap to close.  

It could be a photo finish, and Iditarod.com says to look for a 4am Alaska time answer to this days-long question.  Someone could literally win by a nose, as it is the musher who's lead dog's nose crosses the line first claims the ultimate mushing prize.  Assuming the musher can produce all the race required gear to officials at the end.

That, of course, will by no means be the end of the 2021 Iditarod.  The twins will be covering a lot of treacherous trail after the leave Rohn, and I will be watching their GPS trackers closely to see how they're moving along.  The glacier out of Rohn and clambering back up the Gorge until they hit Rainy Pass, the highest point in the race as it crosses the Alaska Range.  And then back down the other side, which includes a return trip through the Happy River Steps.

If their run up the mountain goes well, they may only make a quick stop in Rainy Pass before running on to camp in Finger Lake.  Finger to Skwentna will be a manageable 40 mile jaunt, where they will also take their final 8hr mandatory rest.

Stay tuned for more updates!  I also highly recommend the Iditarod Insider videos of the twins first mushing into McGrath and then a longer detailed interview before they caught naps during their 8hr. 

A few screenshots to give you a taste. 

    

Race Update 5.0 - Old, New, Borrowed, & Blue

3/13/2021

 
Mushers and their dog teams have now been out on the Iditarod trail for some 5 days 22 hours and change.  Thirty-eight of the original forty-six entrants are still racing, with veterans Rick Casillo, Riley Dyche, and Pete Kaiser stepping out of the race and bringing our scratch tally to eight mushers.  It's not yet 11am Saturday morning in Alaska, and GPS has Dallas Seavey leading the pack at race mile 655, out of Nikolai south and closing in on Rohn.  The current red lantern, or musher in last place, is out of Iditarod and mushing at race mile 477 as of this post.  All teams have seen the end of head-on traffic in this year's race.

Anna, Kristy, and their pups ran through the morning Friday after leaving Iditarod, stopping to camp as anticipated on the way to Ophir.  Checking GPS periodically, it looked to me that they camped for about four hours and around 4:30pm were moving along the trail again.  They pulled into Ophir around 10pm Friday night, gave the dogs a solid six and a half hour rest, and hit the trail again in the wee hours Saturday morning around 4:30am.  Kristy pulled out in 27th place, Anna in 28th, and they each retained their 12 and 11 dogs, respectively.

They mushed along for a little over 5 hours, hopefully enjoying a nice sunrise over the mountains, and their first time traveling due east during the Iditarod, despite the lingering sub-zero temps.  They were reported into McGrath, race mile 553 on the return, around 9:45am with temps still hovering around -16F.  Kristy was reported in 24th, Anna in 25th.

If the twins don't stay long in McGrath, expect to see them run 15 miles or so past checkpoint and then stop for a decent trailside camp.  If they do stay in McGrath, and their GPS trackers aren't moving again after 5 hours or so, they may very well be taking their 8-hour.  They are two of only twelve mushers yet to reflect completion of both 24 and 8 hour variable choice rests.  That could leave them racing to play a lot of catch up if they hope to be in sniffing distance of a top-twenty finish.  Or it could leave them with really fresh, well rested dog teams that eat up the trail as they cover familiar territory and everybody realizes they're less than 300 miles from home.

Of course I'm hoping for the latter.  And it worked well before... in 2019, I anxiously watched the twins delay their 8hr until Kaltag, over 700 miles into that year's race.  This was later than they had taken this rest before, and they were again in the minority of teams waiting until that late point to do so.  But then they went on to have their best finishes to date in 16th and 17th place.  I sure hope that strategy works as well for them again.

When it comes to "old" strategy, I'd like to think of it more as "tried and true."  You always have to try new things, but sometimes when you know something has succeeded in the past, recycling a similar notion or approach is a reasonable play.  What else is old, new, borrowed or blue for Seeing Double this year?

Obviously the twins running together along the trail is a very familiar sight.  I know some race commentators, and likely some fans, would enjoy seeing them run very different races simultaneously, but that just isn't how it's worked out.  Maybe it's an identical twin thing, maybe it's being from the same kennel and it's a deeper pack mentality than we know.  Whatever the case may be, this Mad Blogger is a-ok with it.  They should be proud of demonstrating what sisters and family and best friends can do together year after year.

Also worthy of the tried-and-true category?  The dogs on both Kristy and Anna's team that are proudly Iditarod veterans.  When the twins left the start, eighteen of the total twenty-four dogs between them were Iditarod vets.  The experience and stamina these dogs bring to the team is extremely valuable.  Another thing?  Depending on an older camera with a removable, replaceable battery instead of your cell phone for taking pictures, when it promises to be wicked cold with power outlets few and far between.  That's what Kristy planned for this year.  

And if you're looking for a bit more weekend reading, here are some links to articles from a bit earlier in the race or season:

Women of the Iditarod from KNOM has a great pre-race twin pic.
Alaska Public Media has a fun article featuring first a picture of Anna and later quotes from both twins.
Clothing company Filson did some work with the twins in 2020 and has a very informative article featuring Kristy and Anna modeling some of their outdoor ware.

Moving right along... what's NEW this year?  Plenty that you're already read about, from the trail route to checkpoints to rest rules to head-on traffic.  Everything to do with Covid-19 is new.  I'm sure the twins never dreamed they'd need and want to pack extra face masks and gators for that purpose.  A new development in the race's Covid protocols since the event began is each musher getting a second Covid test in McGrath on the return.  I've already talked about the sit-down sleds the twins are trying for the first time this year in the Iditarod, and you met the 10 dogs in total running as Iditarod rookies with the twins this year.  All of this is new to them!  

What else is new?  I posted earlier about winter gear, and the twins are running with boots and arctic parkas that are new to them with respect to use in the Iditarod.  They fashioned new headlights of sorts onto their sled handlebars.  These are used in addition to the headlamps both Kristy and Anna wear and allow a beam of light to remain focused in front of the dogs no matter where or what the twins might turn their gaze to.  It is also a new moon tonight, so this year's teams have seen little to no moonlight during their travels at night.  Lastly, the twins made a change to their gangline so that they're now using plastic toggles to secure tug lines and other adjustable and removable components rather than brass snaps.  Not only are the plastic toggles materially lighter in weight, they don't have springs to ice up and freeze, greatly increasing ease of use.

And borrowed?  Yep, there's a few things in this category too.  I believe the twins mentioned that they borrowed their sit-down sleds from fellow musher Nic Petit.  And I would like to borrow a quote from him, too.  He said something to the effect of, "I'm not racing.  This is just a trip I take each year."  I think that's a fine way to approach this event, or even your annual vacation.  Have fun, be safe.  Try to make it the best trip ever, but if something goes awry, just make the best of it as you can.  Make memories, and remember there will be another trip next year.   Oh, and be sure to travel with as many dogs as you can!

Which leaves me all tangled up in blue!  Seeing Double blue!  The box on the dog truck, Kristy's sled, Anna's preferred bondi band.  Blue lines in the rainbow connecting the dog team.  Blue indicators for musher GPS trackers when they're both running and on the return portion of this year's loop trail.  And Alaska's rugged, beautiful landscape under blue, blue skies.

Wherever you happen to be tracking the Iditarod from, I hope you're seeing some blue skies this weekend.    
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Tangled up in new, blue tug lines.
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Plastic toggles instead of brass snaps - lighter and won't freeze up.

Race Update 4.1 - Seeing Double begins the return

3/12/2021

 
Kristy, Anna, and their dogs arrived in the checkpoint of Iditarod at 3:30am Friday morning. They spent 5 hours 50 minutes in checkpoint giving the dogs a good long rest, I'm sure a very necessary thing after an exceptionally cold night on the trail and before the long 80 mile run back to Ophir.  They pulled out around 9:20am and joined those mushers already on the return half of this year's trail.

Anna was reported out in 27th place with 11 dogs in front of her sled after opting to return one more furry friend from Iditarod.  Kristy was out in 28th and retained her 12 dogs.  During a long distance, multi-day event like this, the twins will rarely run the dogs more than 60 miles at a shot before stopping to give them a longer (4-6 hour) rest.  This will almost certainly be the case on the return 80 mile stretch to Ophir.  I just don't know where, exactly, the twins might stop along the trail.  They left me a really great diagram with their run/rest plan for this year, but only the first half of the race was laid out with any degree of certainty.  

There were whispers before the race started that there was at least a chance that the 20 mile Flat loop at Iditarod would get shortened or scrapped.  So the twins suspected early on that they would have to make a lot of game time decisions during the second half of the race.  But they sensibly planned for some of the more likely changes, so the diagram I received reads very much like a 'choose your own adventure' book.  Anyone else remember those?  I had a couple as a kid, and I loved them.  Every few chapters of the story, you were presented with two options... if you wanted the character to proceed like this, go to Page X; if you want the character to make this choice, go to Page Y; and then the story proceeded accordingly.  I read these books over and over, trying different choices, each time ultimately arriving at the end of the story in a slightly different fashion.

That's basically where I'm at both deciphering and writing about what the twins are most likely to do next.  The closer they camp to Ophir (mile 512 on the return), the less likely they are to take an extended rest in Ophir.  That said, they also have to declare and take their 8-hour rest before or, at the latest, in Rohn.  When we spoke with them on Wednesday, they were still not yet sure where they would take this rest.  I wouldn't be too surprised, though, if they waited until McGrath or even Nikolai to take this other rest.  I doubt they'll wait until Rohn, though.  Running up and over the Alaska Range is one heckuva undertaking, but the twins have to keep in mind they have their final required 8hr rest on the other side, in Skwentna.

Whatever they decide to do, this Mad Blogger will be here adding commentary to accompany their journey.  Sure, I might be making a lot of it up as I go, but that's kinda been my approach to life so far.  Why quit now....!  

A couple other interesting notes before I wrap up this post... First, I love Iditarod volunteers.  Not only because they help make this event possible, but also because they are often the source of great stories during the race.  Case in point - I recently ran across a brief story from the Skwentna checkpoint.  Volunteer Doug Ramsey, of Wyoming, stepped in with a couple Alaska State Troopers to save the day when two young brothers got into trouble on the Skwentna River, one falling into the water and nearly getting drug under the ice.  Kudos, Doug, for your quick thinking and selfless actions.  That is exactly the spirit that the Iditarod is created around.

The other thing I simply have to comment on, especially in light of my recent Special Feature on cold weather gear.  Man oh man, did they need all that gear recently!  I watched a couple of the Iditarod Insider interviews this morning from Ophir.  When Joar pulled into this checkpoint around 6:30am Friday, it was 52 below zero!  Ambient air temp!  Every musher they talked to was frost covered, from eyelashes to neck gator.  One musher heard the current temp and speculated he must have seen at least -60 out on the trail overnight.  Dios mio.  I mean, that's just silly.

Mushers are likely to continue to face extreme cold for the next couple days, but then things are scheduled to "warm up" (relatively speaking, of course).  Chances for precipitation increase along with temps Sunday into Monday, and mushers could be back in the realm of +10 to 20F for daytime highs.    But for now, the Iditarod Weather Center link has the Ophir/McGrath checkpoint approaching noon Alaska time with a temp of only -9F.

Happy Friday, armchair mushers.  Have yourselves a lovely little weekend, but don't stray too far!  Mushers and their dogs will continue to move down the trail and aren't taking the weekend off.  Neither is your Mad Blogger.

​

Race Update 4.0 - Incoming!

3/11/2021

 
Anna and Kristy pulled into Ophir, race mile 352, a little after 7:30am Thursday.  Their initial tentative plan did not have them staying in this checkpoint for long.  Then again, that initial plan also included the 20 mile loop out to Flat and left open variables for weather, the dogs' needs, and a whole lot of unpredictable miscellaneous.  

Whatever the logic behind it, the twins did ultimately rest in Ophir for nearly four and a quarter hours.  They pulled their snow hooks around 11:50 am, and they both left with 12 dogs each.  So at least that alleviates the concern that their change in plan was indicative of a problem with a dog.

They seemed to have really good speed along the trail, and I spotted them cruising along at over 9mph at mile 400, forty-eight miles from their last stop.  They pulled over for a trailside camp shortly thereafter at mile 403.  I'm sure they'll feed the dogs and let them rest for a good 4 hours or a little more before mushing the remaining 29 miles or so of the 80-mile stretch to the checkpoint of Iditarod.

And this may ultimately prove wise planning, as not long after they're hunkered down they'll see their first incoming team on the return southern route of this year's race.  Dallas Seavey was the first musher to leave Iditarod and begin the return trip just before 3pm Thursday, and I could see his tracker within miles of the twins.

I'll be very curious to hear musher accounts later on both their own and their dogs' reactions to head on traffic.  It's a new phenomenon in the Iditarod.  The twins didn't think it would be a big deal, and might even give the dogs a little pep from seeing another dog team.  Plus there are lots of mushers around their home base in Willow/Knik using the trails, and meeting another incoming team is fairly routine.

Race rules were modified to account for this as it pertains to passing rules and trail etiquette.  The bottom line is the returning team headed south has the right of way.  Outbound teams yield to them.  When dealing with one-lane trail, this will probably prove a bit of a nuisance, but not nearly to the degree it would if they were on heavily tree-lined trail or hills.  This section of trail is reasonably flat, open, and it sounds like it has good snow, and it's really the only section of trail that will feasibly see much mush two-way traffic.

And we have one less team on the trail.  Rookie Christopher Parker scratched in McGrath feeling it was in the best interests of his dogs.  That leaves 41 mushers on the trail, with the trailing couple of mushers in McGrath.  With Dallas at mile 473, that gives a current spread to the field of 162 race miles.

​

Race Update 3.1 - AN hour from Ophir

3/11/2021

 
It's going on 7am Thursday morning in Alaska and mushers have now been on the trail for 3 days and almost 17 hours.  GPS trackers have both Anna and Kristy mushing near mile 345, putting them about an hour out of Rohn, race mile 352.  Recall that I do not expect them to spend much time within Ophir itself, but rather will resupply and address anything with respect to the dogs before mushing out to near mile 372 for their next trailside campout as they make their point to the halfway point of Iditarod.

Official race standings do show the twins checking promptly out of McGrath with their 24s complete and 12 dogs on the line each on either side of 2:30am.  Anna was reported out in 26th place with Kristy in 27th.

The front of the pack is in Iditarod (race mile 432), with Brent Sass the first to arrive there around 6pm Wednesday evening.  He was the proud winner of the GCI Dorothy G. Page Halfway Award.  The back of the pack is into McGrath and likely satisfying one of their mandatory rest requirements.  On that front, plenty of mushers now show having completed one of those two rests, and four mushers have actually completed them both - including Ryan Redington, who's name has been at the front of the leader board for most of this race.  Certainly a guy to keep an eye on.

We have had two additional withdrawals from the race since I last updated that metric.  Rookie Brenda Mackey and veteran racer Gunnar Johnson are both out of the race.  Brenda made the decision in Nikolai feeling it was in the best interests of her dog team.  Gunnar was regrettably withdrawn by race officials after testing positive for Covid-19 in McGrath.  Per race protocols, he was first tested with a rapid antigen test and when that came back positive, he received two additional molecular-based tests which also came back positive for the virus.  The multiple tests rule out instances of false positives.  Iditarod is following the remainder of their protocols per race officials with respect to isolating Johnson, safely transporting him back to Anchorage, and performing contact tracing.  

Safe and swift travels to both mushers and their dogs as they make their way back to their home kennels.

This leaves us with 42 mushers on the 2021 Iditarod trail.  And it's turning out to be a slightly shorter trail that initially planned, with race officials opting to remove the Flat loop from the race trail due to excessive snow in the region.  With the Flat loop removed, mushers will ultimately race approximately 832 miles in total by the time they've returned to Deshka Landing.

Special feature - Oh baby it's cold outside

3/10/2021

 
Participants in the Iditarod, from volunteers to staff to mushers, know all too well how the weather, and particularly temperatures, can fluctuate in the Alaska interior in early March.  And some of those fluctuations bring frigidly cold temps.  Even a little bit of wind can take cold temps from daunting to downright dangerous thanks to the good ol' windchill factor.  Frostbite of exposed skin can happen in minutes, and keeping those extremities like fingers and toes toasty is no small task.

I can understand why that level of cold, -20F to -40F, or even just below zero Fahrenheit, is simply unfathomable to some folks.  If you live in the southern United States, for example, getting below freezing is a rare occurrence, let alone seeing actual snow or sustained cold temps.  My heart goes out to those folks in Texas and other areas that recently experienced such unexpected cold and the consequences that can come with it, like power outages and frozen pipes.  Lives were lost.  Cold is a most powerful beast.

We had a stretch of bitter cold in northern Wisconsin earlier this year - to the point that we got excited when afternoon highs hit single digits ("look, mom!  it's +5F!!").  That's a standard winter up here, though.  In addition to propane, we have a couple wood stoves and a robust stack of firewood.  We have spent years accumulating winter stuff - sweaters, jackets, boots, gloves and hats.  Even our dogs have closet space for winter gear.  I kinda doubt too many folks in Houston or Austin say that.

Which is my longwinded segue into a brief foray into the gear Kristy and Anna use for themselves out on the trail.  I could do a whole other feature on gear for the amazing pups, but you have to agree - the twins have to take care of themselves in order to best take care of the dogs.  So here are some Cold Weather Gear Tips for Humans, courtesy of two of your favorite mushing humans.

Smart Layers according to anticipated conditions.  In Iditarod, that amounts to just about anything.  If you're not overly sensitive to wool, the twins like quality wool base layers (like Smartwool / Merino wool) for their quick drying, lightweight, breathable properties.  Top that with a winter-weight vest and/or fleece.  Next, a lighter down jacket layer provides great insulation, and can be easily removed and tightly packed away if things warm up.  Finally, any chance of wind and/or water requires an outer shell with proper resistance.  To that end, long live Gortex.

For the kind of -40F crazy cold that mushers can face, you also need an arctic parka.  These down-filled wonders are often advertised as having been field tested in the coldest places on earth.  I think Alaska qualifies?! 

If it's gonna get wet, pack multiples of it.  This goes for neck gators, gloves, and socks in particular.  If packing multiples isn't possible or practical, make sure your core item is quick-drying.

There's a whole new generation of chemical warmers out there (Grabber HotHands is nprobably the most widely recognized).  Anna and Kristy said they have hand and foot warmers, toe warmers, and apparently they even make body patch warmers now?!  I missed the memo.  In any case, if you're going to spend that much time outside in those conditions, you'd want to have them.

 And if you're spending that much time outside, including sleeping, you must have an arctic grade sleeping bag.  This is both an Iditarod race rule and the only way to sleep outside on the snow and not freeze your bits off.  Another key item the twins always carry is a sleeping pad.  Today's options compact pretty small for traveling along the trail and save a great deal of body heat when you finally are able to catch a few Zzzs.

Last, but oh so very far from least - Respect the Foot.  Keeping your feet warm and dry is paramount.  This year, particularly with all the overflow, the twins are really happy to be wearing two things.  An overboot by Neos.  It's insulated, waterproof, and 15" tall with an additional 5" extendible gator.  Weighing in at only 3.3 pounds, they're rated to -20F and the twins' model of choice has replaceable studded soles.  The second is a Lobben boot.  Developed in Norway, these boots are made of boiled compressed felted wool with a sole that can be worn alone or with the aforementioned overboot in extreme cold or wet conditions.  If kept dry, the Lobben alone is rated to -49F and the natural lanolin of the wool repels some water while still remaining breathable.

The other thing that really helps in the cold is to keep moving.  Keeping your heart rate up at reasonable levels and the blood flowing does keep you worm.  Why do you think you naturally stamp your feet and rub your arms when you're cold?  The twins do this by pedaling or even running behind the dog sled (although they do have those new sit-down sleds now.... I wonder if that's changed much?!).
  
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See all those layers? And this is at the start when it's "warm" out.
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Lobben compressed wool boots.
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Neos ultimate arctic boot.
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3 Days In, then word from the twins!

3/10/2021

 
I never know if, or when, I might hear from the twins during Iditarod in the years since they have allowed two-way communication during the race. I know reception, time, time differences, battery life, and most importantly dog care and their own need for rest - and probably a whole host of other things - play into it. Not to mention vying for their attention with mom, Aunt Judy & Rick, Kristy's husband Andy, and a whole host of friends and relations.

But for the first time, this Mad Blogger is hunkered down pandemic-styles with our mom on the old family farm in northern Wisconsin during the Iditarod. And I think I just got a taste of the benefits of BOGO that the twins often enjoy, as we got a phone call from them a little earlier from McGrath! It's tough to balance the intimate sisterly concern I feel for them with the amateur reporter's desire to get the scoop. But I did my best, and after frantic note taking, here's the skinny direct from the twins on the trail!

The twins are taking their 24, as I surmised. Musher accommodation in McGrath this year is in a small airplane hanger, with enough space for mushers to spread out safely and rest but offers no privacy. So our brief conversation was in the hushed tones warranted when you don't want to wake or otherwise annoy your fellow mushers. This was the first time the twins have been inside of a true building since leaving home before the race started.

Net net, they both sounded good! Kristy said she feels good overall and has had a bit of fun so far. Or, at least as much fun as one can have dealing with lots of overflow - knee deep in places. If you're unfamiliar, overflow is generally open standing water on or along rivers, creek crossings, or in warm temps when snow has melted but a lower ice layer or frozen ground doesn't leave it anywhere to go. They saw temps of 25 below zero Fahrenheit Tuesday night, so you can imagine getting wet any time before or after that is seriously unwanted. But both Kristy and Anna incorporated new boots to their racing gear this year, and that has made all the difference (more on that soon in a Cold Weather Gear feature!).

Every musher is getting a fresh Covid-19 test in McGrath, and both twins had gotten their negative result by the time we spoke.

As far as trail commentary goes, in addition to the overflow... Kristy's most recent memory was the most poignant. She didn't mention the early trail, or the Happy River Steps, or problems in the Farewell Burn. But the Gorge, and the trail into Rohn? Whoa boy. "Super super rough" go of it coming into Rohn. Like most mushers I've seen thoughts and commentary from, this section was a doozie the first time, and no one is looking forward to the return venture.

Both twins are pleased with their sit-down sled choice this year. Nothing broke over the treacherous trail down the Happy River Steps or the Gorge. The reserve sleds they shipped to McGrath are their standing-room-only former racing sleds. For now, they intend to stick with the sit-down sleds, but if anything happens or they want a sled with a little less caboose for the return trip, they are able to swap into their older model of sleds on their return trip through McGrath.

Even though we had limited time, they had plenty to say about the dogs. Everyone still on the team, 12 dogs each, are doing really good. They're managing well in the trail conditions and have not been adversely impacted by encounters with overflow. Overall, the dogs' appetite has been good, but perhaps just shy of the ideal voracity. Don't get me wrong - I was left with every impression the dogs are eating great. But great enough to shorten rests or pick up speed intentionally...? That sounded debatable.

On the two dogs each that the twins have returned home at this point ~ We already knew Kristy returned Rampage for a sore shoulder and he's rampaging about the kennel as I type. We didn't know that her second return was Amp, the 5 year old on loan from Travis Beals. Amp seemed like his normal self overall, but he didn't want to pull on the line consistently. As this can be indicative of another brewing problem, and isn't part of the ideal team effort, Kristy made the conservative decision to return him at Nikolai.

Previously, I didn't have any info at all on Anna's returned dogs. Now I know that she opted to return Dane, the 5 year old on loan from Ryan Redington, due to a slight but nagging cough. Again, an abundance of caution in the decision. The other dog she has returned so far is Randy, a 2 year old Seeing Double dog making his rookie Iditarod appearance. He had a bit of a sore wrist, and that isn't something Anna wanted to push an issue with.

Unless something changes during the remainder of their 24, I don't expect them to return any dogs from this checkpoint. I also know that Kristy is particularly happy that both Mayhem and Havoc are having a good race, as they've been doing a stellar job in lead a majority of the race thus far. They did a great job finding trail when it was unclear, and powering through overflow that was a little too in their faces!

A couple other tidbits...

Anna was traveling a bit behind Kristy on the stretch between Rainy Pass and Rohn, and she was mushing near Aliy. In fact, Aliy was actually behind Anna coming down the Gorge, but at the "bottom" they were able to exchange some comments. The sentiment was, "We did it! That was fun!" But my use of scare quotes calling the bottom of the Gorge was on purpose, because there's apparently an abundance of rough trail even when you think you're done with the drop, and a tricky glacial stretch to contend with. It wouldn't be right for me to impart too many 3rd hand details, but the gist of it seems Anna got hung up on some ice or drift wood, Aily made sure she was ok and passed. Then Aliy may have tipped her sled or caught on the same sort of drift, but righted it, waved, and mushed on. It's unclear if that tip or another later on was the ultimate impact that ended Aliy's race, and the 3 minutes that separated Aliy and Anna arriving in Rohn isn't talking. But both twins were thrilled to hear news reports that Aliy was out of hospital and heading home soon. I know they have always looked up to her and are amazed by her mushing prowess.

The other tidbit I will share before turning to work on a blog special feature on Cold Weather Gear... look for Kristy and Anna's GPS trackers to hit the trail again out of McGrath around 2:30am AK time Thursday morning. Their "24" checks will be marked and the team will be well rested to tackle the 41 miles to Ophir, where I expect to see them resupply briefly before covering another 20-ish miles past Ophir and hunkering down for a trailside campout of 4-5 hours.
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Why are they resting any more than 24 hours to the minute? The 24 hour rest is also used by race officials to adjust each musher's time given the 2 minute interval start. Thus, the last musher to start the race (in this case, Bib 48, Victoria Hardwick) is the only one to take a true 24. Each other musher has to take 24 hours plus 2 minutes for each musher that started behind him or her. Life may not be fair, but race rules do their best to equalize the easy stuff.


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Sleep deprived selfie from McGrath!!
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