Anna wrapped up her 24 and pulled out of the Ophir checkpoint (race mile 352) at 4:42pm Alaska time Thursday afternoon. She was reported out in 22nd place with 10 dogs in front of her sled. She only stayed 2 minutes more than strictly required by race rules, and I always take it as a good sign that she and her team were raring to hit the trail once again.
I did get a couple of texts from Anna while she was 24'ing. She's doing ok out there, but has admittedly shifted from racing mode to traveling mode. She returned more dogs early in the race than she would have liked, and I know it is weighing on her to have another 623 miles to travel after leaving Ophir. If something happens out there, be it a moose encounter or her dog team picking up a stomach bug, a 10-dog team such as hers leaves less wiggle room to return a dog home but continue traveling ahead safely with the remaining dogs.
This Mad Blogger still has complete faith that she'll make it to Nome, just maybe not in the finishing position she had hoped to achieve.
But that's how things go, right? Not every adventure is a magic carpet ride. The key is to be smart and persevere. When circumstances change, we must change. We play the cards we're dealt.
Anna has adjusted her race strategy on the fly to include more rest for her remaining dogs. Rather than run 50-ish miles between camps, look for her to run 38 miles out of Ophir, camp trailside to give the dogs a good meal and a nap, and then run the remaining 38 miles or so to Cripple (race mile 425). Then she'll give the team a good rest again. The 73 miles between OPH and CPL is the 3rd longest stretch between any checkpoint in the race, and she doesn't want to overtax her team. After that, probably still slightly shorter runs and longer rests. She's taking it one run/rest at a time.
The reason she's taking things one step at a time and not looking too far ahead is likely two fold... If you look too far ahead in an ultra marathon like this, the remaining mileage can just feel too overwhelming. It's like being handed an entire Takotna pie and being told you must consume it all in one sitting. After eating two pieces, you would likely feel pretty full, and starring down at all the pie you still had left to eat would just be too much. You might well just drop the fork right there. Instead, imagine eating your pie once piece at a time. Start with one piece, then have another. Then another. Pretty soon you've eaten half the pie, and then three quarters. Before you know it, you're shaking the final crumbs in your mouth and playing frisbee with the pie tin.
The other reason she's taking things one step at a time is to avoid thinking too much about the forecast. And when Alaska issues a Special Weather Statement, y'all better pay attention. 'Cuz it's no joke. There is nothing at all funny about the conditions predicted by the National Weather Service for the days ahead. Anna sent me a screen shot of the forecast she was referencing, and I nearly fell out of my chair. And I'm a Wisconsin girl, no stranger to winter weather and cold temps. Read for yourself below, and then read it again when you can't believe your own eyes. It's gonna get awfully cold out there.
And, as of this writing, we still have all 38 teams out there on the trail who will face what Mother Nature is handing out. Nic Petit was the first musher to pull out of Cripple (race mile 425) late morning Thursday. GPS tracking still has him in the lead and closing in on Ruby. The next closest mushers, including Travis Beals, Jessie Holmes, and Paige Drobny, were 30 or more miles behind Nic. But - and this is a big but - they're all done with their 24s. Nic hasn't taken his yet. When he finally does, these rested and racing teams will fly on by. But when Nic hits the trail after his 24, will he be doing so with a better rested, faster moving team for the race that remains? Or will it be too little, too late? We shall see. Valid questions to which I have vague speculation but no answers.
What I do have an answer to, and it has been a popular question, is which dogs Anna returned home and how they're doing. I reported earlier that Anna returned Rocky and Zwickel from Rainy Pass, and they have since made it all the way back to the kennel in Knik. Kristy said they are doing great and she isn't seeing any signs of the shoulder soreness that prompted Anna to return them. Anvik, the youngster she returned from Rohn after experiencing some anxiety on glare ice, should be back to the kennel any minute. Which brings me to the three dogs she returned from McGrath: Maverick, Albert, and Fog.
When Anna (or Kristy) is mushing a dog team, they always keep a close eye on each dog's gait. Is a trotter suddenly loping? Is a normally straight-running dog starting to side angle? These are often the earliest clues the twins will get that a problem is brewing. And that is what Anna saw in both Maverick and Albert. Subtle gait changes that were out of character for these two pups. I don't believe either she or the vets she consulted found any obvious cause, but Anna knows these dogs almost as well as she knows her twin. And sustained gait abnormalities is enough for Anna to say, "sorry, pupsters, but here's your plane ticket home." Fog's situation was not too dissimilar. Anna will massage the dogs in each checkpoint and check them for signs of soreness. Fog indicated one of her shoulders wasn't feeling right, and when Anna couldn't work it out sufficiently with rest, massage, and heat, it meant it was time to hand Fog a return plane ticket, too.
As the remaining dogs in transit get back to the Seeing Double kennel, I'll pass along any further updates that I get from Kristy.
The lead-lag spread in this year's field has widened out to 164 miles. We've had one massive moose speed bump. 24s are about done for all teams. Brutally cold weather is moving in. And we're not even four and a half days into the race yet. What next?!
Seeing Double Iditarod 2024 Playlist…
Song 7: On The Road Again by Willie Nelson.
I did get a couple of texts from Anna while she was 24'ing. She's doing ok out there, but has admittedly shifted from racing mode to traveling mode. She returned more dogs early in the race than she would have liked, and I know it is weighing on her to have another 623 miles to travel after leaving Ophir. If something happens out there, be it a moose encounter or her dog team picking up a stomach bug, a 10-dog team such as hers leaves less wiggle room to return a dog home but continue traveling ahead safely with the remaining dogs.
This Mad Blogger still has complete faith that she'll make it to Nome, just maybe not in the finishing position she had hoped to achieve.
But that's how things go, right? Not every adventure is a magic carpet ride. The key is to be smart and persevere. When circumstances change, we must change. We play the cards we're dealt.
Anna has adjusted her race strategy on the fly to include more rest for her remaining dogs. Rather than run 50-ish miles between camps, look for her to run 38 miles out of Ophir, camp trailside to give the dogs a good meal and a nap, and then run the remaining 38 miles or so to Cripple (race mile 425). Then she'll give the team a good rest again. The 73 miles between OPH and CPL is the 3rd longest stretch between any checkpoint in the race, and she doesn't want to overtax her team. After that, probably still slightly shorter runs and longer rests. She's taking it one run/rest at a time.
The reason she's taking things one step at a time and not looking too far ahead is likely two fold... If you look too far ahead in an ultra marathon like this, the remaining mileage can just feel too overwhelming. It's like being handed an entire Takotna pie and being told you must consume it all in one sitting. After eating two pieces, you would likely feel pretty full, and starring down at all the pie you still had left to eat would just be too much. You might well just drop the fork right there. Instead, imagine eating your pie once piece at a time. Start with one piece, then have another. Then another. Pretty soon you've eaten half the pie, and then three quarters. Before you know it, you're shaking the final crumbs in your mouth and playing frisbee with the pie tin.
The other reason she's taking things one step at a time is to avoid thinking too much about the forecast. And when Alaska issues a Special Weather Statement, y'all better pay attention. 'Cuz it's no joke. There is nothing at all funny about the conditions predicted by the National Weather Service for the days ahead. Anna sent me a screen shot of the forecast she was referencing, and I nearly fell out of my chair. And I'm a Wisconsin girl, no stranger to winter weather and cold temps. Read for yourself below, and then read it again when you can't believe your own eyes. It's gonna get awfully cold out there.
And, as of this writing, we still have all 38 teams out there on the trail who will face what Mother Nature is handing out. Nic Petit was the first musher to pull out of Cripple (race mile 425) late morning Thursday. GPS tracking still has him in the lead and closing in on Ruby. The next closest mushers, including Travis Beals, Jessie Holmes, and Paige Drobny, were 30 or more miles behind Nic. But - and this is a big but - they're all done with their 24s. Nic hasn't taken his yet. When he finally does, these rested and racing teams will fly on by. But when Nic hits the trail after his 24, will he be doing so with a better rested, faster moving team for the race that remains? Or will it be too little, too late? We shall see. Valid questions to which I have vague speculation but no answers.
What I do have an answer to, and it has been a popular question, is which dogs Anna returned home and how they're doing. I reported earlier that Anna returned Rocky and Zwickel from Rainy Pass, and they have since made it all the way back to the kennel in Knik. Kristy said they are doing great and she isn't seeing any signs of the shoulder soreness that prompted Anna to return them. Anvik, the youngster she returned from Rohn after experiencing some anxiety on glare ice, should be back to the kennel any minute. Which brings me to the three dogs she returned from McGrath: Maverick, Albert, and Fog.
When Anna (or Kristy) is mushing a dog team, they always keep a close eye on each dog's gait. Is a trotter suddenly loping? Is a normally straight-running dog starting to side angle? These are often the earliest clues the twins will get that a problem is brewing. And that is what Anna saw in both Maverick and Albert. Subtle gait changes that were out of character for these two pups. I don't believe either she or the vets she consulted found any obvious cause, but Anna knows these dogs almost as well as she knows her twin. And sustained gait abnormalities is enough for Anna to say, "sorry, pupsters, but here's your plane ticket home." Fog's situation was not too dissimilar. Anna will massage the dogs in each checkpoint and check them for signs of soreness. Fog indicated one of her shoulders wasn't feeling right, and when Anna couldn't work it out sufficiently with rest, massage, and heat, it meant it was time to hand Fog a return plane ticket, too.
As the remaining dogs in transit get back to the Seeing Double kennel, I'll pass along any further updates that I get from Kristy.
The lead-lag spread in this year's field has widened out to 164 miles. We've had one massive moose speed bump. 24s are about done for all teams. Brutally cold weather is moving in. And we're not even four and a half days into the race yet. What next?!
Seeing Double Iditarod 2024 Playlist…
Song 7: On The Road Again by Willie Nelson.