As of Saturday afternoon, teams have been on the trail for 5 days and 4 hours. It looks like 20 of the 28 mushers currently in the race have successfully checked off their 24. The top 12 in the standings are on that list, but so are the 5 rookies at the back of the pack. And it looks like they all stayed in Galena, which means they pull out of that checkpoint with about 750 miles of trail still ahead.
Jessie Holmes is currently in the lead around mile 540, on the southern stretch between Eagle Island-1 and Grayling-1. Rookie Calvin Daugherty comes off his 24 in Galena and around mile 372. That puts our lead-lag spread at 168 miles.
Anna pulled out of Nulato around 10pm Friday night, running the 36 miles to Kaltag-1 in 5 hours and arriving at 3am Saturday morning. She declared her 24, got the dogs bedded down and fed, met with vets, checked over each dog and lavished them with massages. She finally got some food for herself and a much needed nap.
She was repeating that routine for the 3rd or 4th time, halfway through her 24, when she was able to make a quick call. We only got to talk for as long as it took for her water to boil for the dogs’ stew, but it was great to hear her voice.
Anna said the winds were picking up, but otherwise it was reasonably comfortable outside. She talked about how she’s making some modifications to her run/rest schedule on the fly, having realized that the big, long runs that had worked well in the past weren’t suited to this year. She’ll be cutting runs from 50-60 miles, or even a little longer, to 45ish mile runs and keeping rests frequent and in line with the amount of time they spend running.
She said the dogs have been eating really, really well. Their appetites have really kicked in. She offered them some sheep and they gobbled it up. She has also been using canned cat food occasionally to make a nice gravy to pour over their kibble. Have you ever met a dog that didn’t like cat food?!
Anna went through her Kaltag-1 and Kaltag-2 drop bags, getting everything organized so that when she comes back through this checkpoint on the return she won’t have to sort through things again. Mushers have access to a round house with a big wood stove and some cots. So Anna was able to hang the dogs’ primary jackets inside to make sure they’re thoroughly dry. She did the same with the dogs’ harnesses. She packed extra dog jackets for just this reason, so the pups still have jackets to wear while they’re resting in their straw beds.
Otherwise, this checkpoint is pretty shy of additional amenities. But Anna packed lots of food both for the dogs and herself, so she’s fairing just fine. She’s been nibbling her way through tuna fish pouches and crackers, meat and cheese, peanut butter and jelly, noodle bowls, some dried mango, as well as candy and some cereal bars. Mad Blogger sent Anna a variety of caffeinated goodies (mints, Awake chocolate, and some energy cookies). Anna said the energy cookies are really good! Plus, Anna gave up caffeine for 10 days prior to the restart, so the caffeine now packs a better punch.
Having watched the Iditarod Insider video of drone footage out on the Yukon showing teams passing by a disturbingly large hole of open water, I asked Anna if she had already encountered it. She’s pretty sure she did, about 2 miles past Nulato. First she saw the drone, and then she saw a well lit section of trail ahead. Of course when she got there, Insider was set up getting footage. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy getting shots from the trail. But no one warned mushers about what was ahead, perhaps setting them up for more dramatic video when they encountered it. Shady? Perhaps. Just this Mad Blogger’s opinion, though.
Anna will spend the rest of her 24 caring for the dogs. Regular hot meals and lots of massages and love. And a couple more naps for herself before she hits the trail out of Kaltag-1 around 3:45am Sunday. Watch for Anna to run 42 miles south of Kaltag-1, camp trailside for 4-5 hours, run the next 24 miles or so to Eagle Island-1, stop briefly to resupply and then run another 18 miles or so to another trailside campout. From that camp, she’ll run another 42 mile stretch and then rest within Grayling-1.
I mentioned the drone footage of the open water on the Yukon, and that’s one of several videos worth watching on Iditarod Insider. There is an edition of "Run Dogs Run", featuring close-ups of the dogs traveling out on the trail. There’s a short interview with Anna from Kaltag-1 where she says hi to everyone at home (including the cats!). Race commentator Greg Heister also gave fans an update from Kaltag-1. Anna’s dog team is one of the one’s bedded down behind him.
Greg also elaborated on the trail conditions from Kaltag-1 to Eagle Island-1. It’s probably best I watched this after talking to Anna, as she will get the latest trail and weather updates out there when she’s ready to hit the trail. But from what Greg said, this section of trail sounds pretty nasty. It’s a really rough, challenging trail, he reported. There’s glare ice, some water overflow. It’s a bouncy, bumpy, slippery trail. Iditarod veteran Paige Drobny, who finished in 5th place last year and has been near or at the front of the pack for most of this race, allegedly said the run from K-1 to EI-1 is now on her top 10 list of worst trails she’s ever mushed, and this is her 10th year on the Iditarod trail.
A couple other updates before I wrap this post up… Kristy let me know that both Maverick and Ruckus have joined teammate Elmer back at the Seeing Double kennel in Knik. All 3 dogs are doing great. In fact, the vets at pick-up were surprised Maverick and Ruckus had been returned at all, as they seemed very healthy and very feisty.
Finally, on a sad note, news outlets published updates with respect to rookie Daniel Klein, who scratched recently in Galena. Contrary to Iditarod’s initial press release (unless I overlooked this important detail), Klein did not simply scratch. He scratched pursuant to Iditarod Rule 42, which applies when a musher has a dog die during the race. Apparently the 4 year old dog named Ventana on Klein’s team collapsed 8 miles outside of Galena and attempts to revive or resuscitate the dog out on the trail were unsuccessful. The dog was flown back to Anchorage immediately after and a necropsy (canine autopsy) was performed. Thus far, the only unexpected finding was Ventana was pregnant.
This is a terribly sad development. The twins have never had a dog expire while racing and I cannot imagine the sadness and grief for the musher, kennel, and anyone who knew Ventana.
This Mad Blogger will be back with more updates after Anna and her team resume running down the trail. Here are some pics Anna sent from the trail so far. And one screen shot of Anna during her interview in Kaltag-1.
Jessie Holmes is currently in the lead around mile 540, on the southern stretch between Eagle Island-1 and Grayling-1. Rookie Calvin Daugherty comes off his 24 in Galena and around mile 372. That puts our lead-lag spread at 168 miles.
Anna pulled out of Nulato around 10pm Friday night, running the 36 miles to Kaltag-1 in 5 hours and arriving at 3am Saturday morning. She declared her 24, got the dogs bedded down and fed, met with vets, checked over each dog and lavished them with massages. She finally got some food for herself and a much needed nap.
She was repeating that routine for the 3rd or 4th time, halfway through her 24, when she was able to make a quick call. We only got to talk for as long as it took for her water to boil for the dogs’ stew, but it was great to hear her voice.
Anna said the winds were picking up, but otherwise it was reasonably comfortable outside. She talked about how she’s making some modifications to her run/rest schedule on the fly, having realized that the big, long runs that had worked well in the past weren’t suited to this year. She’ll be cutting runs from 50-60 miles, or even a little longer, to 45ish mile runs and keeping rests frequent and in line with the amount of time they spend running.
She said the dogs have been eating really, really well. Their appetites have really kicked in. She offered them some sheep and they gobbled it up. She has also been using canned cat food occasionally to make a nice gravy to pour over their kibble. Have you ever met a dog that didn’t like cat food?!
Anna went through her Kaltag-1 and Kaltag-2 drop bags, getting everything organized so that when she comes back through this checkpoint on the return she won’t have to sort through things again. Mushers have access to a round house with a big wood stove and some cots. So Anna was able to hang the dogs’ primary jackets inside to make sure they’re thoroughly dry. She did the same with the dogs’ harnesses. She packed extra dog jackets for just this reason, so the pups still have jackets to wear while they’re resting in their straw beds.
Otherwise, this checkpoint is pretty shy of additional amenities. But Anna packed lots of food both for the dogs and herself, so she’s fairing just fine. She’s been nibbling her way through tuna fish pouches and crackers, meat and cheese, peanut butter and jelly, noodle bowls, some dried mango, as well as candy and some cereal bars. Mad Blogger sent Anna a variety of caffeinated goodies (mints, Awake chocolate, and some energy cookies). Anna said the energy cookies are really good! Plus, Anna gave up caffeine for 10 days prior to the restart, so the caffeine now packs a better punch.
Having watched the Iditarod Insider video of drone footage out on the Yukon showing teams passing by a disturbingly large hole of open water, I asked Anna if she had already encountered it. She’s pretty sure she did, about 2 miles past Nulato. First she saw the drone, and then she saw a well lit section of trail ahead. Of course when she got there, Insider was set up getting footage. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy getting shots from the trail. But no one warned mushers about what was ahead, perhaps setting them up for more dramatic video when they encountered it. Shady? Perhaps. Just this Mad Blogger’s opinion, though.
Anna will spend the rest of her 24 caring for the dogs. Regular hot meals and lots of massages and love. And a couple more naps for herself before she hits the trail out of Kaltag-1 around 3:45am Sunday. Watch for Anna to run 42 miles south of Kaltag-1, camp trailside for 4-5 hours, run the next 24 miles or so to Eagle Island-1, stop briefly to resupply and then run another 18 miles or so to another trailside campout. From that camp, she’ll run another 42 mile stretch and then rest within Grayling-1.
I mentioned the drone footage of the open water on the Yukon, and that’s one of several videos worth watching on Iditarod Insider. There is an edition of "Run Dogs Run", featuring close-ups of the dogs traveling out on the trail. There’s a short interview with Anna from Kaltag-1 where she says hi to everyone at home (including the cats!). Race commentator Greg Heister also gave fans an update from Kaltag-1. Anna’s dog team is one of the one’s bedded down behind him.
Greg also elaborated on the trail conditions from Kaltag-1 to Eagle Island-1. It’s probably best I watched this after talking to Anna, as she will get the latest trail and weather updates out there when she’s ready to hit the trail. But from what Greg said, this section of trail sounds pretty nasty. It’s a really rough, challenging trail, he reported. There’s glare ice, some water overflow. It’s a bouncy, bumpy, slippery trail. Iditarod veteran Paige Drobny, who finished in 5th place last year and has been near or at the front of the pack for most of this race, allegedly said the run from K-1 to EI-1 is now on her top 10 list of worst trails she’s ever mushed, and this is her 10th year on the Iditarod trail.
A couple other updates before I wrap this post up… Kristy let me know that both Maverick and Ruckus have joined teammate Elmer back at the Seeing Double kennel in Knik. All 3 dogs are doing great. In fact, the vets at pick-up were surprised Maverick and Ruckus had been returned at all, as they seemed very healthy and very feisty.
Finally, on a sad note, news outlets published updates with respect to rookie Daniel Klein, who scratched recently in Galena. Contrary to Iditarod’s initial press release (unless I overlooked this important detail), Klein did not simply scratch. He scratched pursuant to Iditarod Rule 42, which applies when a musher has a dog die during the race. Apparently the 4 year old dog named Ventana on Klein’s team collapsed 8 miles outside of Galena and attempts to revive or resuscitate the dog out on the trail were unsuccessful. The dog was flown back to Anchorage immediately after and a necropsy (canine autopsy) was performed. Thus far, the only unexpected finding was Ventana was pregnant.
This is a terribly sad development. The twins have never had a dog expire while racing and I cannot imagine the sadness and grief for the musher, kennel, and anyone who knew Ventana.
This Mad Blogger will be back with more updates after Anna and her team resume running down the trail. Here are some pics Anna sent from the trail so far. And one screen shot of Anna during her interview in Kaltag-1.
 Wed March 5th, on the Yukon River near Darvin and Brant Islands. |  Anna and her team on a trailside campout on Florence Island on the Yukon River between Tanana and Ruby. Early Thurs. March 6th. |
 Anna hearing Galena Friday, March 7th.  Anna's dog team camped out during their 24 in Kaltag-1 on Saturday, March 8th. |  Anna in Galena Friday, March 7th.  Anna waiving hi while in Kaltag-1. |
