Mushers have been out on the trail for about one day and seven hours as I write this. The front of the pack is nearing mile 180 and looking forward to the next checkpoint of Tanana (race mile 202). The back of the pack is between miles 120-130, so I’ll give the field a roughy 50 mile spread. All 33 mushers are still racing and no one has scratched.
We last left Anna in Nenana, resting with the dogs. She stayed there for four and a half hours and was on the trail again before 9:30pm with all 16 dogs in front of her sled.
She spent 16 hours 45 minutes on the 85 mile stretch between Nenana and Manley. I think I gave the wrong preview in my last post, but have since gotten a good copy of Anna’s run/rest schedule. About 50 miles into that stretch is the Tolovana Roadhouse, and it was serving as a hospitality stop this year. No drop bags were sent to this spot, so Anna was traveling with most of what she needed. But there was a good spot to camp the dogs, she had access to water to make their supper, and there was even food for humans and a place to get warm and take a nap. Anna sent me a quick text and said it was “full service!” It was sunny and just below 0F.
Anna camped at this oasis for about 6 hours and then hit the trail, covering the 35 miles to Manley and arriving just after 2pm Tuesday. She didn’t stay long before mushing about 15 miles beyond the checkpoint to camp with the dogs. After a 5 hour camp, give or take, she’ll mush the remaining 50 miles to Tanana and give the dogs another 6ish hour rest.
A couple folks noticed that Anna pulled into Nenana with at least one dog riding in her sled basket. Shoshanna and maybe one other? No need for concern. Both dogs were fine. Anna was just giving them a little break and getting ready to change the dog placement on her gangline.
That is one thing Anna will be doing this year that she hasn’t in the past - she will be rotating dogs a bit more on the line and giving them periodic rests in her sled basket. She is towing a small, green trailer sled, affectionately referred to as the ‘bebops’, and can transfer some of her gear to that and make more room in her primary sled bag for a couple dogs to take a ride.
This strategy has been used by mushers on and off for a few years. Anna found it a far more interesting proposition for this Fairbanks-to-Nome route. The first third of the traditional route is extremely technical and involves crossing the Alaska range, and Anna didn’t want to throw a trailer into that mix. But this year’s route is predominantly river running, making a little bebops pretty handy.
Also note that Anna returned one dog home when she made her brief stop in Manley. Kristy let me know that Elmer has reluctantly been sidelined after he developed a mild cough. Nothing of major concern, and he’ll be double checked by vets. But given the potential for extreme weather and shear magnitude of this event, a mild cough can turn into a bigger respiratory issue, and that is never a risk the twins are willing to take.
Kristy will be notified when Elmer is flown back to Anchorage and she will go pick him up and settle him back in at the kennel.
For everyone still out on the trail, the weather looks very benign in the near future. Arguably too warm by Alaska Husky standards, with daytime highs in the low 30s and lows maybe in the teens. Probably chillier with the forecasted winds of 10-15mph and cloudy skies, especially on the river.
Mushers will transition from the Tanana River to the mighty Yukon River as they pass the checkpoint of Tanana. The Yukon is over a mile wide in some places, and I can only half imagine the landscapes and vistas mushers see out there. Mushers will be traveling on it from Tanana, all the way over to Kaltag, south to Anvik, and then ultimately all the way back up to Kaltag before leaving the Yukon for the coast.
I hope you got to check out Anna’s dog team biography in a prior post, and here are some pictures that have trickled in. Some from Anna’s Iditarider Lesley at the start, some from Kristy in Nenana, and some from Anna herself out on the trail.
Back with more race updates as teams continue down the trail.
Footnote: to the best of my knowledge... No, there was no banana. Yet.
We last left Anna in Nenana, resting with the dogs. She stayed there for four and a half hours and was on the trail again before 9:30pm with all 16 dogs in front of her sled.
She spent 16 hours 45 minutes on the 85 mile stretch between Nenana and Manley. I think I gave the wrong preview in my last post, but have since gotten a good copy of Anna’s run/rest schedule. About 50 miles into that stretch is the Tolovana Roadhouse, and it was serving as a hospitality stop this year. No drop bags were sent to this spot, so Anna was traveling with most of what she needed. But there was a good spot to camp the dogs, she had access to water to make their supper, and there was even food for humans and a place to get warm and take a nap. Anna sent me a quick text and said it was “full service!” It was sunny and just below 0F.
Anna camped at this oasis for about 6 hours and then hit the trail, covering the 35 miles to Manley and arriving just after 2pm Tuesday. She didn’t stay long before mushing about 15 miles beyond the checkpoint to camp with the dogs. After a 5 hour camp, give or take, she’ll mush the remaining 50 miles to Tanana and give the dogs another 6ish hour rest.
A couple folks noticed that Anna pulled into Nenana with at least one dog riding in her sled basket. Shoshanna and maybe one other? No need for concern. Both dogs were fine. Anna was just giving them a little break and getting ready to change the dog placement on her gangline.
That is one thing Anna will be doing this year that she hasn’t in the past - she will be rotating dogs a bit more on the line and giving them periodic rests in her sled basket. She is towing a small, green trailer sled, affectionately referred to as the ‘bebops’, and can transfer some of her gear to that and make more room in her primary sled bag for a couple dogs to take a ride.
This strategy has been used by mushers on and off for a few years. Anna found it a far more interesting proposition for this Fairbanks-to-Nome route. The first third of the traditional route is extremely technical and involves crossing the Alaska range, and Anna didn’t want to throw a trailer into that mix. But this year’s route is predominantly river running, making a little bebops pretty handy.
Also note that Anna returned one dog home when she made her brief stop in Manley. Kristy let me know that Elmer has reluctantly been sidelined after he developed a mild cough. Nothing of major concern, and he’ll be double checked by vets. But given the potential for extreme weather and shear magnitude of this event, a mild cough can turn into a bigger respiratory issue, and that is never a risk the twins are willing to take.
Kristy will be notified when Elmer is flown back to Anchorage and she will go pick him up and settle him back in at the kennel.
For everyone still out on the trail, the weather looks very benign in the near future. Arguably too warm by Alaska Husky standards, with daytime highs in the low 30s and lows maybe in the teens. Probably chillier with the forecasted winds of 10-15mph and cloudy skies, especially on the river.
Mushers will transition from the Tanana River to the mighty Yukon River as they pass the checkpoint of Tanana. The Yukon is over a mile wide in some places, and I can only half imagine the landscapes and vistas mushers see out there. Mushers will be traveling on it from Tanana, all the way over to Kaltag, south to Anvik, and then ultimately all the way back up to Kaltag before leaving the Yukon for the coast.
I hope you got to check out Anna’s dog team biography in a prior post, and here are some pictures that have trickled in. Some from Anna’s Iditarider Lesley at the start, some from Kristy in Nenana, and some from Anna herself out on the trail.
Back with more race updates as teams continue down the trail.
Footnote: to the best of my knowledge... No, there was no banana. Yet.
Dog Team Parking in Nenana. Photo by Kristy.
 Anna tends to one of her dogs in Nenana.  Anna selfie with the dogs bedding down in the straw behind her in Tolovana. |  Kristy (far back), AK Senator Lisa Murkowski, Anna, and her Iditarider Lesley at the C-Start. Photo from Lesley. |
 Can't neglect oral hygiene. The dentist can always tell! Anna selfie in Tolovana. |  |
