Mushers have now been out on the trail for a full day plus six hours and change. Ryan Redington is currently in the lead of what seems to be a very fast paced race so far, having checked into Rohn (race mile 188) a little after 5:30 pm Monday afternoon. A who's-who of top mushers in this race are close behind him, with Dallas Seavey, Paige Drobny, and Brent Sass nearing Rohn as of this writing. And it's been a pretty tightly packed field so far, with the top 30 mushers all reported out of Rainy Pass before 4pm Monday afternoon. Anna and Kristy rounded out that group.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. After Kristy and Anna left Willow Sunday afternoon, they each ran to and then through the checkpoint of Yentna, camping trailside before Skwentna. Anna added a little rest to this stop while Kristy shaved a bit off, thus eliminating their starting differential for now. They pulled into Skwentna a little after 2am Monday morning a minute apart. They remained in checkpoint for nearly a half hour, which wasn't on the initial plan. But Kristy opted to return a dog home from here, which I'm sure is what mandated the change.
When they pulled their snow hooks a little after 2:30am, Kristy had 13 dogs on her team, Anna still a full compliment of 14. They spent about 9 hours and 20 minutes covering the next 40 mile leg to Finger Lake in the early hours Monday, camping out for 4-5 hours along the way. They would have used straw they grabbed in the prior checkpoint to bed down the dogs and keep them comfortable while they first ate a hot stew and then settled down for a nap.
The twins got into Finger Lake (race mile 123) around noon Monday, but didn't stay long. Kristy did return her second dog during the brief stop, and I'll get updates on both the dogs she has returned home thus far in a day or two after they have returned to the kennel.
The trail out of Finger Lake marks the beginning of what many mushers - twins included - see as the start of the most technical and difficult portion of the Iditarod trail. Mushers have to navigate the Happy River Steps, a series of steeply descending switchbacks, before climbing to Rainy Pass which, at nearly 3,600 feet elevation, is the highest point on the trail. There's probably a lot of snow out there, with Rainy Pass just getting another blizzard this past Friday from what I heard.
After Rainy Pass (race mile 153), mushers will face the Dalzell Gorge and its 200 foot plummet as mushers finally descend the western slopes of the Alaska range. Last week, during a trail report meeting, race marshal Mark Nordman reported hearing of snow melt near or around the gorge, and there was a small avalanche (is there such thing as a "small avalanche?...) in the gorge recently between two prior events on the trail (the ITI and the Iron Dog).
Whatever the conditions are out there, it's what the twins and their dogs are tackling as Monday evening sets in in Alaska. They pulled their hooks out of Rainy just before 8pm. Anna is still mushing 14 dogs, Kristy still with 12. If all goes well down the gorge in the dark, I expect them to make a relatively quick stop in Rohn (race mile 188) before stopping at a spot outside of Rohn known as Tin Creek for a 4-5 hour campout. Some of this terrain could be pretty nasty, as Kristy did hear the Post River just out of Rohn was 3 inches of slush, appearing dark and ominous but passable. That was then - a couple days of Alaska winter could help or hinder conditions immensely.
More to come Tuesday afternoon.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. After Kristy and Anna left Willow Sunday afternoon, they each ran to and then through the checkpoint of Yentna, camping trailside before Skwentna. Anna added a little rest to this stop while Kristy shaved a bit off, thus eliminating their starting differential for now. They pulled into Skwentna a little after 2am Monday morning a minute apart. They remained in checkpoint for nearly a half hour, which wasn't on the initial plan. But Kristy opted to return a dog home from here, which I'm sure is what mandated the change.
When they pulled their snow hooks a little after 2:30am, Kristy had 13 dogs on her team, Anna still a full compliment of 14. They spent about 9 hours and 20 minutes covering the next 40 mile leg to Finger Lake in the early hours Monday, camping out for 4-5 hours along the way. They would have used straw they grabbed in the prior checkpoint to bed down the dogs and keep them comfortable while they first ate a hot stew and then settled down for a nap.
The twins got into Finger Lake (race mile 123) around noon Monday, but didn't stay long. Kristy did return her second dog during the brief stop, and I'll get updates on both the dogs she has returned home thus far in a day or two after they have returned to the kennel.
The trail out of Finger Lake marks the beginning of what many mushers - twins included - see as the start of the most technical and difficult portion of the Iditarod trail. Mushers have to navigate the Happy River Steps, a series of steeply descending switchbacks, before climbing to Rainy Pass which, at nearly 3,600 feet elevation, is the highest point on the trail. There's probably a lot of snow out there, with Rainy Pass just getting another blizzard this past Friday from what I heard.
After Rainy Pass (race mile 153), mushers will face the Dalzell Gorge and its 200 foot plummet as mushers finally descend the western slopes of the Alaska range. Last week, during a trail report meeting, race marshal Mark Nordman reported hearing of snow melt near or around the gorge, and there was a small avalanche (is there such thing as a "small avalanche?...) in the gorge recently between two prior events on the trail (the ITI and the Iron Dog).
Whatever the conditions are out there, it's what the twins and their dogs are tackling as Monday evening sets in in Alaska. They pulled their hooks out of Rainy just before 8pm. Anna is still mushing 14 dogs, Kristy still with 12. If all goes well down the gorge in the dark, I expect them to make a relatively quick stop in Rohn (race mile 188) before stopping at a spot outside of Rohn known as Tin Creek for a 4-5 hour campout. Some of this terrain could be pretty nasty, as Kristy did hear the Post River just out of Rohn was 3 inches of slush, appearing dark and ominous but passable. That was then - a couple days of Alaska winter could help or hinder conditions immensely.
More to come Tuesday afternoon.
