Since my last post on Thursday, we had four additional teams arrive in Nome: Deke Naaktgeboren, Matthew Failor, rookie Matt Paveglio, and Karen Hendrickson. This brings out finishers count to 32 so far in the 50th Iditarod.
We also had an increase in our scratched tally, thanks in large part to Mother Nature. Alaskan winters are always unpredictable, but the approach of spring often increases weather's variability. And severity. Especially along the Norton Bay coast and Bering Sea. Ground storms with wind gusts of 30 - 35 miles per hour were reported, likely making the final miles of the Iditarod trail to Nome even more arduous than what the twins and earlier finishers experienced. And we've seen how nasty that looked.
We know each musher carries a GPS tracking device. That is great for us fans following the race virtually. But it is also a key safety feature. If a musher has an emergency out there, there are special alert and SOS buttons he or she can activate to have help sent. Hitting one of those buttons automatically ends a musher's race, but out on the Iditarod trail - you do what you have to do. If keeping yourself and/or your dogs in one piece means hitting the button, you hit the button!
That's just what Gerhardt Thiart, an Iditarod rookie currently from Michigan, did after he injured his leg after leaving White Mountain. Rookie Bridgett Watkins of Alaska used a satellite phone to call family that was awaiting her arrival in Nome when she was also injured, and a rescue team was promptly deployed. Alaska rookie Sean Williams also scratched after leaving White Mountain after facing the same winds and hard trail. According to an article on ADN.com, veterinarians were deployed as part of the search and rescue teams to access the dogs and help transport them first to White Mountain and ultimately Nome. As far as I've read, all of the dogs are ok and the mushers who were injured are receiving treatment.
With the addition of these three rookies, our scratch tally is at 9.
Which means, after 12 days and nearly 18 hours on the trail, we have 8 mushers still making their way to Nome. Two veterans, two rookies. Four are reported out of White Mountain, four remain in that checkpoint. I hope they know we're all still cheering them on and hope they stay safe out there.
The twins are still in Nome, meeting with some fans and continuing to recharge their batteries after this long event. They have continued to care for their dogs, who will be secured in their individual sky carriers and flown back to the kennel in Knik later Saturday. Kristy and Anna will wrap up their time in Nome after the finishers banquet on Sunday.
I have played a bit of phone and text tag with them and hope to connect more before the weekend is out. I will also be back with more updates as our final teams complete their time on the Iditarod trail.
Oh - before I go: if you consider yourself a Seeing Double super fan, did you notice you can get Seeing Double merch? I recently added two new products ~ a cozy fleece neck gaiter and a zip hoodie that celebrates the twins' bond between themselves and their dogs, Seeing Double, Running As One. Check under the Merch heading or click the Go Shopping! button in the sidebar. Mad Blogger does all the work, the twins and their dogs receive all the proceeds!
We also had an increase in our scratched tally, thanks in large part to Mother Nature. Alaskan winters are always unpredictable, but the approach of spring often increases weather's variability. And severity. Especially along the Norton Bay coast and Bering Sea. Ground storms with wind gusts of 30 - 35 miles per hour were reported, likely making the final miles of the Iditarod trail to Nome even more arduous than what the twins and earlier finishers experienced. And we've seen how nasty that looked.
We know each musher carries a GPS tracking device. That is great for us fans following the race virtually. But it is also a key safety feature. If a musher has an emergency out there, there are special alert and SOS buttons he or she can activate to have help sent. Hitting one of those buttons automatically ends a musher's race, but out on the Iditarod trail - you do what you have to do. If keeping yourself and/or your dogs in one piece means hitting the button, you hit the button!
That's just what Gerhardt Thiart, an Iditarod rookie currently from Michigan, did after he injured his leg after leaving White Mountain. Rookie Bridgett Watkins of Alaska used a satellite phone to call family that was awaiting her arrival in Nome when she was also injured, and a rescue team was promptly deployed. Alaska rookie Sean Williams also scratched after leaving White Mountain after facing the same winds and hard trail. According to an article on ADN.com, veterinarians were deployed as part of the search and rescue teams to access the dogs and help transport them first to White Mountain and ultimately Nome. As far as I've read, all of the dogs are ok and the mushers who were injured are receiving treatment.
With the addition of these three rookies, our scratch tally is at 9.
Which means, after 12 days and nearly 18 hours on the trail, we have 8 mushers still making their way to Nome. Two veterans, two rookies. Four are reported out of White Mountain, four remain in that checkpoint. I hope they know we're all still cheering them on and hope they stay safe out there.
The twins are still in Nome, meeting with some fans and continuing to recharge their batteries after this long event. They have continued to care for their dogs, who will be secured in their individual sky carriers and flown back to the kennel in Knik later Saturday. Kristy and Anna will wrap up their time in Nome after the finishers banquet on Sunday.
I have played a bit of phone and text tag with them and hope to connect more before the weekend is out. I will also be back with more updates as our final teams complete their time on the Iditarod trail.
Oh - before I go: if you consider yourself a Seeing Double super fan, did you notice you can get Seeing Double merch? I recently added two new products ~ a cozy fleece neck gaiter and a zip hoodie that celebrates the twins' bond between themselves and their dogs, Seeing Double, Running As One. Check under the Merch heading or click the Go Shopping! button in the sidebar. Mad Blogger does all the work, the twins and their dogs receive all the proceeds!