We’re at about 4 days 12 hours for mushers on the trail as I write this. The spread in our field is currently 125 miles, with Paige Drobny running 13 dogs at mile 459, out of Kaltag-1 and starting the southern loop. Also fresh off her 24. The back of the pack is all out of Ruby, with 6 rookies running in a row, 5 into Galena and 1 enroute.
Three additional mushers have scratched, taking our field to 28. Seeing Double wishes each musher and their dogs safe and swift travels to their home kennels.
Rookie Mike Parker, of Eagle River, Alaska, scratched in Ruby Friday afternoon. Rookie Daniel Klein, of Eagle, Wisconsin, scratched slightly before Mike on Friday afternoon, but he did so in the next checkpoint of Galena. Iditarod veteran Jeff Deeter, of Fairbanks, Alaska, who finished in 4th place in 2024, also scratched in Galena Friday.
All of the dogs on each musher’s team were reported in good health from what I see, but beyond the standard press releases, details were scant. There was an amended press release for rookie Brenda Mackey, who scratched earlier in the race in Tanana. I get the impression there was a discrepancy between the dogs they were reporting on the team when she scratched and the number of dogs family and friends were tracking. Further details from Mackey indicated she had a health emergency with one of dogs out on the trail and ultimately returned to her prior checkpoint to seek veterinary care. Net net, everyone is doing ok and all are accounted for, and I - for one - appreciated a candid update on the specifics.
I can’t point to any one event or situation that prompted these latest mushers to scratch. Although I suspect the 46 hours rookie Mike Parker spent on the 117 mile stretch from Tanana to Ruby had a great deal to do with his decision.
Mushers may be running a “river route” this year, and not up and over the Alaska range, but don’t think for one minute this is easier.
We last left Anna in Ruby, resting up from that long 117 mile stretch herself, on Thursday afternoon. She spent about five and a quarter hours resting with the dogs here, and decided to return Ruckus before she hit the trail again. I spoke with her briefly after she arrived in Galena and she explained that Ruckus just wasn’t himself. He didn’t have a hearty appetite, or at least not as hearty as it needed to be for the calories he was burning. I suppose it’s like having a kid, who comes down in the morning and just seems… off. Didn't finish your cereal? You ok? Wanna go to school? No? That’s ok.
Some would say I’m excessively anthropomorphizing, but whatever. When you know, you know.
By the way, there’s your $10 word for the day.
Any-hoo, Ruckus is headed home. Kristy has picked up Elmer, and should get the call to pick up Maverick soon. Ruckus will join any other returned dogs on a flight to Anchorage courtesy of the Iditarod Air Force and Kristy should get him soon as well.
Which gets us back to Anna and her now 13 dog team, who pulled out of Ruby around 9:15pm Thursday. They spent about 7 hours on the 50 miles to Galena, arriving around 4:30am Friday morning. They took a six and a half hour rest and hit the trail again just before 11am. They must have found a good groove, as their speed picked up to an average of 8mph and they tackled this 51 mile stretch in six and a half hours.
This put Anna and her 13 dogs into Nulato, race mile 420, just before 5:30pm Friday. They only rested for about four and a half hours and were off again around 10pm Friday night. Keen to run just 36 miles and arrive in Kaltag-1, where Anna will take her 24.
What’s all this Kaltag “one” business? And a “24”? Is Kiefer Sutherland here? In case you missed the memos… To the former: After mushers travel from Nulato to Kaltag, they follow the Yukon River south. This leads them onto a section of trail that would have been part of the traditional southern race route.
Mushers travel south from Kaltag to Eagle Island-1, on to Grayling-1, then a bit farther south to Anvik, hook back east 28 miles and say hello to Shageluk, now cut northwest 28 miles back to Grayling-2 (making this cute little triangle). Back north on the Yukon River to Eagle Island-2, and finally back to Kaltag-1. Which is now Kaltag-2.
If you haven’t lost your mind over the trail yet, hang a southwest louie in Kaltag (1… 2… does it matter at this point?!) and head for Unalakleet on the Bering Sea coast. Congratulations, you are now running the traditional southern trail on our way to Nome.
Mushers are just reaching the start of this down and back stretch. And many of them will be doing so fresh off a 24. Which is what, exactly? Race rules mandate that mushers take certain rests during the race. Most rests are at the discretion of the mushers and as needed by their dogs. The exceptions being that a musher must declare and take a full 8 hour rest at one checkpoint on the Yukon river (lots of choices there, given this year’s route), and another 8 hour rest in White Mountain.
Mushers must also declare and take a 24 hour rest at any checkpoint of their choosing along the race trail. This 24 hour rest is also used to adjust the starting differential. Only the musher in the last bib number stays a true 24 hours. Each musher ahead of him or her stays an extra 2 minutes.
Rookie Emily Ford, the last musher off the start in Bib 34, rests 24 hours. Jason Mackey in Bib 2, stays an hour and four minutes extra. Anna splits the difference and adds 44 minutes on to her 24.
Mushers take their 24s at different points depending on their strategy and needs of their dog team. Their time differential is adjusted regardless of where they 24. And that’s most of the reason you’re seeing a lot of bouncing around in the ranks right now, long stays, and maybe a slowdown in news.
Anna will spend her 24 caring for the dogs and getting a little rest and nourishment herself. Massages and short leash walks for the dogs. Dry out and organize some gear. Get the first real sleep longer than a 45 minute nap in over 4 days.
A couple of other tidbits from my conversation with Anna while she was in Galena…. She’s been carrying more dog food and supplies in her sled than normal, adjusting for drop (resupply) bag changes (drop bags were sent out when the traditional southern route was still expected). She would have packed her drop bags a little differently had she known. But you make do.
There’s been some wind and light snow. Nothing too crazy warm or cold, and no further heinous sandstorms. I think we’ll see Anna traveling without her bebops trailer sled pretty soon. She talked about leaving this in a checkpoint to be shipped home. It lost its usefulness after see returned a couple of dogs and had a little less food and gear to haul. And the bebops was another thing creating drag and friction.
After watching an Iditarod Insider video of Mitch Seavey pulling into a checkpoint with his trailer sled dragging on its side… after he sets his snowhook, he rights the trailer with a bit of disgust and checks its connection to his primary sled… I get it. Outweighing its usefulness.
Anna and the dogs are finally shaking off the sandstorm they endured earlier. Don’t think I told you… Anna asked one of the vets for a large syringe - without the needle. Why? Was the natural question. She needed to use it to flush some water over here eyes. And maybe the dogs a little, too. So much grit in the eyes!! Anna did have goggles with her, for the little good they did. But the team has all had some eye boogers as they flush the last of it out.
Apparently Anna should have put a turkey baster and some saline solution in her resupply bag.
Oh - Craving chicken? The dogs are, too, for whatever reason. More so than salmon or the other raw protein options on offer. Fortunately the twins packed plenty of it for Anna’s dogs.
Ok, fans. Time to get away from those screens and go enjoy your weekend.
This Mad Blogger will be back with more before the weekend’s out.
Three additional mushers have scratched, taking our field to 28. Seeing Double wishes each musher and their dogs safe and swift travels to their home kennels.
Rookie Mike Parker, of Eagle River, Alaska, scratched in Ruby Friday afternoon. Rookie Daniel Klein, of Eagle, Wisconsin, scratched slightly before Mike on Friday afternoon, but he did so in the next checkpoint of Galena. Iditarod veteran Jeff Deeter, of Fairbanks, Alaska, who finished in 4th place in 2024, also scratched in Galena Friday.
All of the dogs on each musher’s team were reported in good health from what I see, but beyond the standard press releases, details were scant. There was an amended press release for rookie Brenda Mackey, who scratched earlier in the race in Tanana. I get the impression there was a discrepancy between the dogs they were reporting on the team when she scratched and the number of dogs family and friends were tracking. Further details from Mackey indicated she had a health emergency with one of dogs out on the trail and ultimately returned to her prior checkpoint to seek veterinary care. Net net, everyone is doing ok and all are accounted for, and I - for one - appreciated a candid update on the specifics.
I can’t point to any one event or situation that prompted these latest mushers to scratch. Although I suspect the 46 hours rookie Mike Parker spent on the 117 mile stretch from Tanana to Ruby had a great deal to do with his decision.
Mushers may be running a “river route” this year, and not up and over the Alaska range, but don’t think for one minute this is easier.
We last left Anna in Ruby, resting up from that long 117 mile stretch herself, on Thursday afternoon. She spent about five and a quarter hours resting with the dogs here, and decided to return Ruckus before she hit the trail again. I spoke with her briefly after she arrived in Galena and she explained that Ruckus just wasn’t himself. He didn’t have a hearty appetite, or at least not as hearty as it needed to be for the calories he was burning. I suppose it’s like having a kid, who comes down in the morning and just seems… off. Didn't finish your cereal? You ok? Wanna go to school? No? That’s ok.
Some would say I’m excessively anthropomorphizing, but whatever. When you know, you know.
By the way, there’s your $10 word for the day.
Any-hoo, Ruckus is headed home. Kristy has picked up Elmer, and should get the call to pick up Maverick soon. Ruckus will join any other returned dogs on a flight to Anchorage courtesy of the Iditarod Air Force and Kristy should get him soon as well.
Which gets us back to Anna and her now 13 dog team, who pulled out of Ruby around 9:15pm Thursday. They spent about 7 hours on the 50 miles to Galena, arriving around 4:30am Friday morning. They took a six and a half hour rest and hit the trail again just before 11am. They must have found a good groove, as their speed picked up to an average of 8mph and they tackled this 51 mile stretch in six and a half hours.
This put Anna and her 13 dogs into Nulato, race mile 420, just before 5:30pm Friday. They only rested for about four and a half hours and were off again around 10pm Friday night. Keen to run just 36 miles and arrive in Kaltag-1, where Anna will take her 24.
What’s all this Kaltag “one” business? And a “24”? Is Kiefer Sutherland here? In case you missed the memos… To the former: After mushers travel from Nulato to Kaltag, they follow the Yukon River south. This leads them onto a section of trail that would have been part of the traditional southern race route.
Mushers travel south from Kaltag to Eagle Island-1, on to Grayling-1, then a bit farther south to Anvik, hook back east 28 miles and say hello to Shageluk, now cut northwest 28 miles back to Grayling-2 (making this cute little triangle). Back north on the Yukon River to Eagle Island-2, and finally back to Kaltag-1. Which is now Kaltag-2.
If you haven’t lost your mind over the trail yet, hang a southwest louie in Kaltag (1… 2… does it matter at this point?!) and head for Unalakleet on the Bering Sea coast. Congratulations, you are now running the traditional southern trail on our way to Nome.
Mushers are just reaching the start of this down and back stretch. And many of them will be doing so fresh off a 24. Which is what, exactly? Race rules mandate that mushers take certain rests during the race. Most rests are at the discretion of the mushers and as needed by their dogs. The exceptions being that a musher must declare and take a full 8 hour rest at one checkpoint on the Yukon river (lots of choices there, given this year’s route), and another 8 hour rest in White Mountain.
Mushers must also declare and take a 24 hour rest at any checkpoint of their choosing along the race trail. This 24 hour rest is also used to adjust the starting differential. Only the musher in the last bib number stays a true 24 hours. Each musher ahead of him or her stays an extra 2 minutes.
Rookie Emily Ford, the last musher off the start in Bib 34, rests 24 hours. Jason Mackey in Bib 2, stays an hour and four minutes extra. Anna splits the difference and adds 44 minutes on to her 24.
Mushers take their 24s at different points depending on their strategy and needs of their dog team. Their time differential is adjusted regardless of where they 24. And that’s most of the reason you’re seeing a lot of bouncing around in the ranks right now, long stays, and maybe a slowdown in news.
Anna will spend her 24 caring for the dogs and getting a little rest and nourishment herself. Massages and short leash walks for the dogs. Dry out and organize some gear. Get the first real sleep longer than a 45 minute nap in over 4 days.
A couple of other tidbits from my conversation with Anna while she was in Galena…. She’s been carrying more dog food and supplies in her sled than normal, adjusting for drop (resupply) bag changes (drop bags were sent out when the traditional southern route was still expected). She would have packed her drop bags a little differently had she known. But you make do.
There’s been some wind and light snow. Nothing too crazy warm or cold, and no further heinous sandstorms. I think we’ll see Anna traveling without her bebops trailer sled pretty soon. She talked about leaving this in a checkpoint to be shipped home. It lost its usefulness after see returned a couple of dogs and had a little less food and gear to haul. And the bebops was another thing creating drag and friction.
After watching an Iditarod Insider video of Mitch Seavey pulling into a checkpoint with his trailer sled dragging on its side… after he sets his snowhook, he rights the trailer with a bit of disgust and checks its connection to his primary sled… I get it. Outweighing its usefulness.
Anna and the dogs are finally shaking off the sandstorm they endured earlier. Don’t think I told you… Anna asked one of the vets for a large syringe - without the needle. Why? Was the natural question. She needed to use it to flush some water over here eyes. And maybe the dogs a little, too. So much grit in the eyes!! Anna did have goggles with her, for the little good they did. But the team has all had some eye boogers as they flush the last of it out.
Apparently Anna should have put a turkey baster and some saline solution in her resupply bag.
Oh - Craving chicken? The dogs are, too, for whatever reason. More so than salmon or the other raw protein options on offer. Fortunately the twins packed plenty of it for Anna’s dogs.
Ok, fans. Time to get away from those screens and go enjoy your weekend.
This Mad Blogger will be back with more before the weekend’s out.
