Anna and her dogs were reported out of Galena (race mike 545) at 10:20pm Saturday night. She pulled out with her 10-dog team after a little more than 5 hours of rest within checkpoint.
Six hours, twenty-one minutes and thirty-seven miles later, Anna arrived in Nulato (race mile 582) at 5:41am early Sunday morning. She remained in 24th place.
I got a couple of quick texts before Anna left Nulato, and overall things seemed good. She did report that she saw the thermometer strapped to the side of her sled hit 44F below zero overnight on the trail. I can only imagine what the temp felt like with windchill - both from any wind plus the breeze Anna experiences from traveling on average 6-10 miles on hour on the back of her sled.
Anna spent just shy of 7 hours resting herself and her dogs in Nulato before pulling her snow hook at 12:39pm Alaska time Sunday afternoon. She was reported out in 24th and still traveling with 10 pups.
The team traveled the 47 miles from Nulato to Kaltag over the course of the afternoon, arriving in KTG (race mile 629) around 5pm Sunday, now in 23rd place. Anna had texted earlier that if the dogs were traveling along really nicely, she might just resupply in KTG and hit the trail again. But, as I write this, she has stayed about two hours now, so I expect her to stay a full 4 to 5 hours.
Expect to also see Anna and the dogs stop for a camp along the trail between Kaltag and Unalakleet (race mile 714). Tripod Cabin, an Alaska Bureau of Land Management (BLM) cabin, is a popular spot for mushers to stop during the long, 85 mile stretch between KTG and UNA (the longest stretch between two checkpoints in this year's race). Anna may well stop there.
We did see the first competitors scratch from the 52nd Iditarod. And it is pretty much unheard of for the first musher to scratch this far into the race. Rookie Erin Altemus chose to end her race Sunday morning, March 10th, in the checkpoint of Ruby (race mile 495). She had 10 dogs in harness that were all reported in good health. Nearly 7 full days and nearly 500 miles is something to be proud of. Not to mentioned qualifying for the Iditarod in the first place! On behalf of Seeing Double, this Mad Blogger wishes Erin and her pups safe and swift travels back to their home kennel in Grand Marais, Minnesota.
Next was Isaac Teaford from Salt Lake City, Utah. He scratched in Nulato (race mile 582) Sunday afternoon with 12 dogs in harness. The third musher to scratch was also a rookie. Connor McMahon, from Yukon Territory, Canada, scratched in Galena (race mile 545) a bit later Sunday afternoon. He had 11 dogs in harness that were all reported in good health.
Seeing Double wishes Connor, Isaac, and all their dogs safe and swift travels back to their home kennels. They may not have finished, but I hope they're proud of all the miles they did cover during Iditarod 52.
That leaves us with 35 mushers racing on the trail to Nome. Dallas was the first musher out of Unalakleet, beginning the daunting final quarter of the Iditarod trail along the Bering Sea coast. After 7 days and 5 hours, GPS has Dallas at mile 740 on the way to Shaktoolik across the sea ice. Jessie Holmes, Matt Hall, and Travis Beals are also out of UNA and chasing him. The back of the pack consists of two rookies still resting in Galena ~ Bryce and Joshua.
Our field now has a spread of 195 miles.
Seeing Double Iditarod 2024 Playlist…
Song 10: Country Roads by The Black Tartan Clan.
I asked the twins for any suggestions for my playlist this year. They said they have some old music devices they still use that came with some preloaded songs - one of which has some bagpipes playing. I couldn't remember the exact song, but the one I chose fits the bill. Alaska trails, take 'em on home...
Six hours, twenty-one minutes and thirty-seven miles later, Anna arrived in Nulato (race mile 582) at 5:41am early Sunday morning. She remained in 24th place.
I got a couple of quick texts before Anna left Nulato, and overall things seemed good. She did report that she saw the thermometer strapped to the side of her sled hit 44F below zero overnight on the trail. I can only imagine what the temp felt like with windchill - both from any wind plus the breeze Anna experiences from traveling on average 6-10 miles on hour on the back of her sled.
Anna spent just shy of 7 hours resting herself and her dogs in Nulato before pulling her snow hook at 12:39pm Alaska time Sunday afternoon. She was reported out in 24th and still traveling with 10 pups.
The team traveled the 47 miles from Nulato to Kaltag over the course of the afternoon, arriving in KTG (race mile 629) around 5pm Sunday, now in 23rd place. Anna had texted earlier that if the dogs were traveling along really nicely, she might just resupply in KTG and hit the trail again. But, as I write this, she has stayed about two hours now, so I expect her to stay a full 4 to 5 hours.
Expect to also see Anna and the dogs stop for a camp along the trail between Kaltag and Unalakleet (race mile 714). Tripod Cabin, an Alaska Bureau of Land Management (BLM) cabin, is a popular spot for mushers to stop during the long, 85 mile stretch between KTG and UNA (the longest stretch between two checkpoints in this year's race). Anna may well stop there.
We did see the first competitors scratch from the 52nd Iditarod. And it is pretty much unheard of for the first musher to scratch this far into the race. Rookie Erin Altemus chose to end her race Sunday morning, March 10th, in the checkpoint of Ruby (race mile 495). She had 10 dogs in harness that were all reported in good health. Nearly 7 full days and nearly 500 miles is something to be proud of. Not to mentioned qualifying for the Iditarod in the first place! On behalf of Seeing Double, this Mad Blogger wishes Erin and her pups safe and swift travels back to their home kennel in Grand Marais, Minnesota.
Next was Isaac Teaford from Salt Lake City, Utah. He scratched in Nulato (race mile 582) Sunday afternoon with 12 dogs in harness. The third musher to scratch was also a rookie. Connor McMahon, from Yukon Territory, Canada, scratched in Galena (race mile 545) a bit later Sunday afternoon. He had 11 dogs in harness that were all reported in good health.
Seeing Double wishes Connor, Isaac, and all their dogs safe and swift travels back to their home kennels. They may not have finished, but I hope they're proud of all the miles they did cover during Iditarod 52.
That leaves us with 35 mushers racing on the trail to Nome. Dallas was the first musher out of Unalakleet, beginning the daunting final quarter of the Iditarod trail along the Bering Sea coast. After 7 days and 5 hours, GPS has Dallas at mile 740 on the way to Shaktoolik across the sea ice. Jessie Holmes, Matt Hall, and Travis Beals are also out of UNA and chasing him. The back of the pack consists of two rookies still resting in Galena ~ Bryce and Joshua.
Our field now has a spread of 195 miles.
Seeing Double Iditarod 2024 Playlist…
Song 10: Country Roads by The Black Tartan Clan.
I asked the twins for any suggestions for my playlist this year. They said they have some old music devices they still use that came with some preloaded songs - one of which has some bagpipes playing. I couldn't remember the exact song, but the one I chose fits the bill. Alaska trails, take 'em on home...