Anyone else feel like the last 10 days have been twice that? I can only imagine how the twins are feeling after just over 10 days out on the Iditarod trail. Sure, they train like maniacs for what they do, have exceptional endurance, and they love the journey with their dogs. But still...
I don't have any kids myself (fur-baby not withstanding), but I can't help but liken their journey a little to having a kid... you have this long period of time where some of it is great and some of it is uncomfortable - even downright nasty - and you're exhausted at the end when the whole thing is at its worst. But when it's all said and done, you have something magical that you wouldn't trade for the world.
My last post had the twins resting in Koyuk after arriving there around 5pm Tuesday. They pulled their snowhooks to head back out on the trail at 11:45pm Tuesday night after resting for just shy of 7 hours. They spent a little over 6 hours overnight traveling the 48 miles from Koyuk to Elim (race mile 875), arriving there just after 6am AKST Wednesday morning.
They rested for about six and a half hours in Elim and hit the trail around 12:30pm AKST Wednesday afternoon. Kristy was reported out in 21st, retaining all 8 dogs, and Anna was right behind mushing a 10-dog team and out in 22nd place.
From here, Kristy and Anna will travel the trail 28 miles to and through Golovin (more of a symbolic checkpoint than one with any amenities to speak of) and another 18 miles on to White Mountain. There, they will take their final 8 hour mandatory rest before heading off on their final run... 55 miles to Safety (where they will grab their race bibs from officials) and the final 22-mile stretch from Safety to Nome.
When I started taking some notes a little earlier for this post, GPS had them at mile 889. So I sharpened my pencil, got some fresh paper, scoured the Iditarod race archives, looked at their recent average moving speeds, and got to work on my prediction...
Drummers, queue the roll as I crawl out on my proverbial limb... I put Seeing Double into Nome by 12:30pm AKST Thursday March 16th!
I'll try to post a quick blog entry and Instagram post (@SeeingDoubleSledDogRacing) when they're getting close. But to be on the safe(ty) side, if you want to see them finish on Iditarod.com's live feed, I would check their site before noon. And again, those are Alaska Standard Time references! The twins have fans from Australia to California and darn near all points in between, so please adjust that for your own time zone. I'm sure there's an app for that.
It's 8:15pm here in Wisconsin, 5:15pm AKST. GPS has the twins at mile 905 as of 2 minutes ago with 93 miles to the finish and currently traveling at 6mph. Feel free to do your own math if you don't want to crawl out on the same limb I'm on!
Meanwhile, we now have the top 14 teams into Nome as of this post. Eddie Burke, Jr., took Rookie of the Year with 7 dogs in harness after 9 days, 8 hours, 37 minutes on the trail and finished in 7th place! Mille Porsild finished in 9th as our first International Women's Month representative, Hunter Keefe was our second rookie to finish this year (in 11th place) and Jessie Royer passed under the burled arch in 14th. I'm by no means glazing over or intentionally omitting any other finisher, but I'm kinda tired and reviewing them all is a bit beyond me at the moment. They're all deserving of congratulations, though. This is a very tough event... it's hard to qualify for, it's hard to finish your first time, and it doesn't get any easier after that.
We did see Eric Kelly scratch for the race in Unalakleet with 10 dogs in harness. Per Iditarod officials, Eric and his dogs were in good health but wanted to keep it that way and ultimately decided to opt out early. A very tough decision but I'm sure it was made in the best interests of all. Safe and swift travels, Eric, to you and your team as you make your way back to your home kennel.
14 teams into Nome, 4 scratched, and 15 still mushing their way to Nome. Stay tuned on Thursday as we cheer Seeing Double onto Front Street and under the burled arch!
A couple more pictures from the trail to tide you over...
I don't have any kids myself (fur-baby not withstanding), but I can't help but liken their journey a little to having a kid... you have this long period of time where some of it is great and some of it is uncomfortable - even downright nasty - and you're exhausted at the end when the whole thing is at its worst. But when it's all said and done, you have something magical that you wouldn't trade for the world.
My last post had the twins resting in Koyuk after arriving there around 5pm Tuesday. They pulled their snowhooks to head back out on the trail at 11:45pm Tuesday night after resting for just shy of 7 hours. They spent a little over 6 hours overnight traveling the 48 miles from Koyuk to Elim (race mile 875), arriving there just after 6am AKST Wednesday morning.
They rested for about six and a half hours in Elim and hit the trail around 12:30pm AKST Wednesday afternoon. Kristy was reported out in 21st, retaining all 8 dogs, and Anna was right behind mushing a 10-dog team and out in 22nd place.
From here, Kristy and Anna will travel the trail 28 miles to and through Golovin (more of a symbolic checkpoint than one with any amenities to speak of) and another 18 miles on to White Mountain. There, they will take their final 8 hour mandatory rest before heading off on their final run... 55 miles to Safety (where they will grab their race bibs from officials) and the final 22-mile stretch from Safety to Nome.
When I started taking some notes a little earlier for this post, GPS had them at mile 889. So I sharpened my pencil, got some fresh paper, scoured the Iditarod race archives, looked at their recent average moving speeds, and got to work on my prediction...
Drummers, queue the roll as I crawl out on my proverbial limb... I put Seeing Double into Nome by 12:30pm AKST Thursday March 16th!
I'll try to post a quick blog entry and Instagram post (@SeeingDoubleSledDogRacing) when they're getting close. But to be on the safe(ty) side, if you want to see them finish on Iditarod.com's live feed, I would check their site before noon. And again, those are Alaska Standard Time references! The twins have fans from Australia to California and darn near all points in between, so please adjust that for your own time zone. I'm sure there's an app for that.
It's 8:15pm here in Wisconsin, 5:15pm AKST. GPS has the twins at mile 905 as of 2 minutes ago with 93 miles to the finish and currently traveling at 6mph. Feel free to do your own math if you don't want to crawl out on the same limb I'm on!
Meanwhile, we now have the top 14 teams into Nome as of this post. Eddie Burke, Jr., took Rookie of the Year with 7 dogs in harness after 9 days, 8 hours, 37 minutes on the trail and finished in 7th place! Mille Porsild finished in 9th as our first International Women's Month representative, Hunter Keefe was our second rookie to finish this year (in 11th place) and Jessie Royer passed under the burled arch in 14th. I'm by no means glazing over or intentionally omitting any other finisher, but I'm kinda tired and reviewing them all is a bit beyond me at the moment. They're all deserving of congratulations, though. This is a very tough event... it's hard to qualify for, it's hard to finish your first time, and it doesn't get any easier after that.
We did see Eric Kelly scratch for the race in Unalakleet with 10 dogs in harness. Per Iditarod officials, Eric and his dogs were in good health but wanted to keep it that way and ultimately decided to opt out early. A very tough decision but I'm sure it was made in the best interests of all. Safe and swift travels, Eric, to you and your team as you make your way back to your home kennel.
14 teams into Nome, 4 scratched, and 15 still mushing their way to Nome. Stay tuned on Thursday as we cheer Seeing Double onto Front Street and under the burled arch!
A couple more pictures from the trail to tide you over...
 Kristy follows Anna across the last stretch of sea ice between Shak and Koyuk Tuesday afternoon 3/14. |  A little after 2am on Wed. 3/15 between Koyuk and Elim. Aurora like those are worth the price of admission! Pic from Anna. |
