On Monday, March 18th, after 14 days 22 hours, 51 minutes, and 49 seconds on the trail, rookie Victoria Hardwick pulled under the burled arch in Nome in 39th place, the last finisher in this year's race.  She collected the Red Lantern and the 47th running of the Last Great Race was complete.

In total, 13 mushers scratched from the original field of 52 off the starting line, a bit higher than both recent and historical averages.  

I also have to report that there was a change in Rookie of the Year status.  Race officials, and thus your Mad Blogger, had reported Richie Beattie as the musher earning this award.  After opting to return a dog in Safety, he was indeed the first rookie under the arch.  But most sadly, after being left in Safety, his dog developed serious health issues and, despite emergency transport to Anchorage, passed away.  Per race rules, Richie was immediately withdrawn from the race and Ed Hopkins, who you read about earlier, was officially named this year's Rookie of the Year.

A full necropsy will be performed on the dog who passed, and Richie is reported to be cooperating with race officials in all ways.  I can only imagine how devastated he is, and Seeing Double shares his loss.  

I also regret the negative publicity this will once again bring to both the race and the sport, if not also the recreational pursuit, of sled dog racing.  But before I get on my soap box, I'm going to remind myself that those loyal fans still reading my blog already know how much my sisters and the other mushers care for their dogs.  You understand the lengths taken by race officials to ensure the dogs' well being, and how much the dogs themselves just want to run.  No one is forcing them.  The loss of a dog is in no way acceptable, and everyone involved needs to, and I believe will, continue to identify ways to make sure zero dogs are lost ~ as has been the case in Iditarod many, many years over the past.  But since you can't please all of the people all of the time, please loyal fans ~ use what you're seen and heard to educate others and help folks understand why the Iditarod really is the Last Great Race.

On that slightly somber note, it's time for your Mad Blogger to close out this year's blog.  Thank you so much both veteran and rookie fans for joining Kristy and Anna, and all their dogs, on this epic journey. There's already talk in the Seeing Double locker room on what to improve on next year, so don't forget about us.  And there promise to be other Mad Adventures along the way.

Peace, Love, & Paw Prints ~
Your Mad Blogger
​  

It's been nearly 13 days, and of the original 52 teams off the Iditarod start, we have 32 into Nome, 9 on the way, and 11 scratched.  Between the twins' finish Thursday afternoon and late Friday night, 15 more mushers pulled under the burled arch, including Seeing Double friends Charley Bejna, mushing his final Iditarod before retiring only to mid-distance endeavors, Michi Konno, and Jessie Holmes.  Richie Beattie took Rookie of the Year in 21st place after 11 days 7 hours and change, but by Iditarod standards, it wasn't a sure thing until his lead dog's nose actually pulled under the arch, as rookie Ed Hopkins was only just over an hour behind him.  Of the 11 teams that have scratched thus far this year, only 2 have been rookies.

Fans and those mushers who have already finished will be greeting another team, Sarah Stokey, shortly this late Saturday afternoon.  The other 8 teams have anywhere from 70 to 100 miles left to go, and are all reported out of Elim and either closing in on, or recently out of, White Mountain.  

I have to salute the perseverance of all the finished and active mushers, but particularly those still out there at the back of the field.  They're a valuable lesson in sticking to it, fighting for an accomplishment  for yourself and your dogs, not in relation to others.  And I always like when the back of the pack largely sticks together, in this case with a 30-mile spread.  Mushers cannot help one another out there, but words ~ in the form of encouragement, empathy, moral support, or perhaps advice ~ aren't against the rules and frankly is encouraged by way of the race's Sportsmanship Award.

Which isn't to slight those teams who made the decision to scratch during this year's race in any way, shape, or form.  I've said it before and I'm going to say it again... simply qualifying for the Iditarod is an impressive accomplishment and doing both that and conquering any portion of the trail is worthy of applause.  Incidentally, I nearly said "difficult" decision to scratch earlier ~ whatever the root cause, I know the decision isn't difficult for mushers when scratching is in the bet interests of their dogs.  And I'll also repeat the standard mantra ~ Safe and Swift Travels to your home kennels to all teams coming off the Iditarod Trail.

Speaking of coming off the trail, your Mad Blogger is finally back at her home in Toronto.  I had to sit down to think this through but... I checked into the airport in Nome at 11:30am Alaska time Friday.  I walked in my front door around 1:30pm Eastern time Saturday afternoon.  I then had a brief respite for a shower, fresh attire, and coffee before fighting crosstown GTA (Greater Toronto Area) traffic in an area home to some 5.5 million people to pick up my fur kids.  After each trip to Alaska I grasp with greater clarity why some people end up with a one-way ticket to ANC.

On that Deep Thoughts whimsy, I'll subject you to a painfully random spewing of tidbits from the twins and a couple media links to give you plenty to chew on as your work your way through the weekend.

KTVA, a major news source in Alaska and the greater Northwest, gave the twins their own Top 20 Feature!

Read about how tough it is on a year like this to stay dry, especially with respect to one's feet.  Catch this with KNOM and Kristy.

This race isn't easy, even when you're healthy.  Poor Anna was plagued by a stomach issue for the first few days, and for a good deal of the end Kristy was mushing with a freshly fractured tooth!

Speaking of things breaking, Kristy also had a problem with her drag pad brake late in the race.  I looked at it in Nome, and I could see where the base structure had torn nearly completely through.  She had managed to gouge holes in it and wire it back together with her emergency repair kit.

Both of the girls and other mushers spoke about the tough trail over the latter two-thirds of the race this year.  Of course there were the crazy tussocks, large dense clumps of exposed grass, between Ophir and Iditarod.  Anna told me of one that caught her sled up and brought her entire team to a screeching halt, a small miracle that nothing on her sled broke.  Their sleds may be an older, heavier, more traditional style, but they were largely handmade and can withstand some serious punishment.

There wasn't much cold, by Iditarod standards, this year, with the coldest they recounted around -15F ambient air temps.  But there was wicked overflow after Eagle, requiring 30 miles of active sled driving navigating multiple snow machine trails and water holes.  

In addition to not much cold, neither Kristy nor Anna reported much wildlife.  A couple moose, albeit on the enormous side, watching from a discreet distance and ptarmigan.  

Anna was struggling a bit with a key female leader in heat, limiting who she could run with and distracting all the boys.  At one point, when the team was getting a bit lethargic, she tied something around her sled's handlebar and her waist and pulled out a second ski pole ~ poling the sled for miles with both arms.  The girl is ripped, but that would be exhausting by nearly anyone's standards.  

They described one night later in the race when they stopped to camp trailside.  Anna was gazing back east, looking at the sliver of rising moon and momentarily clear skies when Kristy mumbled her name.  She gazed west to find Kristy enjoying a glorious sunset.  This twin thing... sheesh.

It was certainly a wet race and, I guess upon greater reflection and the twins' own insights, one nearly as hard as the snowless bashing teams took in 2014.  Both extremely challenging, but in very very different ways.  Kristy described her first experience in 10 years of reaching the coast, running slightly inland, and hearing the ocean's powerful surf exploding on the shore.  The lack of sea ice at the end was something few had seen and seemed to change the trail ambience, if you will, at the end.

When Anna and Kristy took me to the airport in Nome (in the host family's generously loaned side-by-side quad ATV, with my suitcase harmlessly in the open back in a light dusting of snow), they made arrangements to ship their dogs, sleds, and a good deal of gear back to Anchorage. Their diligent returned dog correspondent Aaron will be waiting to collect everyone and everything. They have the finishers' banquet Sunday night and then a late flight back to Anchorage and, at long last, a manageable drive out to Knik. And the kennel.  Home.

That should be enough, especially when paired with some exclusive Seeing Double Mad Blogger pictures from Nome, to get your Sunday started.  More after I get a no-alarm, cell-phones off, blinds closed,  don't-get-out-of-bed-until-it-hurts-to-be-horizontal kind of sleep.

But there will be more!  Saint Patty's Day is Sunday, and all us Iditarod fans have good reason to celebrate.

All photos in this post from Seeing Double.  Please contact us if you have interest in further distribution, otherwise limited personal sharing is encouraged, with attribution to Seeing Double.  Enjoy!!  And forgive the airline window photo cliches, but it was rather nice and summed up my delirium at the moment!

What a marvelous day.  Just a gorgeous, perfect, marvelous day!  The residents of Nome that I chatted with said they hadn't seen a sunny day with virtually no wind like Thursday in the better part of a month.  Kristy's husband Andy and friend Kale arrived in Nome early in the day, with ample time to get sky kennels and straw set up to greet the twins' pups.  The snow crews were out, trying to extend the snowy section of Front Street to make the entry for teams more palatable.  We were out under the burled arch early, chatting with folks and watching an increasing number of fans come of the woodwork.

And the twins were right on schedule.  

The community siren, which normally sounds as each musher arrives on Front Street (which this year, due to sea ice conditions - or lack thereof - was about 2 miles out of town, rather than roughly 6 blocks) rang twice with the briefest of intervals.

And after 10 days, 23 hours, 4 minutes and 48 seconds on the trail, Kristy and 10 amazing canine athletes arrived in Nome in 16th place, successfully completing Kristy's 10th consecutive year racing the Iditarod trail.

Less than 30 seconds later, Anna and 9 phenomenal Iditarod dogs joined her under the arch.  Anna claimed 17th place with an official time of 10 days, 23 hours, 5 minutes and 15 seconds and completed her 8th Iditarod.

Both Kristy and Anna achieved new personal records with respect to their finishing positions. 

This post is a little slow in coming, but I'm sure readers will understand that there was a fair amount of work to be done after the race itself was done.  We got the dogs to the dog lot (I got to ride on the back of Anna's sled, an honor that will never, ever get old), harnesses and booties removed.  Vets performed both their standard post-race checks as well as the extra levels of screening that top-20 teams undergo as part of being eligible for the Seppala Humanitarian Award.  We got the dogs onto their temporary holding line with their sky kennels lined with straw.  Snacks and then meals were fed.  And then the dogs settled back in a variety of adorable poses to bask in the afternoon sun.

Speaking of the dogs, for those anxious to learn which of our canine athletes made it the full 1,000 miles?  With Kristy:  Wallace, Lewis, Raven, Bulliet, Berzerker, Bootlet, Henry, Bogus, Rizo, and Rebal.  With Anna:  Hale, Beccaroo, Forrest, Yondu, Bolt, Quintes, Pilgrim, Beaker, and Mammoth.  On the returned dogs ~ Cloud from Kristy's team, that she opted to return in Safety, caught a helicopter ride to join the team at the finish, and the rest of the dogs (Mayhem, Jack, Sweetums, Rousey, RT, Lobo, Barry, and Whitehorse) are chillin' back at the kennel anxious for their favorite twin humans to get home.

When the dogs in Nome were well settled and left under the watchful eyes of the dog lot security team, we headed off with the lovely couple who offered to host both the twins and Andy in their home for their time in Nome.  They provided a wonderful spread of fresh, wholesome, hot eats for our weary travelers, and we happily sat around listening to Anna and Kristy's tails from the trail, and hearing some of the couples' own stories of their fairly recent move not only to Alaska but the remote community of Nome.  

After another quick check on the dogs, everyone settled in for long overdue showers and well, well earned sleeps.

I'm sure we'll be down to the dog lot early Friday morning, and after a bit of breakfast and visiting, sadly this Mad Blogger has to hit the trail again.  Reality calls back home in Toronto.  The good news for those readers that aren't quite ready to set their own Iditarod snow hooks yet this year?  I've got a lot of downtime with more reliable internet both on my travels home and over what will remain of my weekend, so the posts will keep coming!  I have a long-standing tradition of not closing out the blog until the red lantern is safely into Nome, and that isn't something I intend to abandon this year.

So stay tuned for more!  I still owe folks a full upload to Flickr of pictures from the start, and now I have a lot of shots from Nome for the collection.  I hope to do a more fulsome recap on the dog teams ~ the finishers and (minor) ailments that led some to return home early.  I'd also like your input... learn a bit more about where Seeing Double's logo came from and complete a survey on the potential for Seeing Double merchandise!  

Teams are still on the trail.  So your Mad Blogger is, too.

Anna and Kristy are less than an hour from the last checkpoint of Safety, so they’re right on track to reach Nome within my predicted range of 1:30-2:30pm Alaska time today. But don’t wander far from your GPS tracker or the Iditarod Insider if you want to see the live finish... they’re maintaining some good speeds recently, and I noticed that Wade Marrs, who finished early this morning, made the run from Safety in only 2hr 38min. So they could be on the early side.

The twins will get one final obstacle as they reach Nome... most of the final blocks along Front Street are bare pavement. It stopped snowing here and temps climbed closer to the freezing point yesterday, melting the last snow base that was on the city street itself. Of the teams I’ve watched come in, some veer immediately over to the sidewalk where snow is still packed down to trot there, others, like Aliy Zirkle’s team, stayed on the pavement but only when Aliy got off the sled and ran alongside.

​Whatever the Seeing Double teams do, I cannot wait to greet them under the burled arch!!

Dearest Armchair Mushers ~ I have not abandoned you! The Internet Gods have been wreaking havoc on all of my attempts to get a secure enough connection to post something to the blog or Instagram. I’m hoping I’m not writing this brief post in vain, only to have it disappear into the ether...!

My trip into Nome, despite the lack of sleep and early hour on Tuesday, was uneventful. It’s chilly here, with periodic snow and variable but constant at some level winds. And more snow is just what this small community doesn’t need. The mountains plowed up around town will be fighting to melt come July.

Wednesday came even earlier than Tuesday as fans, including your’s truly, doned their winter layers and went out to the burled arch to welcome this year’s champion. A little after 3:30am, with fat snowflakes falling from the sky, Pete Kaiser and 8 canine athletes pulled into Nome after 9 days, 12 hours, 39 minutes and 6 seconds on the trail. Fans gave him a very enthusiastic welcome, and his dogs looked great with heads and tails held high. And of course I had to stick around to welcome Joar into Nome 15 minutes later. Nearly 6 hours after that, I hiked down to a spot a good deal east on Front Street to be one of the first in Nome to shout congrats to Jessie Royer as she mushed her way into a commendable 3rd place finish.

Aliy will be the next musher to join us at the finish, and it sounds like mushers are having to fight some high winds and drifted trail over this last leg of trail. With 3 teams into Nome and the scratches list growing to 10, we have 39 teams still out on the trail.

I do look forward to greeting the various teams as they arrive, but of course I can barely contain my excitement at the fact that I’ll be seeing Kristy and Anna again soon! We last left them resting in Shaktoolik. They spent 6 hours resting here before pulling their hooks to tackle the 50 miles to Koyuk. Seven hours and most of Tuesday afternoon later, they arrived in Koyuk, race mile 827. They spent 8 1/2 hours in checkpoint before hitting the trail to Elim. Anna returned one more dog here, leaving her with 9 dogs in harness. Kristy has had 11 dogs in harness since her last return in Kaltag.

It took a little over 7 hours for them to mush the 48 miles to Elim, and it must have been a tiring stretch as they spent twice as much time resting in checkpoint than planned. After 7 hours, they again pulled their hooks, 123 miles separating them from Nome. They were reported out in 17th and 18th place.

So when will I be bundling up again Thursday to greet them? They left Elim around 11:30am, and I’m giving them 7 1/2 hours to mush to White Mountain, where they have their final 8 hour rest. They could be out of White Mountain around 3am. A lot will depend on weather and winds over the next stretch, but I’ll give them another 7 1/2 hours to reach Safety. A 2 minute stop there to get their race bibs, followed by a 3 hour run to Nome... I hope to be Seeing Double under the burled arch between 1:30-2:30pm Alaska time Thursday afternoon.

With a little kindness from the Internet Gods, I’ll be back with exciting news in about 24 hours!!

While I may not be entirely clear on what day it is, or what time zone I'm in, I do know your Mad Blogger is back in Alaska and on track to beat the twins into Nome.  After a long day of travel, I got boots on the ground in Anchorage late on Monday and beat a fast track to The Lakefront (formerly the Millennium), where a great deal of Anchorage-based Iditarod action takes place, and I had a room for the night.  It just so happened that I ran into Jack, long time Seeing Double friend and handler, as I was checking in.  We settled down for a couple of pints in the bar as fans, scratched mushers, volunteer vets, and others wandered through.  

It's really interesting to hear his stories over 25+ years being involved with the race.  He's seen the finish in Nome a couple dozen times, and when I asked which stood out to him, he quickly responded with three...  Libby Riddles win as the first woman in 1985, Rick Swenson claiming his 5th championship in 1991, and Lance Mackey's first victory in 2007.  We also talked a bit about this year's race.  I made a comment about hearing reports on the bowling-ball sized tussocks between Ophir and Iditarod.  Cindy Abbott, one of the mushers that scratched this year, overheard me and passed by casually... "they were bigger than bowling balls."  What could I say?!

On that note, I'm going to give you some quick updates and then catch a couple hours of sleep so I don't miss my early flight to Nome.  It's been 8 days and 8 hours on the trail. We've had a couple surprising additions to the scratched list with Nicolas Petit and 2 others bringing that total to 7.  We have 45 teams left on the trail to Nome.  Pete Kaiser and Joar were both reported into Elim, race mile 875, late Monday night.  A half dozen teams are into, or just out of, the prior checkpoint of Koyuk.  As midnight Monday into Tuesday looms, the twins are closing in on Shaktoolik, race mile 777.  I think they'll be reported into this checkpoint in 19th and 20th, the same positions they were reported out of Unalakleet.  Kristy had returned one more dog from Kaltag, leaving her with 11 dogs in harness, and Anna returned two dogs in Unalakleet, so she has 10 canine athletes in front of her sled.  I should be able to find out who left Anna's team after I get to Nome.

Watching some of the footage on the Iditarod Insider, it looks like things have been pretty gnarly out there recently.  Ground blizzard conditions at night as teams made their way up the coast made for spooky images of ghost dog teams appearing out of the darkness and sideways snow.  

Ok, have to get some Zzzz's.  More Tuesday from Nome!
 

Seeing Double pulled into Kaltag, race mile 652, right around noon on Sunday.  And right on schedule.  Despite taking a slightly longer rest (at 6.5 hours) in Eagle Island than planned (5hrs), the twins pulled into their 8hr stop in good shape, reported in 18th and 20th as of this writing.  They'll lose a bit in the ranks as they take a longer rest here, but hopefully the benefit of a better rested team will outweigh the longer stop at this point in the race.

GPS has the leader, familiar name Nic Petit, at racc mile 758, out of Unalakleet and running a team of 10 dogs.  Joar, Pete Kaiser, and Jessie Royer aren't too far behind.  The back of the field is some 270 miles behind the leaders in Shageluk. Three more mushers have scratched fro this year's competition ~ Emily Maxwell, Marcelle Fressineau, and Cindy Abbott ~ leaving 48 teams  making their way to Nome.  As always, Seeing Double wishes these teams safe and swift travels back to their home kennels.

Prior weather and checkpoint conditions led to issues getting the food drops to a couple of Yukon checkpoints, including Eagle Island.  It so happens that Kristy's husband, Andy Pohl, and Seeing Double's friend and Non-Stop Dogwear CEO Kale Casey, were out on the trail on Polaris snowmachines.  They got tapped to make some food runs, and also responded to a transponder SOS from mushers Maxwell and Fressineau, making welfare checks.  Kudos to them for being in the right place at the right time to help out.

Weather may become more of a factor over the balance of the race, as snow and winds up to 40mph along the coast have been reported.  Your Mad Blogger is on her way back to Alaska on Monday, so while I'll soon have a boots-on-the-ground report for you, forgive me if I go dark for a bit getting there.

A few of the latest shots from the trail...

Well, armchair mushers, we're just over 6 days into the Last Great Race and we still have 51 teams on the trail.  GPS has the 3 leaders, Nic Petit, Pete Kaiser, and Joar Leifseth Ulsom, all into Kaltag, race mile 652.  Ten more teams are closing in on this checkpoint.  All but 3 are reported as having completed their mandatory 8 hour rest along the Yukon.  The weather's been warm, and I suspect everyone on this stretch got rained on.  Visibility has been poor, wind has picked up, and freezing fog has been reported.  The mushers that have had interviews posted to the Iditarod Insider have reported both slushy trail and frozen over fast stretches as they make their way up the Yukon.

Seeing Double just pulled into Eagle Island, race mile 592, one checkpoint and about 60 miles behind the leaders.  Their plan was to camp in checkpoint for 5 hours before hitting the trail to Kaltag.  Their rests in the prior 2 checkpoints were to plan by nearly the minute, and I hope this is a sign they're feeling good, their dogs are happy, and they're not only thinking of simply making it to Nome - always goal #1 in addition to dog care - but they're also racing.  

Kristy was into Eagle Island in 20th with Anna right on her heels in 21st.  Anna returned her second dog in Grayling, so each twin is mushing a team of 12 canine athletes.  Turns out returned dogs up to Unalakleet are still flown back to Anchorage, so I'll let everyone know when Aaron has picked up both Rousey and whichever other pup caught a ride home from Grayling.

If the twins stick to their plan, they should pull their hooks out of Eagle around 1am Sunday.  They don't plan any long camp outs along the way, so it will be approaching mid-day when they get into Kaltag.  They should take their 8 hour rest here.  So while we will see a few teams pass them, as half the field is done with their 8s, don't forget - those teams still have to rest, too.  Maybe only 4-6 hours, but it isn't like everyone else will be moving the whole time Anna and Kristy are resting in Kaltag.  And I've liked their speed since they got off their 24s.  Sure, they did move up the ranks recently because most of the teams in front of and close to them took their 8s, but the twins still took 5 hour rests themselves.  It will be very interesting to see how the field progresses now that these rests are done.  The only remaining mandatory stop is the 8-hour in White Mountain, and the field will certainly be even more defined by that point.

As teams get closer to the coast, they should encounter more snow and winds will continue.  The snow base is reportedly 2-5 feet along most of the rest of the trail, and Nome has had a record season - some 94 inches according to one article I ran across recently.  The sea ice is all but gone, though, so teams will be running the inland trail, something I don't believe the twins have done before.

In addition to Nome's snowfall record, here's a very random stream of tidbits I've run across in the last few days but failed to work into prior posts...  

There's been some rough trail throughout this race.  Earlier stories covered busted up sleds, sore mushers, and tussocks in the trail that made riding the sled feel like being drug through a field of bowling balls.

The loan Frenchman in this year's race, Dos Santos Borges, has 3 shelter dogs running on his team this year.  Of course they're all of Iditarod caliper, but it certainly is a rare thing to transition from homeless to house pet to Iditarod Dog!

Nic Petit reported an encounter with a moose earlier in the race.  Allegedly the moose wasn't trying to charge or otherwise attack the team, but seemed more content to run in close proximity for a bit.  Petit joked they were racing.

Renown but retired Iditarod racer DeeDee Jonrowe is reporting for KTUU this year, and in a report from outside Ophir, she mentioned a conversation with the twins and why they turned up in Ophir with straw on their sleds.  Hear for yourself here.  

There are 50 volunteer veterinarians from 5 different countries working with the Iditarod this year to make sure each and every canine athlete gets the best care.

Friday was International Women's Day.  In addition to the feature in Vogue that I mentioned in a prior post, Anna and Kristy were also in an ADN.com story ~ Badass Women Who Made History in the Iditarod.  I know the twins, like many female mushers, think of themselves simply as competitors, not female competitors.  But I still think what they do is pretty darn impressive, and they have to admit, it is a traditionally male-dominated sport.  Be proud, ladies.  You ARE badass.

Not to mention good role models for kids of all ages.  Kristy and Anna found time in their busy pre-Iditarod schedule in late February to appear at a local school in support of Iditaread, and they brought a couple canine representatives with them.  Great way to inspire kids to read and an important job for some of our retired racers.  You can see a news story on their appearance here.  

After 5 days and 4 hours, Seeing Double is closing in on the checkpoint of Shageluk, race mile 486.  We last left them as they pulled out of Ophir, fresh off their 24s and heading out on the 80 mile run to Iditarod.  They camped out along the way, as planned, and 14 hours later arrived in Iditarod.  After a 5 hour rest in checkpoint, they were reported out just after noon on Friday.  Anna was in 28th place and Kristy in 29th.  It looks like they passed a couple of teams on the trail and I expect they'll be reported into Shageluk in 25th and 26th place.

The top 5 teams are into Grayling 43 miles ahead of Seeing Double, and it seems like a tight race at the front with them all arriving within about a 5 hour span.  They've each completed their 24s, as have all but 1 other musher in the field at this point.  But within those top 5, only Joar has also completed his 8 hour rest along the Yukon.  They're each running 11 to 13 dog teams.  And the twins are right in the mix.  Kristy is running the same 12 dogs she's had since she last returned one in Nikolai, while Anna finally returned her first dog during her 24 in Ophir, leaving her 13 in harness.  No further mushers have scratched, leaving 51 teams mushing to Nome.

Updates from our DDC Aaron ~ Mayhem has since welcomed home Jack, the dog Kristy returned from Nikolai.  He also had a sore shoulder but is now relaxing at the kennel and doing great!  I also heard through the Pohl family grapevine that the dog Anna returned from Ophir was Rousey.  I don't yet know her specifics, but I know Aaron will give us an update as soon as he hears from Iditarod HQ in Anchorage.  I believe from here, any dogs needing to step off the team will be flown on to Nome, so I'm afraid you'll have to be a bit patient if there's a need for further returned dog updates.

I expect the twins will remain in Shageluk for 5-6 hours before running through Anvik to Grayling.  A 4-5 hour rest in Grayling is on the cards before they really hit the Yukon in earnest.  Temps look to remain very much on the warm side, getting well into the 30s, and with high chances of precipitation, I hope Anna and Kristy remembered all their rain gear!

Here are a couple pics of Seeing Double's furry teammates back at the kennel and an example of the information each returned dog is, well, returned with.

It's going on 5:30pm Thursday night in Alaska, and Kristy just pulled her snow hook in Ophir, race mile 352, hitting the trail with nearly 650 miles separating her from Nome.  I expect Anna to also pull her hook long before I finish this entry.

Aliy Zirkle was the first musher to reach the checkpoint of Iditarod in the wee hours Thursday morning, winning the Dorothy G Page halfway award, complete with a baggy full of shiny gold nuggets.  She finally declared her 24 there after a long, slow 80 mile slug from Ophir.  

Well over half the field has satisfied their 24 requirement, leaving them free to set their own run rest schedule for a while.  The next requirement has mushers taking an 8 hour break at a checkpoint of their choosing along the Yukon River, which covers Anvik to Kaltag.

Aliy's speed from Ophir to Iditarod was only 4.58mph, and the 5 teams behind her didn't crack 6mph.  It will be interesting to see if the subsequent teams pack the trail down and speeds improve, if freshly rested teams like the twins' (or like Nic Petit... he also 24'd in Ophir and he topped 8mph on his run to Iditarod) post markedly faster speeds.  We shall see.  

I am also keen to watch what Mother Nature has in store.  At least one musher, Jeff King, is preparing for some serious snow.  He switched out his 2" sled runners for 4.5" fatties that will help him float on top of deep snow conditions and make things easier on this dogs.  The one thing it sounds like Mother Nature won't dish up, at least not right away, is serious cold.  Temps continue to be mild and aren't predicted to change anytime soon.  So much so, that mushers are apparently being warned that some drop bags in Shageluk may have thawed, and cautious mushers should consider carrying extra provisions from the prior checkpoint of Iditarod just in case.  The trail from Iditarod to Shageluk is slow and hilly, though, so teams will also think twice about things that further weigh them down.

As the final teams wrap up their 24s, we have Nic Petit and Joar both out of Iditarod, running 14 and 11 dogs, respectively.  7 teams are checked into Iditarod, and another 23 out of Ophir.  While the GPS trackers show both of the twins also moving down the trail out of Ophir since I began this missive - and moving along at a smart 9.4mph I might add - the Iditarod website has not yet updated the official standings yet.  For as anxious as I am to see if Kristy and Anna departed without dropping any dogs, I have an early meeting and desperately need some Zzzz's.  

I'll be back with another update Friday afternoon or evening and look for some special Weekend Editions before I pull my own snow hook of sorts on Monday and head back to Alaska.

Remember, this race is only just about half over.  All sorts of things can and will lie ahead!

Enjoy some shots from earlier in the race that I found online, as well as a shot of the checkpoint of Iditarod.
​