I'm sure many of you were like me and took a big sigh of relief when the 34th and final musher arrived in Nome Sunday afternoon, bringing the 48th Iditarod to a close.  Rookie Kaci Murringer pulled under the burled arch as this year's Red Lantern just before 12:30pm after 13 days, 22 hour and 29 minutes on the trail.  Her finish will also always carry with it the notoriety of being the eleventh and final musher of the Elim 11 during one of the most challenging Iditarods in history.

I'm happy to report that Kristy, Anna, and all of their dogs have been settling back in at the kennel for a few days now.  Our friend Tom, one of the Helicopter 3, is also home safely with his family and all of his dogs.  I'm sure many that were in or associated with the race still have travels ahead of them, and I hope you reach your final destination, where ever that may be, safely.

It's amazing how quickly 2020 turned into a "where were you when" year.  The world's collective memory will always be focused on the COVID-19 pandemic.  We, of course, also have that.  But we also have Iditarod, the year it truly was the last great race.  A success for some, a disappointment for others.  A challenge for everyone involved, and an amazing adventure for us all.

To close out this year's blog, It's Time to Say Thank You!!  

From Seeing Double's Mad Blogger to all of you, dear readers, thanks for following the trail with me and giving me an audience larger than my two dogs (whom I arguably talk to too much already).

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On behalf of Kristy, Anna, and all the Seeing Double Dogs...
It's Time to Say Thank You!!!
Iditarod...
Insider!
Iditarod Trail Committee (ITC) & Trail Breakers
All Race Sponsors, especially those that have stuck with it or recently signed on.
Vets & Checkpoint Dog Handlers
Iditarod Air Force
All the Race Volunteers!
For all the Villagers...
Teachers & Students in their Classrooms
The Media & Photographers that show the love & truth behind this amazing event.
Seeing Double Sponsors (big & small) - WE CANNOT THANK YOU ENOUGH!
Special thanks to our Lead Dog and Team Dog Sponsors.
To all of our Fans, especially those of you that not only respect and understand what we do,
but speak up for and defend it.
To the Alaska National Guard, & All Who Serve Our Country!
Thank You for rescuing our Friends and Fellow Mushers.
& Finally, to all of our Family...
(that includes you, Grandpa)
& to all of our Friends...
With a Well-Deserved Nod to All Mushers in the 48th Iditarod
Forever & Always to Our Dogs & Alaskan Husky Dogs Everywhere!

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE THAT MADE
IDITAROD 2020 POSSIBLE!
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This has been Kat, not-a-twin sister and Seeing Double's Mad Blogger!
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To stick with my movie theme and quote Big Chris from one of my all-time favorites...
"It's been emotional."

Keep on mushin'!

It's been 12 days and some 17 hours since the start of the 48th Iditarod, and it feels like a lifetime.  Not only has so much in the world changed, but in the 11 years I've been closely following the race, I've never, ever seen anything like this before.

Let's start with a bit of good news.  In the time since I last posted, four more mushers arrived in Nome, including Lance Mackey (his 14th time under the burled arch) and friend of Seeing Double Jessica Klejka.  That puts 23 teams successfully into the finish.

Now, to the not so good news.  First, we saw Jason Campeau scratch in White Mountain and Robert Bundtzen in Elim.  And then we get the headline, "Three teams rescued by helicopter near Safety checkpoint"!!  What?  Mushers lost or stranded and rescued by snowmachine?  Yes.  But helicopter?  Not that I can recall.  And certainly not in this dramatic a fashion.  

Remember that special weather statement I referenced in Race Update 8, just before the twins scratched in Unalakleet?  I wish I had a snapshot of it, as the link has gone stale, but I distinctly recall it talking about how the high winds in particular were likely to cause water to come up through the ice along the coast.  And it sounds like that's exactly what happened.  Three mushers and their dog teams, including friend Tom Knolmayer as well as Sean Underwood and Matthew Failor, ended up stranded in overflow near Safety.  One or more of them hit the SOS button on their Spot GPS trackers and a team of search and rescue personnel from Nome on snowmachines met members of the Alaska Army National Guard in helicopter at their location.  It sounds like the teams had to be actively helped out of open water to safety, and ultimately the humans were flown out while the snowmachiners got the dog teams back to Nome.

Back to good news - everyone involved in that incident, dogs included, is ok!  The hospital in Nome cleared the humans and Iditarod head veterinarian Stu Nelson cleared all of the dogs.  Thank goodness.  But, wow... what a harrowing adventure after some 950 miles!

Obviously these three mushers joined the astoundingly long list of those that had to step out of the Iditarod before reaching Nome this year.  Our scratch tally is at 23, a hair over 40% of the field.

Ok, so 23 in Nome, 23 headed home.  And the remaining 11?  These poor dears are still out there, and they were last reported in Elim (mile 852) figuring out what the heck to do.  Continued problems with overflow on the trail forced these teams, who had all technically checked out of Elim headed to White Mountain, to return back to checkpoint.  But the five Iditarod veterans and six rookies appear to have hit the trail again this morning with GPS trackers showing them all running, with Martin Buser leading the way around mile 864 and the rest of the teams within 4 miles behind him.

Dog speed, mushers.  And to everyone else trying to get home, or maybe just get basic supplies from their local store, good luck out there.  Stay safe.

It won't be long and eleven full days will have passed since 57 teams left the restart line in Willow.  Nineteen teams are now into Nome, most recently the second rookie, Tom Frode Johansen of Norway, who claimed 19th place early today.  Out of Safety and closing in on the finish next are Tim Pappas and Lance Mackey.  Six mushers are wrapping up their final 8hr rest in White Mountain and another twelve are working to join them in this checkpoint.

Which means we've had three more mushers step out of this year's Iditarod, bringing the tally to a whopping 18 mushers.  Karin Hendrickson was the last musher to head home from Unalakleet while Robert Redington and Nic Petit were both officially scratched in Elim.  Petit had a bit more of a harrowing experience, choosing to activate his SOS beacon on the Bering Sea Coast between Elim and White Mountain during a storm.  He and his dogs were located by search and rescue and reported safe in a shelter cabin.  Get home safe everyone.

Even if all of the remaining 20 teams on the trail successfully get to Nome, and we sincerely hope they all do!, the current rate of scratched teams is unusually high.  18 of 57 is 31.6%.  My records indicate the average percentage of the field to scratch since the race's inception in 1973 is 21.4%, and since 2000 is 19.4%.  I don't see a scratch rate over 30% since 2003, and before that you have to go back to 1984 and 1985.  Proof in the numbers it's been a very challenging year.
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Three more mushers have opted to scratch in the checkpoint of Unalakleet this year, Iditarod veterans John Schandelmeier and Meredith Mapes, as well as rookie Quince Mountain.  Recall John was tapped at literally the 11th hour to stand in for his wife, Zoya DeNure; Quince hails from Wisconsin, where the twins grew up; and 26 year old Meredith was on the short list of females in this year's event.  Safe and swift travels to all of you and your dog teams as you make your way home.

That brings the scratch tally for this year to 15 of the original 57 mushers off the line.  15 mushers are into the finish in Nome, most recently as of this posting Mille Porsild of Denmark, who claimed rookie of the year in 15th place after 10 days 1 hour and 43 minutes on the trail.  Well done, Mille!

We still have 27 mushers on their way to Nome, with the last 6 out of Unalakleet and striking off along the coast.
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It is my tradition to keep Seeing Double's blog open until the Red Lantern, or final musher, is in to Nome, and with nearly everything else going kittywampus in the world right now, I have no intention of breaking with tradition!

So while I wait for word that the twins and all their dogs are safely back at the kennel (when hopefully I can bug and distract them with requests for cute dog pictures), let's turn back to the trail.

While I digested all the news on the personal front, veteran Thomas Waerner and his team of dogs chewed up the rest of the trail, arriving in Nome in the wee hours Wednesday as the winner of this year's Iditarod.  Not quite 38 minutes past midnight, after 9 days 10 hours, 37 minutes and 47 seconds on the trail, Thomas pulled under the burled arch with 10 impressive Alaska Huskies in front of his sled.  Congratulations Thomas!!

About five and a half hours later, Mitch Seavey was the second musher into Nome.  He was also running a team of 10 dogs.  More mushers will be joining them soon, with Iditarod veterans Jessie Royer, Brent Sass, Aaron Burmeister, Paige Drobny, Joar Leifseth Ulsom, and Ryan Redington all reported out of Safety and on their final stretch, and Royer's arrival imminent.  Another 10 mushers, including last year's champ Pete Kaiser and fan favorite Aliy Zirkle, are wrapping up their final 8 hour breaks in White Mountain and I'm sure eager to hit the trail and 'drop the mic' on this year's event.

But until they actually reach Nome, as of this post we still have 43 mushers in the race.  There was one additional scratch, rookie Gabe Dunham, bringing our total scratch tally at this point to 12 mushers.  I know a number of the mushers that had to step out of this year's race, including the twins, are still working their way home.  Safe and swift travels to you all!

I will be back as more teams make it to Nome.  The back of the pack is into Unalakleet, while the current red lantern, rookie Quine Mountain, is at mile 697 and nearly caught up with them again.  After 9 days and nearly 18 hours on the trail, it will be a while yet before any of them take a sigh of relief under the burled arch.

It is with a heavy heart that Seeing Double's Mad Blogger comes to you with confirmation that both Anna and Kristy recently opted to scratch from the 2020 Iditarod in the checkpoint of Unalakleet, 714 miles into the 975 race-mile event.  Anna officially did so with 8 dogs in her team, Kristy made the decision with 10 dogs in her team.  They are awaiting arrangements to fly their dogs, gear, and selves home to Knik.

Iditarod.com posted the same official statement from both of the twins, differing only in numbers of dogs and bib.  Namely ~ Berington made the decision to scratch due to a death in the family and for the good of her race team. 

I have spoken to the twins and can share a bit more information, but I do not want to overstep boundaries I can barely begin to fathom.

To the first point about a death in the family - it wasn't COVID-19!  So for Saint Peter's sake do not let anyone start that rumor.  Our beloved grandfather, Hubert Berington, who turned 99 (!!!) in late November of last year, finally had the sands in his hourglass run out.  Sharp until the end and with only very recent, serious failing health, I can say on behalf of my family that we were honored to have him with us for as long as we did, we are glad the end was peaceful, and he will be greatly, greatly missed.
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With respect to the well being of the twins and their dogs ~ everyone is ok.  Neither Anna, Kristy, nor any of their dogs are facing any serious injury or health issue.  So, why then did they scratch?  I think I can best sum it up as an honest assessment of risk and reward.  They each looked at the dogs still traveling with them down the trail; the experience level of those dogs, especially their remaining leaders; the 261 miles of trail in front of them, pretty much exclusively along the coast; and the checkpoint changes and limitations, especially in Shaktoolik.  All with another severe storm front approaching.  Those were the key variables in the decision to press to Nome, or head home.

To be clear, no one is finding fault with the changes that had to be made with checkpoints this year, I'm just saying the changes are something the twins had to take into account.  It's 40 miles from Una to Shak and another 50 from Shak to Koyuk.  I understand  they were able to get one vet out to Shak, as well as drop bags and straw, but that's pretty much it.  So if, just if, something happened over that many miles of ice and snow, with a storm coming...?   Versus pressing on, getting to Nome, but in no position to defend your prior year's top 20 finish...?

This isn't giving up.  This isn't giving in.  This is choosing to say, "Ya know?  It's not my year.  I'm going to make a very tough decision, but one that presents the least risk to my dogs.  I'm going to learn from this, and come back to mush another day."  

Seeing Double knows their family, friends, fans and sponsors respect their decision.
Thank you, everyone, for your support.

Happy St. Patrick's Day, everyone.  Have you heard the saying, 'sometimes it's better to be lucky than good'?  Talent and skill can get a person a long way, but if the only luck you seem to have is bad luck, no amount of talent may be enough to overcome it.

Thomas Waerner seems to have both talent and luck in spades this year, with the first place musher charging into White Mountain, mile 898, around 5:30am today.  He was driving a team of 12 dogs on arrival and they'll all take their final 8 hour mandatory break before heading off on the final 77 miles to the finish.  And it appears it is very much his race to lose at this point, with his closest competitor, Mitch Seavey, over 25 miles still to go to White Mountain.  Nothing is certain in the Iditarod, though, until it actually happens.  And 77 miles is still a long ways, especially when it's on top of the nearly 900 miles one has already traveled over the last 8 days and nearly 20 grueling hours on the trail.  

Luck ran out in this year's race for three more mushers, with Iditarod veterans Larry Daugherty, Richie Diehl, and Aaron Peck all scratching since my last update.  This brings the current scratch tally to 9 and leaving 48 mushers still actively racing.  All three mushers indicated they were withdrawing in the best interests of their dogs and race team but reports didn't elaborate further.  Of course I wish them all safe and swift travels to their home kennels.

I also regret to report that another major sponsor has scratched from the Iditarod, with Anchorage Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram announcing they are ending what I believe was a 30 year partnership with the race.  Add this to Alaska Airlines and Jack Daniel's removing support, and the Iditarod Trail Committee and race organization will be facing some tough number crunching long after this year's mushers reach Nome.

Kristy and Anna have been spending their St. Patty's day so far resting in Unalakleet, having arrived in this first checkpoint on the coast, mile 714, a little after 5pm late Monday afternoon.  They were out on the prior 85 mile stretch for over 17 hours, and while a chunk of that was spent camping, it will still have been exhausting.  In fact, they've now been in Una for about 15 hours, so I know both they and their dogs required some extended down time to rest and assess.

I keep assessing the weather, and frankly - I don't like it.  It's too warm, with daytime highs getting well into the 30s Fahrenheit (above 0 Celsius).  Not ideal for the dogs, not good for trail conditions.  I don't like the winds, currently east at a brisk 29mph.  And while I'm trying to take some comfort from the fact that at least one article I read on KTVA.com didn't make a big deal about any weather, I really didn't like the Special Weather Statement for western Alaska.  Not with so many teams, Seeing Double included, with so much trail along the coast to face.

​I'll be back with updates as I see them.
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We're deep into the 7th day of the Iditarod and it's going to be an exciting couple of days as we start to see teams cross the finish.  Norwegian Thomas Waerner is in the lead and nearing Koyuk, running a 12-dog team and with "only" 180 miles or so to go.  He's built himself a nice little buffer between the closest teams behind him, but there's still a lot of trail to cover and the coast is notorious for throwing a monkey in it.  Brent Sass is at mile 775 facing 200 more miles, Jessie Royer at mile 770, Aaron Burmeister and Wade Marrs not too far behind her, and the current holder of the fastest time to Nome (at 8 days 3 hours from his 2017 run), Mitch Seavey, at mile 762.

There have been no additional scratches in the race as of this time, so we still have 51 teams out on the trail.  The back of the pack is all at least into Galena, mile 545, and 6 of the last 10 mushers are all rookies.  But we also have the likes of Martin Buser, a very seasoned Iditarod veteran, who is running a puppy team this year and not too far ahead of them.  I'm sure Martin is sharing the wealth of his experience with these rookies as they overlap in checkpoints, and they're all encouraging each other as they move along.

Kristy and Anna are out on the trail, resting at what has obviously become a popular stop ~ mile 676.  They have 38 miles from there to Unalakleet, race mile 714.  They pulled out of Nulato Sunday before noon after resting for about 6 hours.  They spent Sunday afternoon covering the 47 miles to Kaltag, arriving there about quarter past 5pm.  I don't believe they had originally planned to stay in Kaltag, but they did, and for just over six and a half hours.  It looks like their stop there was in lieu of pushing past the checkpoint to the Tripod safety cabin.  Instead, they stayed in Kaltag until just before midnight Sunday, and spent the wee hours Monday morning covering the 47 miles to "676" for a camp out and breakfast.

Neither twin returned any dogs when departing either Nulato or Kaltag, so Anna is still running with 9 dogs and Kristy 11, making for a total of 20 furry friends camping out on the trail with them right now.  I expect them all to rest at least 5... probably closer to 6 or more hours in Unalakleet before tackling their first stretch along the Bering coast and 40 miles or so on to "Old Shak."

Speaking of which, you have to love another story of folks pulling together in and around the villages to give mushers a few more comforts given checkpoint modifications.  ADN.com reported how the kind folks of Shaktoolik pulled together with short notice to resurrect a shelter in the Old Shaktoolik village, which had been abandoned since 1976.  Everyone from the elderly to 4 year olds chipped in to help, shoveling, covering windows, hauling wood and water, drilling a hole in the river so mushers could access additional water, and even hanging a welcome banner and putting signs along the trail.  All of this must be a very welcome sight for mushers that were told not to even expect shelter.

Temperatures will definitely be on the warm side for teams in the immediate future, and I'm sure the twins will be encountering some water and punchy, slow trail.  I was so glad to see this picture by Sebastian Schnuelle on Iditarod.com, showing they got a good place indoors in Nulato to hunker down and actually sleep.  Slick work on their part using bondi bands as eye masks!

Six days and about 19 hours into this race, and temperatures seem to be letting up out on the Iditarod trail.  But the snow sure isn't.  The winter storm warning for the Kaltag area has been extended until 6am Monday morning, but at least wind doesn't appear to be much of a factor.  For now.  It's the changes in temperature that are probably having the biggest impact on mushers by way of impacts to the type of snow they're traveling on and how the dogs are doing.

Teams have pretty much been snowed on throughout their journey, but it will have varied considerably.  It has snowed at great accumulation rates, like early in the race, and it's come down more gently like in some of the pictures we've seen.  Weather reports have shown periods of very little wind, but there were trail reports of massive, blow-your-sled-sideways gusts going over the Pass, and thus snow-blown trail.  Mushers have seen everything from -50F overnight in the interior, which would give a dry, crystalline snow, to recent reports approaching +30F where the snow is wet, clumpy, sometimes mixed with sleet.  There is a reason why languages born in cold places inevitably have multiple words for "snow"!

Dogs and sleds move differently in different snow and trail conditions.  The twins will be swapping out their sled runner plastic regularly to suit the changes, as slightly different plastics move better in different conditions.  How well the sled glides along the trail obviously impacts how hard the dogs need to pull, how fast they are willing and able to run, and how much pedaling or ski-poling the twins feel the need to do to help keep things moving along.  As it gets warmer, and wetter, dog jackets may come off, booties swapped out more, additional powders applied to paws to keep them healthy.  Anna and Kristy will also modify what they're feeding the dogs to the conditions as much as their shipped-out supplies will allow, working in fattier foods like chicken when it's really cold or focusing on lean, high protein sources like salmon as it warms up.

The dogs really do prefer it on the cold side, and that is a good segue into an update on this year's teams on the trail.  We have two more scratches in the race, bringing the total to six.  Martin Massicotte was the first rookie to scratch this year, and he did so citing concern for his dog team directly related to warming temperatures.  Veteran Linwood Fiedler also withdrew from the contest, opting to do so in the best interests of his dogs but not elaborating further.  Safe and swift travels to you both.  This leaves us with 51 teams still working their way to Nome.

I also read about a close call for musher Matt Failor and one of his dogs, Cool Cat.  After resting in Takotna, Cool Cat wasn't feeling right and then Failor and vets noticed her stomach was distended.  Turns out her stomach was twisted, a severe condition requiring immediate treatment.  Thanks to quick actions by a vet on scene and rapid transport to Anchorage, Cool Cat got the care she needed and is recovering well.  You can read more in this KTVA.com article. 

I think it is important to note this can happen to any dog and isn't believed to be related to Cool Cat's participation in the Iditarod.  And my family has direct experience in support of that.  Many of you may have read about the twins' early foray into mushing involving the family Border Collie and Great Pyrenees.  Well, there was another Great Pyrenees when Kristy and Anna were very young named Benjamin, or Benny for short.  Long story short, his life ended earlier than it should have when his stomach twisted and we were unable to get him to the vet in time to be saved.  It was through no neglect on my family's part, anything he ate or any activity he participated in.  Just a tragic, sad unexplained medical anomaly.  I'm sure glad Cool Cat's story had a happier ending!

It will be a while yet before this year's Iditarod has a happy ending at the finish line in Nome.  Thomas Waerner is currently in the lead, and GPS has him just over 710 miles along the trail and closing in on Unalakleet.  There are several teams behind him, and they all appear to be resting trailside at mile 676, which I believe is the location of the tripod shelter cabin and a common place to rest on this stretch.  The top 21 teams are all at least into Kaltag, and the vast majority of mushers have also now satisfied their 8hr rest requirement.  Rookie Quince Mountain continues to press along at the back of the pack and is around mile 448, taking the total lead/lag spread in the field to just over 260 miles.

And where is Seeing Double?  They've made it all the way to Nulato, mile 582, and continue to run in the middle of the pack.  They spent 7 1/2 hours on the 50 miles from Ruby to Galena, where we did see them declare and take their 8hr rest.  Much to my surprise, Anna turned on her phone, actually had a bit of reception, and - since it's now allowed by race rules - I got a much welcome call as they were getting ready to leave Galena!  

We didn't talk long, and I didn't spend any of that precious time updating them on competitors.  I wanted to hear firsthand how they were doing, how the dogs were, and how things had been so far.  The answers to those questions, in a nutshell, were:  good but a little frustrated at times; great! albeit not inclined to set any land-speed records;  and... challenging!  Some of the frustration stemmed from all the changes made to original, well-laid plans.  The dogs still with them on the trail are doing really well, but it sounded like they were happily in traveling mode, not racing mode.  They were also in the process of returning one more dog each, and while not for anything serious, given their bond with each dog, sending one of your teammates home for any reason has got to be a major bummer.  

​The additional challenges?  Well, there's the fact that they had been out there for nearly six days when they called.  Even with their 24 and 8 hour breaks, they won't have gotten much actual sleep.  They did the math for me one time and figured they get about 45 minutes of rest/sleep for every 4 hour period during Iditarod.  That works out to about 10 straight days of only "sleeping" 4 1/2 hours per day.  Add the physical activity and weather conditions then subtract your typical hearty home cooked meals, and wowser.  Anna confirmed the crazy winds reported around Rainy Pass and the -50F temps they saw.  Kristy confirmed how far removed from anything COVID-19 they had been until it came at them out of nowhere with all the checkpoint changes.  

The other thing they both alluded to was a bit of disappointment with not being higher in the ranks.  After finishing 16th and 17th last year, first time in the top 20 for either twin, I think they were putting a fair amount of pressure on themselves to do as well again this year.  I think we've seen that reflected quietly in some of their comments in interviews.  But this pressure is not for their own sake.  No, not at all.  And they said as much to me during our brief chat.  They're afraid they're disappointing others - fans, existing and new sponsors, family and friends. 

Don't worry... I found a much gentler, more uplifting way of saying, "Don't be an idiot!!"  I assured them we all just want them and the dogs to be safe and get to Nome.  That we're all amazed by the fact that they're simply out there!  Just keep doing the best you can, enjoy the time with the dogs and each other, try to have a bit of fun.  Continue to be as strong as we all know you are, and quit worrying about disappointing anyone.  Run the trail in front of you with the dogs you've got.

And that's just what they're doing.  Not too long after talking to me, they pulled out of Galena just before 9:30pm Saturday evening.  Kristy is now mushing 11 dogs, Anna left with 9.  They spent just over 8 hours on the 37 miles to Nulato, mile 582, and should spend at least 5 hours resting here.  Hopefully they were pleasantly surprised on their arrival to find unexpected access to a cabin and also water, maybe even some hot water at that.  Not having to melt snow to make water to boil to feed one's team is a welcome thing.  It sounds like some of the best of humanity is alive and well out there with a former Iditarod racer, his family, and the school principal all helping generously to make this a more comfortable spot for mushers and their teams.
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Everything is subject to change at this point, but if well-laid plans catch up to Anna and Kristy at this point in the race, we'll see them pull out of Nulato before noon on Sunday.  They'll run the 47 miles to Kaltag, stop and resupply, do anything they need to with their dogs, and head out on the daunting 85-mile stretch to Unalakleet.  They'll also be saying goodbye to the Yukon River stretch when they leave Kaltag.  They're not going to run the 85-miles to UNK in one go, though, but will stop 13 or so miles outside of Kaltag at Tripod Cabin.  If they don't stop there, we'll see them stop somewhere trailside for an extended rest on this bit of trail, the longest section between checkpoints in the race. 

Enjoy a few screen captures from the Iditarod.com Insider feature "Let it Snow in Galena", posted mid-day March 14th.
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It's been 5 days and nearly 19 hours since mushers left Willow last Sunday afternoon.  Over that time, we've all learned you can run, but you can't hide.  

The effects of COVID-19 continue to spread, literally and figuratively.  With widespread cancellations in everything from professional sports to concerts, school events and public gatherings, even one's ability to travel in certain parts of the world, the Iditarod as the Last Great Race may really be one of the last races still going on right now. 

Mushers seem to have been largely isolated from the news until fairly recently.  Musher Jeremy Keller's departure from the race was soon followed by the city of Nome's understandable cancellation of post-race festivities.  And now mushers are going to feel the impacts more directly as the remaining checkpoints in the race also make adjustments.

The checkpoint of Shaktoolik first hit the newswires with the decision to move the checkpoint to "Old Shak", an adjustment of a couple miles in distance and making it a restocking point only with no race personnel.  The Bering Strait School District is no longer giving mushers and visitors access to village schools to help protect villagers, mushers, and race personnel.  This means access to the traditionally used indoor spots in the checkpoints of Unalakleet all the way through White Mountain are not available this year.  Nulato also announced there will be no village access and no indoor access overnight for mushers, but they will still be fully stocked with respect to checkers, vets, a race judge, and supplies (drop bags, HEET, and straw).  

This all amounts to a lot more wilderness camping than expected this year for mushers, and probably more than any of them have seen, at least in recent years.  

Add to these changes in checkpoint accommodations continued winter storm warnings, and it's no surprise many mushers are probably adjusting their plans on the fly out there.  The twins are no exception.

We last left Kristy and Anna camped out in Cripple after arriving there early Friday morning.  They remained in checkpoint for about five and a quarter hours and Anna returned one dog before they both hit the trail just after 10:30am.  Anna is mushing 10 dogs in front of her sled, Kristy 12 dogs.  They initially hadn't planned to camp along the 70 or so miles to Ruby, but it turns out they did stop for a few hours, giving them a total time out on this stretch of trail of nearly 13 1/2 hours.  And instead of declaring and taking their 8hr rest in Ruby, mile 495, as planned, they only rested here for 5 1/2 hours.  Clearly they've decided to take their 8hr at one of the next 3 checkpoints.

Whatever is driving their decisions right now, they arrived in Ruby just after midnight and were back on their sleds at 5:30am Saturday morning.  No dogs were returned in Ruby, leaving Kristy and Anna still with 12 dogs 10 dogs, respectively.  It's about 50 miles from Ruby to Galena, at which point they'll be 545 miles into the race and looking at 430 miles left on their trek to Nome.
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​We did have two more mushers scratch from the race, Nils Hahn and Alan Eischens, leaving 53 of the original 57 teams off the start still on the way to Nome.  Brent Sass has captured the lead from Jessie Royer and he's out of Nulato running 13 dogs.  Jessie Royer is in Nulato (mile 582) along with 5 other mushers.  I only see 3 of the top 10 completing their 8hr rests as of this writing, although a number are likely doing so now in this checkpoint.  The rest of the top 20 are all at least into, if not already out of, Galena.  The back of the pack is reported out of Ophir.  GPS currently puts the spread between our leader at mile 592 and the rookies in the rear at mile 390 at just over 200 miles.

Anna and Kristy continue to travel together, and I've noticed friend Tom Knolmayer isn't too far behind them and they would all have spent time together during rests.  Earlier in the race, I ran across a report that said Tom suffered some frostbite to his eyes somewhere in or around Rainy Pass, so I'm very happy to see he's not only feeling well enough to continue the race, but has been doing it in close proximity to the twins.  They're all continuing to face gnarly weather, with storm warnings through 6pm Sunday, 3-6 inches of snow in their immediate future over the day Saturday, and increasing winds getting up to 20-25mph with blowing snow as they get closer to Kaltag.

On the other side of the spectrum?  Things apparently got a little too hot for Jessie Royer out there when her sled caught on fire!  Something to do with trail trash she had collected to dispose of and a warm bottle of HEET?  Anyway, the damage was minimal and fixable, but still quite startling.  An interesting tail from a top contender in this year's contest.

As we wait to see what the weather does and where Seeing Double ultimately takes their 8hr break, check out this interesting article from ADN.com on the twins, how togetherness impacts competitiveness, and what it means to run a kennel together.