I’m still a little groggy, but I’ll try to give you a decent recap…
First, there are some really great shots of Aliy over on ADN.com including this one of the Red Team approaching Unalakleet:
When Bridgett saw her in Unk, Aliy and the dogs looked strong and focused. They are all eating and resting well, when they get the chance. Aliy told Bridgett that a couple of the younger dogs were showing small signs of mental fatigue, “They’ve given me a few looks like ‘Does this ever end?’ So, I’m keeping my strategy very flexible and basing it on how the team looks from checkpoint to checkpoint.”
Aliy was upbeat leaving Unk. The dogs got right up when she asked them to and she was headed toward her favorite part of the Iditarod Trail, very happy to be doing it at sunset when it would be especially nice. Aliy is now out of Shaktoolik and on her way across the frozen sound to Koyuk.
She dropped a fifth (unknown) dog in Shak who will either be flown back to Anchorage or on up here to Nome, depending on which way a plane with available space is going. Please note that none of the dogs I talked about here in Nome are dropped dogs from Iditarod. They are all “spares” brought up from the Kennel for the Natural Extremes mushing trips over the next month.
Meanwhile, Allen’s Black Team is cruising, out of Kaltag and on their way to Unk. Bridgett had hoped to see him there, but she has had to leave and will miss him. Don’t be surprised if he stops along the way to rest. It’s a long run and there are some nice cabins and camping spots along the way.
That’s all I’ve got for now… I’m going to have some coffee and see if it does any good… Stay tuned!
Thanks again for all the work that has gone in to these updates and the race itself! This has been very exciting! Go SP Kennel teams!
The gps has Aliy in 4th…could that be right? Looks like she is cutting across…
Everything about SP Kennel is so impressive, reporting included. Thanks!
Is it just me or is Aliy heading in the wrong direction?? It looks like she's going to miss Koyuk completely. Looks like Ray Redington Jr is following her too…
Not sure what I said in my last post, but it was supposed to be Koyuk. I may have put Kaltag…not thinking…
I've been looking at the ADN photos. Quite a few of the mushers are looking very tired but Ms Zirkle doesn't look very tired. She looks like she is having a great time. I like the idea of the leg warmers for the dogs. Chica is definitely doing very well. Mr Moore is also doing really well. Mr Macgellan and Ms Watkins must be very excited waiting in Nome for the teams to arrive.
from Chloe
Awesome photos! Way to go teams! This has been a very exciting race to watch. The dog log is mentioned often on the Iditarod forums because of the exceptional information!
Thanks again Mac!
Aliy on the ice…
It may look like Aliy is "going the wrong way"… She — and most of the mushers — have taken a westerly route/approach to Koyuk… For a while, it will look like she's going backwards… and even that she has "jumped ahead" of those who have already been to Koyuk… The GPS works on "absolute" distance, not "trail distance"… Be patient… it will all work out soon…
Ah, so you can not follow the actual trail? It looked as though the mushers are all going more west across the norton bay than north more along the shore. I guess it would end up being the same distance overall?
Every year the trailbreakers have to decide the best way to get across the ice. For whatever reason, this year, the best way was to cut straight across and then go inbound to Koyuk parallel to the Koyuk outbound trail for the last ten miles or so. Wild way to get across that I've never seen before. It seems the GPS tracker looks for whatever the closest mile marker is to what they thought the trail has historically looked like. So, you'll notice that when a musher gets about halfway across this route, the GPS mile marker they are closest to flips to the one that is actually the mile marker for the presumed outbound trail which it makes it look like they have jumped ahead about 30 miles.
Thanks Randy… Excellent explanation!…
Emily… That answers your question, yes?
On the ADN photos there is a photo that says its Dallas Seavey but its someone in a black SP Kennel coat I think it might be Bridgitt!!? I don't think it could be Allen he wasn't there yet.
Is the little metal thing on the back of Aliy's sled one of those pop up seat things?
Hi – What is the white suit thing that Aily appears to have on?
It's Bridgett in the photo.
The "white suit" is a Northern Outfitters wind shell.