ID: Tuesday Morning – Nikolai

It’s 10am Alaska time. Feeling: Amazed at technology to enable us to watch live from rural Alaska.

Several teams have pulled in to Nikolai this morning. Aliy and her mates arrived at 8:58am as the fourth team in. Watching the live feed the Insider set up in the checkpoint we were able to see the team arrive and Mismo and Five were leading them in. Aliy will switch the dogs into different positions on the team during the race to make things interesting for the dogs and renew enthusiasm now and again. Sometimes the lead dogs just need a break from decision making or team mates get bored of running next to each other after a few hundred miles.

The dogs were not wearing jackets on arrival – it is still very warm up the trail – but we saw Aliy dressing them in puffy insulated coats to sleep. Aliy has in her sled two types of dog jacket – a light wind breaker the insulated coat that she’ll mix and match depending on weather. Also in her drop bags she has sent various other fleece lined coats and fresh, dry coats to switch out the ones the dogs have worn.

During the live broadcast we also saw the vet team doing physical exams on the dogs. There is an army of volunteer veterinarians up and down the trail providing hands on checks and giving advice to mushers and ensuring the dogs are in tip-top shape.

Nikolai is the first village along the trail the teams will travel through. Up to now the stops have been at lodges, roadhouses, or even private homes. There are three ‘ghost towns’ along the route that have a population of zero – Rohn, Ohpir, and Iditarod.

During the night the team stopped to camp around the Tin Creek area at mile 209 for around 3.5 hours, a favourite place to stop of Aliy and Allen over the years. Several mushers were camped in the same spot.

From their camp it was 54 miles to Nikolai and now the team have settled in to rest again for a while. (I say “for a while” because I actually have no idea how long they will stay. Aliy had several race plans and contingencies depending on how the dogs were looking and the weather etc, so honestly your estimate is as good as mine)

After a rest here in Nikolai they will set off for McGrath, some 48 more miles down the trail. A quick overview from the Don Bowers Jr trail notes: ” The trail cuts cross-country southwest from Nikolai toward McGrath, running along a series of lakes and swamps interspersed with wooded stretches to Big River. It then runs west down Big River for a few miles to the Kuskokwim River, then down the Kuskokwim to McGrath”

We are hoping to bring you some pics or at least updates from down the trail as Allen and Aliy’s Dad Doug are hopping a plane to visit a couple of checkpoints along the way. This is also very weather dependent and then, once there, very internet dependent – but I will update with anything I hear.

For some different coverage you can check out KTUU Channel 2’s online coverage – they have a couple of reporters travelling the trail including race veteran DeeDee Jonrowe and contributions by Libby Riddles. ADN (Anchorage Daily News) also has reporters and photographers on the trail (Note: their content is behind a paywall)