ID2021 – Morning Day Two

Its 5.45am Monday morning, AK time

Race mile: 113

Next checkpoint: Finger Lake

Just a quick update. After camping for just over three hours at Race Mile 73, Aliy and her team moved through Skwentna checkpoint around midnight, stopping for nine minutes to grab some supplies and be on their way. They are now camping at race mile 113, ten miles before Finger Lake checkpoint, stopping there around 3.30am.

The supplies she picked up would have included bags of dog kibble and ‘snickers’ sized frozen meat snacks, dog booties, fresh dry gloves and socks and human food. She would also need to replenish her cooker fuel and grab some straw for the dogs to camp.

Pretty sure she did not pick up Ziptie on the way through the checkpoint.

Trail notes from Don Bowers Jr from this section tell us: “It’s uphill most of the way to Finger Lake, but the trail isn’t overly tough. The trail leaves Skwentna southbound on the Skwentna River, cuts off the left bank to parallel the river in a swamp for eight miles, then swings west to cross the river at the site of the old Skwentna Roadhouse about ten miles out. It then climbs up into the heavily wooded Shell Hills for a mile and a half, down through open swamps and wooded areas to cross Shell Creek after another mile and a half, then on for another three miles across small lakes, swamps, and woods to Onestone Lake, where you’re about 25 miles from Finger Lake. After two-mile-long Onestone Lake, the trail works west along open swamps and meadows, through occasional treelines, and across a few lakes, steadily climbing to Finger Lake.”

You can read more detail and about other sections by finding the Race Map under the ‘Race Centre’ tab on Iditarod.com then clicking on the blue links for each section of trail.

After Finger Lake comes the infamous Happy River Steps and I recommend reading the ‘Detailed Description’ section of the trail notes. Makes for alarming reading in parts!

Check out this great picture from Marc Lester of ADN. Click here for original pic and other great shots from the start yesterday.