Bridgett sent us some photos from Circle.
Bridgett and Bob Waiting for Allen at Circle
Check Point Line
Just talked to Bridgett. It has been VERY rough going, but Allen and the dogs are safely in Circle. They ate and all are now sleeping. Biscuit and Boonedocks are his super stars.
Bridgett is out in Circle waiting for Allen to arrive. It was 53 below with a lot of ice fog when she and Bob arrived this morning. Most likely it was colder on the trail.
Between packing bags for Iditarod, Aliy somehow managed to carve out time to get this video ready. Hope to get more footage from the trail up soon.
Allen leaving Dawson
By SP Kennel, Doug Zirkle
Allen arrived at Circle at 11:15 am with 12 dogs. We got a brief call from Bridgett. She said he was safe and looked VERY cold. We will get more information out as soon as we get a call back.
Circle City was once the largest gold mining town on the Yukon River. Gold was found in near by Preacher Creek in 1893. In 1896, they had saloons, an opera house, a library, a school and a hospital. By the end of the winter, the news of the gold strike in Dawson turned Circle into a near ghost town.
Circle City is now a quiet town of about 80 and most of the residents are Athabascan Indians. There is still mining in the area. Circle is located at the end of the Steese Highway and is tourism destination to see the old gold rush cabins, channel shacks and pioneer cemetery.
Allen has been resting at Slavens Cabin and Dog Drop since 7 pm. It took him 10 hour to reach there, a testament to the trail conditions. It must have been a slog!! Dallas Seavey has made a move, camping before Slavens and going through. He is now in the 2nd position. Hans Gatt and Sebastian Schnuelle left Slavens around 11pm. Ken Anderson, Allen, Brent Sass and Dan Kaduce are all resting there now. I expect Allen will leave around 1 am.
It took Hugh Neff 10 hours to run from Slavens to Circle, a 60 mile run. That is a long time. He must have been breaking trail most of the way.
Allen has moved ahead of Brent Sass and has closed in on Ken Anderson. It will be wonderful to hear what’s going on when Bridgett and Bob meet him in Circle.
The SP Kennel crew spent the day, and the night, working on Iditarod food drops. Aliy and Ryne are still cutting fish snacks as we speak. We spent the day packing food for the dogs and mushers, equipment, clothes and vet supplies. It’s been a long day. I had a picture of the drops, but I’m a bit too tired and can’t figure out how to get it off my phone. Sorry. Tomorrow we will pack everything into the check point bags. They are due Monday.
We received an Email from a friend in Eagle who talked to Allen. This is what it said:
Allen “… and several other had a terrible time coming over American Summit. There were high winds and snow and blizzard conditions that knocked out the trail and replaced it with large drifts. Hans Gatt was in a bad way and almost hypothermic from sweating so bad trying to break trail for his team. David Helmer and Mike went out with snow machines to help show the way and had a terrible time getting through with the snow machines. Quite the adventure. But Allen said he is fine.”
Currently, Allen is resting at Trout Cabin with several other mushers on his way to Circle.
This is a link to the KUAC morning report from Eagle. If you ever wondered what it is like out there, this is it!
This footage was taken last year on a flight from Circle to Eagle. For this year, picture it in reverse in near whiteout conditions. It’s a spectacular part of the world!
This footage was shot in 2010 and shows a fly-over of the trail starting in Circle and ending in Eagle.
Video by Peter Kamper
By The Yukon Quest
From Official Yukon Quest YouTube Channel
Allen left Eagle at 8:45 pm with all 13 dogs. Reports show high winds and heavy snow on the Yukon River. The trail will likely be blown in and hard to see. Allen is no stranger to these conditions! Dallas Seavey left a short time before him. If the trail becomes very difficult, Allen could join with Seavey and take turns breaking trail.
Allen Leaving Dawson, Biscuit in Lead
By The Yukon Quest
From Official Yukon Quest Flickr Page
The blizzard conditions on American Summit slowed Allen and most of the other teams on their way to Eagle. It looks like only Hugh Neff got through before the weather turned. He had a 10 hour lead over Hans Gatt leaving Eagle. The most notable change in the top 7 is that Ken Anderson is down to only 8 dogs. Breaking so much trail and still having one major summit to climb will be very difficult for him.
Allen Leaving Dawson
By The Yukon Quest
From Official Yukon Quest Flickr Page
The race has broken into sections after leaving Dawson and heading into the blizzard. Hugh Neff is his own with a 10 hour lead over the 2nd musher. Gatt(2) to Allen (7) is the 2nd group and there is a little over 3 hour of separation. The 3rd group lead by Dan Kaduce is just now arriving in Eagle.
The key now will be keeping the team in good shape and not having to drop many dogs. Although Eagle Summit has been climbed with fewer dogs, a full, strong team makes it a lot easier. There is still so much trail to cover and anything can happen.
