Against the Wind . . . Iditarod 36

This last week and a half has been for me a time not unlike the mushers who are running the Iditarod. I have been working hard on several large bids and have not had more than a few hours of sleep on any given night lately. I have been ignoring almost everything around me to finish the bid that went out this afternoon and as such many things have been almost put on hold during this time period.

The last few days of the Iditarod has been a wild romp through the wilds of nowhere Alaska. The two leaders, both past champions have been going in a slow leap frog-ing of each other along the trail. As each passed the other at different checkpoints there has been friendly banter of last years race and how both are using different strategies to win this year. Is it gamesmanship or just being a little cocky of oneself . . . as each seems to worked through the exhaustion, the lack of sleep, and the personalities of their many dogs in harness. What does it all mean? I think it means these last few hours will bring about a great race . . . a hard fought battle to overcome exactly what this race has always achieved . . . to see man and dogs become one with each other and nature as well as having the endurance to succeed.

One of the interesting things this year has been the ability to watch the progress of the mushers along the trail who have had a GPS system on their sleds as I worked on my bids during the long hours of the night. It has been slow going for most teams but seeing the run/rest ratios between the teams gives a slight insight into the mind of the mushers. There are 15 of the starting mushers who are carrying the two pound GPS system and the ability to see real time progress has been a new twist this year. One funny thing that I noticed was all of a sudden Martin Buser’s location started to suddenly change course and headed quickly off the course. It was really moving fast as the normal running speeds had been in the 5 to 8 mile per hour range with short bursts from the teams to 10-12 mph. This thing was moving and later I found out Martin decided he did not want to participate in the trial run and put his GPS on one of the Iditarod Air Force planes heading back to a former checkpoint after a food drop. It woke me up for sure seeing his flag start moving that fast.

Dozens of villagers in Koyuk were dressed in warm parkas, some holding signs that read "123 miles to Nome," cheered the Fairbanks musher when he arrived at 1:19 p.m yesterday. But their attention on last year's Iditarod and Yukon Quest champion shifted quickly when Jeff King pulled in eight minutes later.

The two had just traveled 45 miles from Shaktoolik along windswept ice, fighting a ground blizzard, below-zero wind chill and a nasty headwind. With visibility less than a mile, the two ran close together along the flattest terrain on the 1,100-mile Iditarod Trail. Despite snow swirling around him, Mackey could turn his head and see King's team in the distance. "It was kind of hard not to notice," Mackey said. "He was right there." This cat-and-mouse game could last until later tonight or Wednesday morning as both now have left White Mountain and are heading along the coast “against the wind”.

On Front Street in Nome waits the famous burled arch under which the winner of the 1,100-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race will pass sometime early Wednesday morning with many expecting the time around 3 am? My guess is that these two will battle to the finish line and we may see another mad dash down Front Street like 30 years ago when Mackey’s dad, Dick, won the race's only photo finish in a contested sprint with five-time champ Rick Swenson. Swenson got his sled across the finish line first, but Mackey was awarded the race by a dog's nose.

It has been snowing on and off today in Anchorage so it has been great bringing this year’s winter to a close. Fur Rondy was better than many past years and the Running of the Reindeer was a great time and a huge success. The recent time change is bringing us quickly into the light of spring and the coming of summer.

Now if I can just find some time to relax and breathe . . .

Good luck to whoever wins The Last Great Race and thanks for memories this year!

Ice