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| Elim Bound | Mar-18-2007 | |
It appears the decision has been made to cut the Final Four to a Final Two. Heather and Bruce Linton are on the way to Elim (EE-lum). Heather left Koyuk at 7:34 PM AKDT (11:34 EDT) followed by Bruce one minute later. Ellen Halverson and Don Smidt are still shown in Koyuk.
This leg always seems longer than it is. Heather and Bruce can plan on five to seven hours, more if the wind is blowing. The trail follows the main snowmachine trail to Elim and is usually well marked. However, the wind can blow hard in the Moses Point area and the trail can drift over very quickly. From Koyuk, the trail runs southwest just offshore on the sea ice for about 12 miles and then cuts inland to the west across the wooded peninsula behind Bald Head, a prominent cape.
Ten miles later the trail crosses the mouth of the Kwik River, makes a three mile overland run along the dune line, and then jumps two miles across Kwiniuk Inlet to Moses Point. It then runs along a narrow spit and across some tidelands for about 11 miles to the old Moses Point FAA station, now abandoned. From there, the trail usually follows a nine-mile unplowed state highway up and over the heavily forested bluffs and down into Elim. An alternate route has been followed in the past along the sea ice from Moses Point to Elim.
Weather reports along this stretch show the temperature 5 to 10 above with the wind at 14 mph with the visibility 10 miles. It stays light here until around 10 PM so at least half of their journey will be in daylight.
Elim's population is nearly 300. The checkpoint is usually at the fire hall. From here the trail heads over the hills of the Kwiktalik Mountains inland a little way to the next checkpoint on Golovin Bay. Most mushers skip right through this checkpoint after signing in and head directly for White Mountain. At White Mountain you are required to take an 8 hour rest and from there it is a short 77 miles to Nome, a run that takes about 10-12 hours.
NOTE: The arrival in Elim marks another Iditarod milestone for for Heather. When she arrives at the Elim Checkpoint it means she has completed more than 1000 miles, 1008 to be exact! YOU GO GIRL!
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| Smidt in Koyuk - Kitty in Nome | Mar-18-2007 | |
Don Smidt took 12 hours and 13 minutes, but he finally arrived in Koyuk at 4:58 PM AKDT this afternoon. Although he was first of the "Final Four" out of Shaktoolik this morning, he was the last to arrive in Koyuk.
Meanwhile Heather and the others are still shown as resting. We expect her to depart for Elim soon.
One of Heather's team arrived in Nome this afternoon. Kitty, who was dropped in Shaktoolik, was flow to Nome today by the Iditarod Air Force. When we visited her in the dog yard she was resting comfortably with a bit of a smile. We can't help wonder if she's smiling because she gets to sleep in a nice warm bed of straw while the others are still having to pull their way to Nome. Her twin, Dolly, who was dropped early on, is waiting to reunite with her back home in Talkeetna.
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| Halverson Arrives | Mar-18-2007 | |
It took her nearly 9 hours, but Ellen Halverson finally arrived at Koyuk at 3:10 PM AKDT this afternoon. Don Smidt, who left out of Shaktoolik first in the group of "Final Four" mushers, nearly 2 hours ahead of Halverson, has yet to arrive. Halverson is down to 10 dogs.
Heather and Bruce Linton arrived nearly 2.5 hours ahead of Halverson so it is not clear whether or not they will wait for her to rest before departing for Elim (EE-lum).
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| Is the Final Four the Final Tw | Mar-18-2007 | |
Heather and Bruce Linton, a rookie from Morrisville, VT, seem to be seperating themselves a bit from Ellen Halverson and Don Smidt. Heather and Bruce arrived at the Koyuk checkpoint while the others are still on the trail. Bruce got in at 12:19 AKDT and Heather 12:33 AKDT (4:33 PM EDT). Heather and Bruce appear to be running 2-3 mph faster than the others. In spite of the fact she had to drop a dog in Shaktoolik and is now down to 9 dogs, Heather's team posted a good speed of nearly 7 mph this leg so the remaining dogs apprear to be doing just fine, maybe even getting stronger as they approach the finish. Will they wait for the others to join them before they leave Koyuk? Time will tell.
We expect Heather and Bruce to take a short rest before heading to Elim (EE-lum). The run to Elim is about 48 miles and is taking most mushers around 5 to 6 hours. After Elim it is off to White Mountain where she and her team must take an 8 hour rest. From White Mountain it is only about 11 hours to Nome.
Heather has now traveled 960 miles and she and the dogs can begin to anticipate her arrival in Nome .
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| The Final Four on the Trail | Mar-18-2007 | |
Heather and her mushing mates, a group now being affectionately called the "Final Four," left Shaktoolik early this morning and are headed to Koyuk (Coy-uk).
Don Smidt, who is running the slowest in the group was the first to leave at 4:45 AM AKADT (8:45 AM EDT). Heather was next at 5:37, followed closely by Bruce Linton at 5:38 and Ellen at 6:30.
There is only one thing to say about this leg—bleak, flat, and deadly monotonous. Locals say the actual distance is under 50 miles, but it always seems like a hundred. There is not so much as a shrub on this stretch, most of which is over the sea ice of Norton Bay. Heather and her group can plan on five to nine hours for the crossing, more if the wind is blowing hard, which luckily so far it is not.
The trail runs almost due north from Shaktoolik, overland across very low rolling terrain for about nine miles to Reindeer Cove, then across the ice for five miles to Island Point, then back onto the ice immediately for the last 45 miles to Koyuk. There are no hills.
The trail is also the main snowmachine trail to Koyuk and is well used. However, winds can wipe it smooth in hours. It is well marked with Iditarod trail stakes, spruce boughs, or both. The trail can range from a groomed speedway to rough ice to drifted snow to glare ice. The wind is usually blowing, and almost always right in your face. Days with less than 20 or 30 mph breezes are uncommon. The wind can blow at hurricane velocity out here and ground blizzards can reduce visibility to zero in minutes.
Veteran mushers we spoke with say another problem is that some dogs are put off by the white expanse and won’t go or will try to turn back. Every year teams stall here; some drivers are able to get their teams going after a rest, and some can get their leaders to follow another team across. Some have to scratch. This is where a “coast leader” is invaluable; these are leaders used to running in this environment and who aren’t fazed by winds or wide-open spaces. Heather is lucky in that both her leaders, Shadow and Odo, have been down this trail before.
Once the "Final Four" reach Koyuk, which has a population of around 250, they can breath a sigh of relief as almost all of the rest of the 170 miles to Nome is at least over land.
If all goes according to plan, they should arrive in Koyuk around 11:30 AM AKDT (3:30 EDT).
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