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| Halverson/Smidt Arrive | Mar-17-2007 | |
Heather's mushing mates Ellen Halverson and Don Smidt have arrived in Unalakleet. Halverson arrived at 5:17 AM AKDT and Smidt at 5:37 AM. Smidt is now holding the Red Lantern.
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| Heather Crosses Major Hurdle | Mar-17-2007 | |
Heather and her team of 10 dogs arrived in the coastal village of Unalakleet (You-na-la-kleet) early this morning, 4:33 AM AKDT (8:33 EDT) to be exact, thereby crossing another major hurdle in her quest to complete the 35th Iditarod. This was the last long segment of the race and she has now reached the Bearing Sea. This run from Kaltag took her 16 hours and 7 minutes. Only a 269 run along the coast remains between her and the finish line in Nome.
As of the the 5:37 AM posting of race logs, Heather's running mates Ellen Halverson and Don Smidt have yet to arrive at the Unalakleet checkpoint.
We expect Heather to rest for several hours before heading out to the next checkpoint at Shaktookik (Shak-TOO-lick). The 40 mile run to Shaktoolik should take her about 5.5 to 6.5 hours. Shaktoolik has a population of less than 200. One look down the street at the snowdrifts will tell you this is one of the windiest stretches of the trail. From here the trail continues overland for a short distance, then leads Heather and her team out onto the ice of Norton Bay, one of the most treacherous segments of trail that she and her dogs may have to contend with.
Happy St. Patrick's Day Heather and welcome to Unalakleet!
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| Headed to the Bearing Sea | Mar-16-2007 | |
Heather and Ellen left Kaltag at 12:26 and 12:51 PM AKDT respectfully this afternoon traveling their last long leg of Iditarod 35 to Unalakleet. Heather continues with her same 10 dogs while Ellen dropped on at Kaltag and is now down to 11. Don Smidt left Kaltag all by himself at 10:15 AM which means Halverson is again holding the Red Lantern.
Rookie musher Bruce Milne, who took 30 and one half hours to make the 62 mile run from Eagle Island to Kaltag, finally had enoungh and dropped out of the race earlier today.
This leg of the race to Unalakleet follows the ancient Kaltag portage, a relatively straight valley angling southwest through the coastal mountains; the route has been used for millennia by Natives. It is normally a well-used snowmachine highway. It marks the major transition from the inland river environment to the Bering Sea coast. Conditions can be vastly different at opposite ends of the portage, and wind is a constant threat on the western half.
The distance to Unalakleet is actually about 82 miles. Heather and Ellen can plan 10 to 15 hours for this trip, depending on whether they camp along the way, and for how long. By this stage of the race their teams may be able to make it without a major rest. If the weather gets bad, though, this trip can easily take 18 or 20 hours. There are two excellent resting spots on the trail, fifteen miles apart: the Tripod Flats cabin is 35 miles from Kaltag, and the Old Woman cabin is 15 miles farther on, about 35 miles from Unalakleet. Both are snug log cabins maintained by BLM and the local villages and can provide welcome refuges in case they encounter a storm. However weather forecasts for the area do not show any bad weather moving in.
The trail climbs for 15 miles from Kaltag through mostly wooded country to the summit of the portage, about 800 feet above sea level. Then it descends slowly into the valley of the Unalakleet River, staying mostly in wooded or semi-wooded country with some excursions across taiga and open areas until Old Woman, then running across mostly open tundra on the south side of the river valley. The trail drops back down onto the Unalakleet River about 8 miles out of town, making a couple of short portages across river bends before crossing the frozen lagoon into Unalakleet.
On this stretch of trail the primary markings will be permanent four-inch metal reflectors on trees, or on wooden tripods in open areas. Most of the reflectors are yellow or gold, but many have weathered to various shades of off-white; they still reflect well, but may be hard to spot during daylight. You might want to keep your headlight on in twilight periods to help you pick out the reflectors.
The permanent reflectors often mark a corridor rather than a specific track; this corridor can be a hundred yards wide, and there are multiple markers in many sections. The exact hard-packed trail will usually be marked with standard Iditarod trail stakes. This can be a major factor on the western end of the trail where it runs for miles across open tundra and the wind can drift everything in within minutes. When the trail is drifted over, ymushers will want to try to follow the trail stakes because that’s where the packed trail is. (You don’t want to be floundering through unpacked open snow with your dog team if you can avoid it.)
As we told you in an earlier post, Unalakleet has a population of about 882 and is situated on the coast of Norton Sound, just north of the Unalakleet River. This village is the largest community on the Iditarod Trail between Wasilla and Nome. Two well stocked stores, as well as two restaurants can be found here along with limited lodging by advance booking. The trail is now entering the gateway to the Bering Sea and from here on the mushers can expect sudden storms and an ample supply of wind. The checkpoint is in front of the AC store.
Plan on an early Saturday arrival, somewhere near midnight or 2 AM AKDT.
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| Heather and Ellen in Kaltag | Mar-16-2007 | |
It took a bit longer than expected but Heather arrived in Kaltag at 11:58 PM AKDT (3:58 AM EDT on Friday, 3-16-07). Ellen Halverson was right on her heals arriving at 00:21 AM AKDT.
As of the 1:30 AM update from the race headquarters in Nome, Don Smidt had yet to arrive. Neither had rookie Bruce Mine who left Eagle Island on Wednesday night at 7:15 PM AKDT, nearly 30 hours ago.
Bruce Linton who was the first one out of Eagle Island in the group of the final four mushers arrived in Kaltag shortly after 7 PM. While Heather and Ellen took about 11 hours each to complete this leg of the race, Linton made the same run right at 8 hours flat.
A 12 to 18 hour rest for musher and their dogs is the next order of business before heading out on the final long run of the race, a 90 mile stretch to Unalakleet.
Unalakleet has a population of 882 and is situated on the coast of Norton Sound, just north of the Unalakleet River. Yhis village is the largest community on the Iditarod Trail between Wasilla and Nome. Two well stocked stores, as well as two restaurants can be found here along with limited lodging by advance booking. The trail is now entering the gateway to the Bering Sea and from here on the mushers can expect sudden storms and an ample supply of wind.
Based on trends from other mushers expect them to take anywhere from 10 to 15 hours to complete this leg of the race. That would make for an early Saturday arrival in Unalakleet. Once there, Heather and the others will only have 269 miles left to Nome.
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| Heather Reported Doing Great | Mar-15-2007 | |
"She says she's doing great, the dogs are fine, and she's gonna make it to Nome!" That is what Heather told Keith Larson from Boise, Idaho, an Iditarod volunteer who has been out at the Eagle Island checkpoint for the past nine days.
"She says she has ups and downs everyday but mostly ups."
Laarson says he first saw Heather last night around 8:30 when she arrived at the Eagle Island checkpont. She said she was cold and a bit tired but Larson says that is to be expected. He said that Dean Painter, an Alaskan native from Nulato, a nearby village, gave Heather a wind anvik, which is a type of coat that works great for blocking the harsh winds off the Yukon. Heather expressed her graditude and gladly accepted the jacket.
Larson says Heather and her traveling companions of fellow rookies Bruce Larson, Don Smidt, and Ellen Halverson are taking the race one checkpoint at-a-time. Larson said Heather's dogs all appeared to be healthy and in great spirits. She has been running with only 10 dogs for more than 350 miles since she left the Nikolai checkpoint on March 9th.
Larson says that Ellen Halverson was the last one to leave the checkpoint at 1:30 PM AKDT this afternoon (5:30 PM EDT). When she left Larson says he packed up his gear and for he and his checkpoint volunteer companions, the 35th Itidarod ended.
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