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| Onto Eagle Island | Mar-14-2007 | |
As expected, Heather and the others took their mandatory 8 hour rest in Grayling. Heather left for Eagle Island shortly after two other mushers, rookies Bruce Linton and Don Smidt, at 11:45 AM AKDT. Race headquarters in Nome does not yet show Ellen Halverson as leaving Grayling. However, based on lag times in reporting, she has probably already left Grayling but race records have yet to be officially updated. Because she is last out of the Grayling checkpoint, Ellen is now once again the Red Lantern.
This leg is all on the mighty Yukon—upstream, and usually into the wind. It is long and often boring, but can just as easily be even longer and miserable when the wind is blowing and the temperatures plummet toward 40 below. It’s exactly 62 miles, as measured by Rick Swenson in 1997 on a snowmachine (one of the few years he wasn’t running the race). Heather can plan on about 8 to 9 hours for the run, depending on whether the wind is blowing and how many breaks you want to take along the way. As they are leaving the Grayling checkpoint, the wind along the Yukon is reported at 10 to 15 mpg which race veterans say is not too bad.
This stretch has absolutely no terrain—nothing but wide-open river and bend after bend, island after island, bluff after bluff. The west bank is always the high bank, with ridges sometimes rising more than 1,500 feet within a few miles of the river (which is less than a hundred feet above sea level). The east bank is low and wooded, punctuated by sloughs and creeks and islands. The trail stays mostly close to the west bank, but can run anywhere on the river depending on conditions.
There are no towns between Grayling and Kaltag. Kaltag is the checkpoint after Eagle Island. Along this entire route there are only scattered houses and cabins, almost all of which are summer-only. Virtually everything is on the west side of the river, and the trail spends much of its time under the west bank as well. In the summer the river is heavily traveled by all kinds of boats and barges, and fishing and hunting camps dot the shores. In the winter everything is abandoned and quiet, and there is little if any snowmachine traffic between Grayling and Kaltag. The only full-time resident on 130 miles of river is Ralph Conaster, whose spacious cabin at Eagle Island was the checkpoint until it burned down a few years ago. The checkpoint is now on the bank of the river near Ken Chase’s summer fishing cabin, since Ralph’s old cabin (where he’s now living) isn’t big enough.
The only hazards you might see on the river are occasional drifted-in sections and patches of rough or snow-free ice. There is always the chance of some overflow with glacier areas from water seeping from the high banks or flowing out of side streams. Once in awhile you may also see overflow from the river itself, but hopefully the trail will avoid it. It is critically important to stay on the marked trail on the big river. The Yukon is notorious for stretches of open water and thin ice. People run snowmachines into the river every winter, and some die.
The other major factor is the wind, which always seems to be blowing downstream, which means in your face. While it’s perfectly possible to get fine sunny days with light breezes, wind chills on the river can be very low, pushing 100 below in the worst cases. For long stretches there is no shelter at all and you must keep plugging. We are told mushers will have coats for their dogs, especially their leaders, since they will be bearing the brunt of the wind chill and breaking the wind for the dogs behind them.
If our calculations are correct, Heather should arrive at Eagle Island around 8:45 PM AKDT tonight which is 00:45 AM EDT.
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| Mon or Tues Arrival in Nome? | Mar-14-2007 | |
After reviewing times set by other mushers, most importantly rookies, officials in Nome determined based on their present run/rest pattern, Heather and the others should arrive in Nome sometime late Monday or Tuesday. However, they are quick to caution that any sudden storm could delay their arrival. One official said it is not uncommon for strong winds to blow along the Bering coastline. Just last week there were gusts reported to near 90 mph.
Kathleen Holden, wife of Heathers mushing mentor Gerald Sousa and her former boss agreed.
"My calculations show that she could be as long as until next Wednesday, March 21st," said Holden.
Holden was also quick to point out that somewhere on the Youkon they must take a mandatory 8 hour rest. Most seem to be doing that in Grayling where Heather is now. So far they have rested in Grayling 6 hours as of the time of this posting.
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| Mushing Trio Rests in Grayling | Mar-14-2007 | |
Heather, Ellen and Don Smidt all arrived in Grayling shortly before 3 AM today AKDT. Ellen arrived first at 2:50 AM, Heather two minutes later at 2:52 and Don at exactly 3 AM. This means Don is now holding the Red Lantern.
Race records indicate that most of the rookie mushers in this race are resting anywhere from 7 to 12 hours in Grayling before leaving for the next checkpoint at Eagle Island. The 60 mile run to Eagle Island seems to be taking them anywhere from 7 to 12 hours.
This leg is all on the mighty Yukon—upstream, and usually into the wind. It is long and often boring, but can just as easily be even longer and miserable when the wind is blowing and the temperatures plummet toward 40 below. As of 5 AM AKDT this morning the temp was listed at 26 below with a wind chill of nearly 35 below.
A 1997 musher said that Eagle Island is so remote it’s actually beyond the edge of the planet: it’s as if you've gone to the edge, fallen off, and discovered that the Place Down Below really has frozen over. It’s definitely lonely and always cold. The local wolf packs howl all night to vent their indignation at all of their uninvited cousins intruding on their territory. You can rest assured you and your fellow mushers and checkpoint personnel are almost the only living humans in an area larger than many entire states. If you’re running the race to get away from it all, then this will be your favorite checkpoint. In any case, it’s a welcome respite in the wilderness, and you’ll be more than happy to stop there for awhile.
The checkpoint is on the west bank about three miles past the tip of the sandbar, below Kenny Chase’s summer fishing cabin, which sits on a hill a hundred feet above the river. Kenny has run many Iditarods, including 1997 and 1998, and has graciously donated the use of his fishing site. Needless to say, facilities here are very minimal, but it’s not as if you have a lot of choices. The actual checkpoint is a Dodge Lodge weatherport tent perched on the sloping riverbank.
When they arrive in Eagle Island sometime this evening, they will have covered more than 700 miles. The two runs after Eagle Island are long; 70 miles to Kaltag and 90 miles to Unalakleet. Reaching Unalakleet is significant because it means you've reached the coast of the Bering Sea and a now just have a run of about 220 miles up the coast left to get to Nome.
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| Heather Continues onto Graylin | Mar-14-2007 | |
After a short 3 hour 39 minute run, Heather arrived into Anvik at 9:16 PM AKDT. After a rest of nearly two hours, she was back on the trail headed to the next checkpoint in Grayling.
Heathers running mate Ellen Halverson made the trip 4 minutes faster but left Anvik about 15 minutes after Heather. Another rookie, Donald Smidt from Van Dyne, Wisconsin, is traveling with the ladies and left Anvik beetween the time Heather left and before Ellen.
This will be their first leg on the Yukon and although short, it can be a showstopper. The dogs will get their first taste of the big river, and it may not sit well with them. If the wind is blowing downriver, as it often is, and if the temperature is in the subzero range, as is also often the case, even this relatively brief trip can become interminable.
Weather reports from the area show that tempertures are cold at near 20 below zero but without a big wind. However, veteran observers say the wind can kick up without warning.
The trio can figure on one and a half to two and a half hours for this leg run generally up the west side of the river. This is a heavily used village-to-village snowmachine trail and will probably be easy to follow.
The checkpoint is in the community center near the school. There is water available in the school.
In 1900 the Nunivak, a U.S. Revenue steamer, stopped for wood in Grayling and reported 75 inhabitants. The village was later abandoned. In 1962, 25 families moved from Holikachuk on the Innoko River to Grayling. Holikachuk was prone to annual spring flooding, and low water levels made the return trip from Yukon fish camps each year difficult.
The current population is 208. This will be the last village checkpoint the mushers see until they reach Kaltag, 130 miles further up the trail. There is a village store here.
Grayling is about 650 miles from Anchorage which means after reaching this checkpoint Heather and the others have about 489 more miles to Nome.
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| Mackey Wins - On to Anvik | Mar-14-2007 | |
While Lance Mackey became the official winner shortly after 8 PM AKDT, Heather was on the trail to Anvik. She left Shageluk at 5:37 PM AKDT (9:37 EDT) for the 25 mile run with the same 10 dogs she has been running for some time. Ellen Halverson, who is now holding the Red Lantern left a while later at 6:20 PM AKDT with 12 dogs.
This is a relatively straight forward leg across low, mostly open country. The trail runs across open lowlands and lakes, along sloughs, and through some wooded areas, finally dropping into the heavily timbered Yukon River bottomlands before crossing the mighty river itself at Anvik. Heather and Ellen can plan on two to three hours for this run. There are no surprises, although some of the sections through the tree lines can be ap bit tight in the heavy timber. This is a fairly well used village-to-village snowmachine trail so it’s normally in pretty good shape.
Although the hospitality in Anvik is excellent, most drivers don’t stay long because Grayling is only 18 miles north, and it’s the jump off for the long haul up the Yukon.
Eric Rogers, the musher who sustained frostbite on the run from Ophir to the Iditarod checkpoint officially dropped out earlier this evening. There was no further word from race headquarters in Nome on his condition.
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