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| Hardcore Team Reaches Norton Sound | Fri, Mar. 20th, 2009 | |
Over the hills and through the woods, to the Bering Sea Coast they’ve come.
Heather and the 10 member Hardcore Team arrive in the seaside village of Unalakleet early today; at 5:30 AM AKDT (9:30 AM EDT).
Situated on the coast of Norton Sound, just north of the Unalakleet River, this village with a population of just less than 900, 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.
Heather and the Team will rest her for about five to six hours and then take off for Shaktoolik, one of the windiest stretches of the trail. From there the trail continues overland for a short distance, then leads the mushers out onto the ice of Norton Bay, one of the most treacherous segments of trail that the Hardcore Team may have to contend with.
A couple of days ago, 4-time champion Jeff King left Shaktoolik only to return a short while later because the weather deteriorated rapidly. The run from Shaktoolik to Koyuk took King more than 37 hours to complete a normal 7 to 8 hour run..
The Team now has only 229 miles to Nome.
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| Heading for the Bering Sea Coast | Thu, Mar. 19th, 2009 | |
Heather and the hardcore Team are off once again, this time heading southwest to the Norton Bay in Norton Sound and the city of Unalakleet. The team left at 11:15 AM AKDT (3:15 EDT) and is still 10 dogs strong.
Jan Seavey left 2.5 hours ahead of Heather while the guys they were running with earlier remain in Kaltag.
This leg 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 should plan on 10 to 15 hours for this trip, depending on how long she wants to camp along the way. (By this stage of the race her team 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.
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.
Heather will be watching conditions closely as she works her way to the sea, and she’ll be prepared to hole up in one of the shelter cabins if conditions turn bad, which, as we’ve seen this year, they can do out here with breathtaking swiftness.
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. Heather will need to keep her 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.
The snow is usually very sparse for the last few miles into town, and the last mile across the lagoon is often on glare ice. If the wind is blowing (the town’s name means Place Where the East Wind Blows) it can be an interesting skate.
The checkpoint is usually in the old semi-abandoned Covenant School gymnasium, which is opened up for the race every year. The checker and his assistants will meet you and guide your team to the parking area around the old school.
There is a kitchen in the gym to serve mushers and the relatively large contingent of race personnel here. Unalakleet is a major logistics hub for the race and the Iditarod Air Force bases out of here for its work along the coast. In previous years the sleeping room has been upstairs behind the gym; so Heather should take her sleeping bag in with her after she’s got the dogs taken care of. She can hang her wet gear in the boiler room to dry. There is usually hot water available for dog food and even showers if she wants one.
Get here and the Hardcore Team will have 269 more miles to get to Nome.
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| Off the Yukon….Finally! | Thu, Mar. 19th, 2009 | |
The ten member Hardcore Team rolled into Kaltag early this morning, ending their 150 ordeal on the Yukon River.
Heather and her traveling companion Jen Seavey left Eagle Island yesterday evening. Seavey arrived in Kaltag at just after midnight and Heather a short while later at 2:20 AM, averaging nearly 8 mph on this latest leg. They joined six other teams in Kaltag resting before the long 90 mile run to Unalakleet.
Heather and the Hardcore Team have now completed 772 miles and have 359 to go.
From here to Nome the Hardcore Team will be on well-traveled village-to-village trails—and they’re finally off the endless white expanse of the Yukon. Heather will probably make sure her dogs get plenty of rest here. Veterans say it’s best to rest your dogs before you leave the Yukon, because they may not get much rest out on the coast.
NOTE: We did a comparison on Heather’s run times from Kaltag to Nome over her two previous races. In 2007, it took Heather 100 hours to arrive in Nome from the time she left Kaltag. In 2008, it took 104 hours. Based on that we estimate Heather should arrive in Nome sometime early Monday, March 23rd.
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| Final Leg of the Yukon | Wed, Mar. 18th, 2009 | |
Heather and the 10 member Hardcore Team left Eagle Island at 5:30 PM AKDT (9:30 EDT) for their final 60+ mile run up the Yukon to Kaltag.
Rookie musher Jen Seavey took off first at 5:05 PM with Heather and her team close behind. So far it appears that their male traveling companions are staying put at Eagle Island, at least for now.
One of those men, Michael Supreant of Chugiak, Alaska, probably needs some extra rest because it took him nearly 48 hours to make the run from Grayling to Eagle Island. Most mushers took 12 to 16 hours to make that trip but Supreant was forced to stop enroute due to the extreme blizzard conditions. Heather and the Hardcore Team made the run in less than 15 hours.
After the long haul from Grayling to Eagle Island, this leg is more of the same—exactly the same, in fact. Just like its predecessor, it’s also 62 miles, and it’s also all on the Yukon River. In good weather conditions, this leg can take another 8 to 12 hours to Kaltag.
There’s nothing really new on the river for this leg. Heather and the Hardcore Team will see plenty more islands, sandbars, sloughs, bluffs, and river bends probably also see a few stretches of windblown sandy trail in the last 20 miles before Kaltag.
The Hardcore Team will be glad when they finally get to Kaltag. From here to Nome you’re on well-traveled village-to-village trails—and you’re finally off the endless white expanse of the Yukon. Heather might want to make sure her dogs get plenty of rest here. Veterans say it’s best to rest your dogs before you leave the Yukon, because they may not get much rest out on the coast.
Historical Note
The original Iditarod Trail never ran on the Yukon. It went directly from Iditarod to Kaltag across the marshy maze of the Innoko Valley. Old-time mushers on the way to Nome only saw the Yukon when they crossed it to Kaltag.
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| Take 5 At Eagle Island | Wed, Mar. 18th, 2009 | |
Heather and the Hardcore Team along with at least three of her trail mates have arrived in Eagle Island. Three more teams are not far behind and should arrive within the hour. The teams have now completed 702 miles and have 429 more to Nome.
At Eagle Island the mushers will find their constant battle with cold winds on the Yukon River about half over, but it’s still a long 65 to 70 miles to the next checkpoint.
The checkpoint at Eagle Island 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 mushers have a lot of choices. The actual checkpoint is a Dodge Lodge weatherproof tent perched on the sloping riverbank. Kenny’s drafty summer cabin up on the hill is also available but quite a bit cooler. The outhouse is atop the hill near the cabin; it has a nice view, but I bet Heather and her friends won’t spend very long in it when the temperatures are hovering near 30 below. Of course, there’s no water available and so they’ll have to melt snow for water for the dogs.
The teams will rest at the checkpoint for a few hours and then make the long run to Kaltag. When they finally arrive in Kaltag it will mark the end of their 150 mile journey along the Yukon River. Their reward? A 90 mile run to the Bering Sea coast!
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