Part 4: Iditarod to Unalakleet
I woke around 3:00 AM to the snores of about 5 other mushers in the cabin and a dazzling display of northern lights outside. Alaska is famous for its amazing shows in the northern sky, and this was no exception. It was also quite chilly, well below zero for sure. I watered the dogs under the light of the greenish aura, and we headed towards Shageluk around 5:00 AM.
We quickly climbed into the hills (and snow, finally!) and the mercury rose as we went. It was a beautiful run and dogs were doing well in the chill of the early morning. It is about 55 hilly miles to Shageluk and another 28 to the village of Anvik, the first village on the Yukon River. My plan was to camp during the heat of the day about halfway between Iditarod and Anvik, and skip through Shageluk on my way.
And I did just that. I stopped around 10:30 AM in a sunny, somewhat protected spot and gave the dogs a meal and a 6 hour nap. I remember this campout particularly well because I remember pondering just how wild the country was we were traveling through. There are certainly not many placed like it left in the U.S. or the world as a whole. What a treat!
The run to Anvik was a breeze, and I enjoyed a spectacular sunset on the way. The only problem I had on the way was issues with my headlamp, which I later discovered was due to cracked wires. I had an extra headlamp, however, so it wasn’t a bit deal. I had Anvik to myself that night, and as a result the dogs and I slept wonderful. I gave them a good 8 hour break and we were on our way around 6:00 AM. From Anvik the next 150 miles are on the mighty Yukon River. The Yukon is famous for ferocious winds and extreme cold. Luckily, for the first time in the race, we were dealt a wild card. The temperatures were chilly but not extreme (-30 to -35 during the nights), but the best part was the lack of any wind. It was amazing!
Overall, there is not much to say about the river. It is a wide, mighty river and reminds me a lot of the Mississippi River down South. I camped out one day in the heat of the day and the next day the dogs breezed through the 60 mile run from Eagle Island to Kaltag, the longest run in the race they had done yet.
At Kaltag, it was clear the dogs were only getting stronger as the race went on. Unlike the frontrunners in the race that begin to start cutting rest and incorporate longer runs to try to get further ahead of the competition starting around Kaltag, that was not our plan. We would begin to take a little longer runs and slightly shorter rests, but we were not racing. We were in 49th place, and that was just fine with me. But with every run, it was clear that the physical and mental shape of the dogs was improving.
After 8 hours in the small village of Kaltag situated on the shored of the Yukon, I pulled the hook around the ungodly time of 4:00 AM. I left Ivan behind in Kaltag simply because he didn’t look like he was having a whole lot of fun. He wasn’t physically hurt and he was eating great, but he hadn’t pulled too well up the Yukon, and seeing as he was a young dog, it was clearly best for his mental attitude to call it quits until next year.
The run from Kaltag to Unalakleet, the first village on the Bering Sea coast, is another long run at around 80 miles. Roughly halfway is a BLM cabin called Old Woman Cabin. This is where most mushers take a break, and this is exactly what we did. However, no one told me that there are two Old Woman Cabins: new and old Old Woman Cabins. I pulled up the first cabin, which I later found out was the Old Old Woman Cabin, and I figured that must be it. So I bedded the dogs down, fed them a good meal, and headed inside. Luck be had it, there was an old trapper from Unalakleet staying in the cabin, so it was warm, had nice company, and he cooked me pancakes and sausage to beat!
So no matter what anyone says, even the though the new Old Woman Cabin is nicer, I have absolutely no doubts of staying where I did. I headed out from the cabin after a 6 hour stop and finished the remaining 42 miles to the Unalakleet. This part of the run was all in the daylight and it was fantastic. There was little snow on the trail, but it was smooth with few hills so it didn’t matter much. We saw and the dogs almost caught several ptarmigan (a small grouse-like bird), and the dogs roared into Unalakleet around 8:30 PM to the cheers of a small crowd.
Like I said, Unalakleet is the first village on the coast of the Bering Sea. From here into Nome, the trail meanders on the sea ice and on the beaches, and there is nothing to block the wind except for a few mingled Spruce trees holding on for dear life. The Yukon River is famous for ferocious winds; on the Bering coast the wind never stops blowing. It’s just part of life, so you better get used to it. But the weird thing was that Unalakleet was perfectly calm. It was almost eerie, but I soaked it up.
I was surprised in Unalakleet by my sweetheart Nicole, who had flown out for the night to see me from Nome. The funny part was I didn’t even see her until she said something to me when I came back to the sled after having already bedded down the dogs. I was so focused on what I was doing I didn’t even see her standing next to a few other people right next to my sled! It was a wonderful surprise though.
The dogs and I enjoyed a great 9 hour break after a spectacular sunset over the Bering Sea and pulled the hook around 5:00 AM. Only 250 miles left to Nome… only 250 miles.
To be continued soon!
We quickly climbed into the hills (and snow, finally!) and the mercury rose as we went. It was a beautiful run and dogs were doing well in the chill of the early morning. It is about 55 hilly miles to Shageluk and another 28 to the village of Anvik, the first village on the Yukon River. My plan was to camp during the heat of the day about halfway between Iditarod and Anvik, and skip through Shageluk on my way.
And I did just that. I stopped around 10:30 AM in a sunny, somewhat protected spot and gave the dogs a meal and a 6 hour nap. I remember this campout particularly well because I remember pondering just how wild the country was we were traveling through. There are certainly not many placed like it left in the U.S. or the world as a whole. What a treat!
The run to Anvik was a breeze, and I enjoyed a spectacular sunset on the way. The only problem I had on the way was issues with my headlamp, which I later discovered was due to cracked wires. I had an extra headlamp, however, so it wasn’t a bit deal. I had Anvik to myself that night, and as a result the dogs and I slept wonderful. I gave them a good 8 hour break and we were on our way around 6:00 AM. From Anvik the next 150 miles are on the mighty Yukon River. The Yukon is famous for ferocious winds and extreme cold. Luckily, for the first time in the race, we were dealt a wild card. The temperatures were chilly but not extreme (-30 to -35 during the nights), but the best part was the lack of any wind. It was amazing!
Overall, there is not much to say about the river. It is a wide, mighty river and reminds me a lot of the Mississippi River down South. I camped out one day in the heat of the day and the next day the dogs breezed through the 60 mile run from Eagle Island to Kaltag, the longest run in the race they had done yet.
At Kaltag, it was clear the dogs were only getting stronger as the race went on. Unlike the frontrunners in the race that begin to start cutting rest and incorporate longer runs to try to get further ahead of the competition starting around Kaltag, that was not our plan. We would begin to take a little longer runs and slightly shorter rests, but we were not racing. We were in 49th place, and that was just fine with me. But with every run, it was clear that the physical and mental shape of the dogs was improving.
After 8 hours in the small village of Kaltag situated on the shored of the Yukon, I pulled the hook around the ungodly time of 4:00 AM. I left Ivan behind in Kaltag simply because he didn’t look like he was having a whole lot of fun. He wasn’t physically hurt and he was eating great, but he hadn’t pulled too well up the Yukon, and seeing as he was a young dog, it was clearly best for his mental attitude to call it quits until next year.
The run from Kaltag to Unalakleet, the first village on the Bering Sea coast, is another long run at around 80 miles. Roughly halfway is a BLM cabin called Old Woman Cabin. This is where most mushers take a break, and this is exactly what we did. However, no one told me that there are two Old Woman Cabins: new and old Old Woman Cabins. I pulled up the first cabin, which I later found out was the Old Old Woman Cabin, and I figured that must be it. So I bedded the dogs down, fed them a good meal, and headed inside. Luck be had it, there was an old trapper from Unalakleet staying in the cabin, so it was warm, had nice company, and he cooked me pancakes and sausage to beat!
So no matter what anyone says, even the though the new Old Woman Cabin is nicer, I have absolutely no doubts of staying where I did. I headed out from the cabin after a 6 hour stop and finished the remaining 42 miles to the Unalakleet. This part of the run was all in the daylight and it was fantastic. There was little snow on the trail, but it was smooth with few hills so it didn’t matter much. We saw and the dogs almost caught several ptarmigan (a small grouse-like bird), and the dogs roared into Unalakleet around 8:30 PM to the cheers of a small crowd.
Like I said, Unalakleet is the first village on the coast of the Bering Sea. From here into Nome, the trail meanders on the sea ice and on the beaches, and there is nothing to block the wind except for a few mingled Spruce trees holding on for dear life. The Yukon River is famous for ferocious winds; on the Bering coast the wind never stops blowing. It’s just part of life, so you better get used to it. But the weird thing was that Unalakleet was perfectly calm. It was almost eerie, but I soaked it up.
I was surprised in Unalakleet by my sweetheart Nicole, who had flown out for the night to see me from Nome. The funny part was I didn’t even see her until she said something to me when I came back to the sled after having already bedded down the dogs. I was so focused on what I was doing I didn’t even see her standing next to a few other people right next to my sled! It was a wonderful surprise though.
The dogs and I enjoyed a great 9 hour break after a spectacular sunset over the Bering Sea and pulled the hook around 5:00 AM. Only 250 miles left to Nome… only 250 miles.
To be continued soon!
posted by Jeff Wells @ 4:23 PM
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