Part 5: The Finish!
As we left Unalakleet, I kept expecting the infamous Bering Sea wind to pick up at any moment. We skidded over several miles of glare ice with patches of gravel before we began to climb into the Blueberry Hills. It was several hours before the sun rose, but as it rose to my right with the Bering Sea stretching out to the horizon several hundred feet below me to my left, I had to stop and take it all in. These were the kind of moments that make everything worth it. On top of that, the dogs were absolutely screaming. I had my foot on the brake almost the entire time and had a hard time slowing them down. The run to Shaktoolik was about 42 miles, and we had 30 of that without any wind. As we came down out of the hills, however, the wind began to pick up. By the time we reached the small village of Shaktoolik, located on a spit with no trees or hills within 5 miles, the wind was at a steady 20 mph.
I had one of the fastest times between Unalakleet and Shaktoolik; thus, I had my team parked on straw before the checkers even realized I was in. What a good feeling! My original thought was to stay in Shaktoolik for 6 hours, but I changed that to 7 when I realized how good the dogs were resting. Luckily, they had us parked behind the building serving as the checkpoint, so we were more or less out of the wind. On top of that, the sun was shining and Snow Buntings were singing brightly nearby.
We left Shaktoolik around 5:30 PM directly into the strong wind. This was hard mentally for the dogs to leave a checkpoint into a strong wind and a poor trail. However, they picked things up soon, and we were heading for the Norton Sound. After 10 miles of overland travel we left the comfort of the tundra and embarked on the sea ice. It was 30 from that point to Koyuk, but it was the longest 30 miles of the entire race. There was little snow on the ice, it was poorly marked, and there was near whiteout conditions for much of the way due to the extremely strong winds in our face. If there is a place on earth to make you feel small again, this is it. Completely exposed to the elements, you have no choice but to follow the trail you can see and keep going.
I was afraid to stop on the way to Koyuk for fear of the dogs turning around and going with the wind. Amazingly enough, the dogs did not seem to mind the wind. I stopped several times to give the dogs a snack, and they reacted by pulling in their harnesses, ready to keep rolling. We saw the lights of Koyuk several hours before arriving. On a clear day, it is said that you can see the lights of the village 4 or 5 hours before you get there. What a trick this plays on your mind! We arrived in Koyuk at about 11:00 PM, very happy to be there. The dogs got a nice warm meal before I ate some musk ox stew and settled down for a nice nap.
I gave the dogs another long break and left around 7:30 AM the next morning. Elim was the next checkpoint, about 50 miles from Koyuk, but this time we had the wind at our backs. And we flew over to Elim, which is mostly over flat beach and sea ice. We arrived in Elim, a small village located on a hill above the Bearing Sea, around 1:30 PM. I was the only musher at the village, and the checkers were very happy to have some company.
I pulled out of Elim around 7:30 PM followed closely by Dan Carter, who was running Frank Teasley’s young team and who I had run with quite a bit throughout the race. From Elim, we immediately begin climbing towards the top of Little McKinley. This again was hard mentally on the dogs: it was warm out and they didn’t have a chance to warm up before the climbing began. But as soon as they warmed up, we were moving very nicely. The next checkpoint was White Mountain, where there is an 8 hour mandatory break before the final 70 mile run to Nome. The run was fairly easy to White Mountain, other than many, many miles of glare ice. Luckily, wind gods gave us a break and the only wind was that which we created by our speed.
We arrived in White Mountain around 1:00 AM followed 50 minutes later by Dan. It was clear at that point that we were going to make it, and although we were exhausted, the adrenaline was rushing. I got a few hours of sleep in our 8 hour break and we pulled out at 9:00 AM the next morning.
This last run into Nome was the best run of the entire race. My happiness was spread throughout the team and we skipped our way to Nome. The first 40 miles were largely big hills and finally over Topkok Mountain before heading down onto the beach for the final 40 miles to Nome. The best part of the run was that the whole thing was in the daylight, and there were several spectacular views to speak of. 20 miles of trail before Safety, the last checkpoint before Nome, were completely gravel. My runners shredded down to the aluminum at one point, and I had to stop and change them, but this was the only issue with the whole run.
The day I arrived in Nome was also the warmest day of the entire race: the mercury reached a whopping 20 degrees! This was slightly warm for the dogs, but if felt great for myself. The feeling I felt the last 20 miles of the trail into Nome cannot be described. I was so proud of the dogs and what we had accomplished. When we set out, they did not know what we were getting ourselves into, and for that fact, neither did I. But they took it like champions, and champions I hope they will be some day.
We loped down front street of Nome and pulled under the burled arch around 5:30 PM on Sunday, just in time for the finish banquet. It was an emotional moment, having last words with the dogs before we staked them in the temporary dog yard in Nome then wisked away to the finish banquet. We had spent 14 days straight together, and all of a sudden I was in a room with over 500 other people without my dogs.
It didn’t hit me for several days what I had done and how lucky I was to have this opportunity. It took me a good week to catch up on my sleep and to get back into my pre-race routine. And it took several weeks before I stopped dreaming about the race and waking up and thinking that I was still in the race. What will never get out of me, however, is thinking about when I will be able to run again, which will happen. It won’t happen for awhile, but it will happen.
Thank you to everyone who has followed my blog and my progress during the race. And thank you to everyone who wrote me emails of support; none went unnoticed, even if I didn’t write back to them all. Thanks again and feel free to email me at any time with thoughts, questions, etc!
I had one of the fastest times between Unalakleet and Shaktoolik; thus, I had my team parked on straw before the checkers even realized I was in. What a good feeling! My original thought was to stay in Shaktoolik for 6 hours, but I changed that to 7 when I realized how good the dogs were resting. Luckily, they had us parked behind the building serving as the checkpoint, so we were more or less out of the wind. On top of that, the sun was shining and Snow Buntings were singing brightly nearby.
We left Shaktoolik around 5:30 PM directly into the strong wind. This was hard mentally for the dogs to leave a checkpoint into a strong wind and a poor trail. However, they picked things up soon, and we were heading for the Norton Sound. After 10 miles of overland travel we left the comfort of the tundra and embarked on the sea ice. It was 30 from that point to Koyuk, but it was the longest 30 miles of the entire race. There was little snow on the ice, it was poorly marked, and there was near whiteout conditions for much of the way due to the extremely strong winds in our face. If there is a place on earth to make you feel small again, this is it. Completely exposed to the elements, you have no choice but to follow the trail you can see and keep going.
I was afraid to stop on the way to Koyuk for fear of the dogs turning around and going with the wind. Amazingly enough, the dogs did not seem to mind the wind. I stopped several times to give the dogs a snack, and they reacted by pulling in their harnesses, ready to keep rolling. We saw the lights of Koyuk several hours before arriving. On a clear day, it is said that you can see the lights of the village 4 or 5 hours before you get there. What a trick this plays on your mind! We arrived in Koyuk at about 11:00 PM, very happy to be there. The dogs got a nice warm meal before I ate some musk ox stew and settled down for a nice nap.
I gave the dogs another long break and left around 7:30 AM the next morning. Elim was the next checkpoint, about 50 miles from Koyuk, but this time we had the wind at our backs. And we flew over to Elim, which is mostly over flat beach and sea ice. We arrived in Elim, a small village located on a hill above the Bearing Sea, around 1:30 PM. I was the only musher at the village, and the checkers were very happy to have some company.
I pulled out of Elim around 7:30 PM followed closely by Dan Carter, who was running Frank Teasley’s young team and who I had run with quite a bit throughout the race. From Elim, we immediately begin climbing towards the top of Little McKinley. This again was hard mentally on the dogs: it was warm out and they didn’t have a chance to warm up before the climbing began. But as soon as they warmed up, we were moving very nicely. The next checkpoint was White Mountain, where there is an 8 hour mandatory break before the final 70 mile run to Nome. The run was fairly easy to White Mountain, other than many, many miles of glare ice. Luckily, wind gods gave us a break and the only wind was that which we created by our speed.
We arrived in White Mountain around 1:00 AM followed 50 minutes later by Dan. It was clear at that point that we were going to make it, and although we were exhausted, the adrenaline was rushing. I got a few hours of sleep in our 8 hour break and we pulled out at 9:00 AM the next morning.
This last run into Nome was the best run of the entire race. My happiness was spread throughout the team and we skipped our way to Nome. The first 40 miles were largely big hills and finally over Topkok Mountain before heading down onto the beach for the final 40 miles to Nome. The best part of the run was that the whole thing was in the daylight, and there were several spectacular views to speak of. 20 miles of trail before Safety, the last checkpoint before Nome, were completely gravel. My runners shredded down to the aluminum at one point, and I had to stop and change them, but this was the only issue with the whole run.
The day I arrived in Nome was also the warmest day of the entire race: the mercury reached a whopping 20 degrees! This was slightly warm for the dogs, but if felt great for myself. The feeling I felt the last 20 miles of the trail into Nome cannot be described. I was so proud of the dogs and what we had accomplished. When we set out, they did not know what we were getting ourselves into, and for that fact, neither did I. But they took it like champions, and champions I hope they will be some day.
We loped down front street of Nome and pulled under the burled arch around 5:30 PM on Sunday, just in time for the finish banquet. It was an emotional moment, having last words with the dogs before we staked them in the temporary dog yard in Nome then wisked away to the finish banquet. We had spent 14 days straight together, and all of a sudden I was in a room with over 500 other people without my dogs.
It didn’t hit me for several days what I had done and how lucky I was to have this opportunity. It took me a good week to catch up on my sleep and to get back into my pre-race routine. And it took several weeks before I stopped dreaming about the race and waking up and thinking that I was still in the race. What will never get out of me, however, is thinking about when I will be able to run again, which will happen. It won’t happen for awhile, but it will happen.
Thank you to everyone who has followed my blog and my progress during the race. And thank you to everyone who wrote me emails of support; none went unnoticed, even if I didn’t write back to them all. Thanks again and feel free to email me at any time with thoughts, questions, etc!
posted by Jeff Wells @ 4:25 PM
1 Comments:
Jeff, it was such a pleasure to watch you though the race. I kept track of you because you were running King's puppy team. And then reading your blogg brought tears to my eyes. What a wonderful job you did and what a great attitude you had. Maybe I will have a chance to meet you some day.
Marlyn, an Ohio Grandma
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