Iditarod to Grayling

Tumble out of bed and stumble outside. Brrrr. Baby it is cold out there. It was a clear starry sky when I went to bed and I know that means it will cool off, but I’m dropping things and the thought never entered my mind. The thermometer on the sled says -24, one of the volunteers say it was -32 earlier. I regret not putting coats on the dogs when I bedded them down last night. I could put the coats on now, but the day is will get much warmer as the sun comes up.

For years I’ve heard stories about the hills on this next section of trail. Words like “never ending” and “enough to drive a tired man insane” ring through my mind. Hills are not our forte, but this is the road to Nome and at 10:40 AM we hit the trail. The trail leaving Iditarod is hard, fast and worn down into the snow. It reminds me of a luge run as the sled bumps off one side and then the other. We come around a corner and the sled slides forward heading straight for a tree. At the last moment the wheel dogs hit the end of their tugs and jerk the sled around the corner, just missing the tree. It’s actually kind of fun.

As we left Iditarod I swapped Platinum and Mocha into lead to give Blaze and Thyme, who have done yeoman’s duty, a break. That lasts about ½ hour. I move Rosemary up for Mocha and we get another ½ hour. I don’t know what the problem is, but move Thyme back into lead and off we go. That girl is having a great race.

This is rolling country and swoon we start to hit the hills (actually a series of ridges). The bottoms are forested and the combination of green trees against the blue sky with the white snow underneath is absolutely beautiful. The first few are fairly steep, but the dogs do well. As we continue to Shageluk the ridges get broader and the sides are not as steep. I’m enjoying this run and I think the dogs are also.

A couple of ravens follow us. One lands in the trail in front of the dogs. He waits until Platinum’s nose almost touches him before he flies off to a tree beside the trail. I swear he laughs as we go past. Then he flies ahead to repeat the process. He does this a half dozen times before another raven comes by and they fly off to find new amusement.

At the driver’s meeting we were told that after the trail breakers put the trail into Iditarod it snowed 2 feet and they had to re-stake it. It must have made an impression because many of the trail lath on this section are placed in trees between 4 and 6 feet off the ground. It looks pretty silly and took me a while to figure out what was going on.

I’m spending a lot of time driving the sled, horsing it around corners and working on the downhills so I don’t lose control. I’m working up a pretty good sweat, even at -20. I break out my prescription hand cream and it’s frozen inside my pocket. Funny how one part is sweating and the other is cold. About halfway to Shageluk we cross the Big Yentna river – a broad flat valley. I enjoy the break, but miss the views from the ridge tops.

All good things must come to an end and just before 7 PM we pull into Shageluk. The dogs are feeling good and root through the remnants of straw from previous teams looking for something to eat. I quickly put two cups of dry kibble down for them to eat while I fix a hot meal. Platinum takes his nose and pushes straw over the kibble to bury it for later. He looks so silly I laugh, but skipping an opportunity to eat is a bad thing. I fix a hot broth with salmon, add kibble and everyone eats. This time I put coats on the dogs before settling in for the night.

Brrring! Brrring! What is that obnoxious sound! I’m trying to sleep here. It takes a while to realize that is my alarm. Maybe I’m not as sharp as I think I am… I get another good meal down the dogs and at 4:46 AM we leave for Anvik. I had wanted to be out by 3:00 AM, but fixing the dogs a meal and packing the sled takes a lot longer than it should.

I’d heard the trail to Anvik went through the swamps and was pretty boring. This is actually a nice run through the trees. Then we drop onto a river and it is cold! Brrrrr. I stop to dig out an extra layer. Dukat hasn’t been pulling since we left Iditarod. I thought the long rest in Shageluk would make the difference, but he just isn’t feeling well. I was going to drop him in Grayling, but as we go through Anvik I see no reason for him to run another 18 miles.

Anvik is bigger than I thought and we drive through the village for several minutes before reaching the checkpoint. Art Church, a friend of mine, is the race judge and has everything organized. He hands me my lithium batteries (specially delivered to Anvik and 3 other checkpoints because you cannot mail them), take Dukat and we are gone before most people even know we are there.

The Yukon River is large and flat. It can be a little intimidating, but the short run to Grayling is uneventful. There is no hint of the adventures to come.

Keep 'em Northbound

Eric