Iditarod Update

 

As of 6:30 am Alaska time, we have a new leader and some fresh snow ahead of our teams.

As expected, Jessie Holmes was the first back to the Kaltag checkpoint, where he finally took his mandatory 8-hour rest. While he was resting, Matt Hall blew through the checkpoint and is now in first place. However, Holmes left Kaltag a mere 30 minutes after Hall passed through and can very possibly catch back up and retake the lead by the Unalakleet checkpoint some 81 miles ahead.

Paige Drobny has arrived at Kaltag as well, and even though she's already taken her 8-hour rest, she's been there for some three hours now. 

After passing Kaltag, the teams are finally done with the Yukon, which they've been following for the past 583 miles. The slushy conditions have slowed everyone's race times, although trail reports say the dogs have reacted positively to the well-worn return trail and are excited when they pass teams going in the opposite direction. But from here on in to the Finish Line it will all be fresh, new trail (at least for the leader) and hopefully more snow. 

For hundreds of years, Kaltag was the gateway between the Athabaskan villages of the Alaska interior and the Iñupiat settlements on the Bering Sea. The Kaltag Portage runs through a 1,000-foot pass down to the Iñupiat town of Unalakleet, on the shore of the Bering Sea. 

After our three leaders, six teams (Michelle Phillips, Bailey Vitello, Nicolas Petit, Mille Porsild, Mitch Seavey, and Travis Beals) are currently between Eagle Island and Kaltag. Ryan Redington (10th place) and Riley Dyche (11th) are still at Eagle Island 

Emily Ford is still the lead rookie. As we suspected, she stayed in Grayling on the southbound part of the loop trail and completed her 8-hour rest there. However, after turning and heading northbound at Shageluk, she passed veterans Matthew Failor and Lauro Eklund and moved up from 14th place to 12th overall in the race. She is currently on the trail between Grayling and Eagle Island. 

Worth keeping an eye on: rookie Samantha LaLonde left Grayling at the same time as Emily and could possibly arrive at Eagle Island ahead of her. The race is on between the two rookies between the two checkpoints.