Iditarod 2009 – Paul Gebhardt Update # 7 as of 5am Sunday, March 15 ©Evy Gebhardt
Bib #15  Paul and team are currently running in 11th  position

Out of the checkpoint of EAGLE ISLAND as of 1:28am this morning

A bright moon is slung low on the horizon, and from the reports off the GPS satellite tracker that Paul and the other mushers in this year’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race are carrying, it appears that cooler temperatures have hit the section of trail that marks day 7 of racing. -10 degrees F is what is reading, as well as a steady pace for the team as they make their way up the frozen expanse of the Yukon River.

Paul took his mandatory 8 hour layover at the EAGLE ISLAND checkpoint, a move that advantageously put him back on the trail during some prime racing hours in the cool weather. This cycle will allow him to make the run into KALTAG as the sun is breaking the horizon, and well before the heat of the day. 

He is traveling in a tight pack of very qualified mushers, including Sonny Linder, Cim Smyth and Dallas Seavey. Of these, it would seem that Sonny has the stronger team with 13 dogs in front of his sled.  Sonny is an interesting story in my opinion. He has been running the Iditarod since the 1970’s and had a string of strong finishes in the early ‘80s. For reasons unknown to me, he has also scratched from the race on a number of occasions.  Looking back on Paul’s previous races to Nome, I can’t say that he has ever traveled in close proximity to Sonny in the past. Paul and Cim, as well as the young Dallas, are all familiar to one another, and this makes for good company on the isolated miles of trail. But truth be told, Paul has always said he would prefer to travel alone if given the choice. (Well, REAL truth be told, I think he would prefer to travel alone at the FRONT of the race, but that doesn’t seem to be in the cards at the moment.) I don’t expect that he would be encountering any negative interactions with this group of mushers, but Paul and Mitch Seavey can tell you stories of another musher that tagged onto their partnership making the trail into Nome one year, that became a very negative encounter. The other musher would never take the lead – in essence sharing the trail breaking responsibility – but rather opted to stay immediately on the heels of Paul and Mitch.  His dogs were able to do what is referred to as “drafting” off the momentum of the team ahead, and his leaders have very little mental stress other than just following. Drafting is a huge benefit to the team behind, but psychologically it drags down the team that is running in front, and actually may slow them down.  What made the situation even more frustrating is that while there are occasions when a team will draft because they do not have strong leaders capable of forging ahead on their own at a decent pace, this musher’s leader were very competent, and as the race neared the finish line, he tried to pull out and pass Paul and Mitch with his – essentially – rested leaders. That was not a traveling companionship built upon camaraderie, but rather one of opportunity.

The next checkpoint on the trail is KALTAG, which is where the team departs the Yukon River and begins the overland trek to the Bering Sea Coastal section of the trail.  The run from KALTAG to UNALAKLEET is a welcome relief for the teams, as they roll through wooded areas for the first leg of this 90-mile stretch. Compared to the vast open country, and insanely boring miles of trail on the Yukon, the dogs often will speed up as they enthusiastically roll through the change in scenery. They want to see what is up around the next corner.  Some mushers may make the run in one long sweep, while others may stop and camp their teams midway.  There are a couple of good opportunities to do so on this leg of the trail, including a common stopping point known as Old Woman Cabin. Steeped in regional lore, Old Woman’s is situated at the base of Old Woman Mountain.  Several years ago, Paul spread the ashes of a friend of ours there, who had passed away from cancer.  He had raced the Iditarod before, and asked Paul to do this.

On a completely different note, I will be flying out to NOME later today. I am optimistic that the technology I had available to me last year will be available again to allow me to continue posting updates to the site.

Unlike other years, I am really uncertain as to the overall pace and when this means Paul will be crossing the finish line. A friend of mine made a great analogy for me when it comes to the Iditarod. She speculated that this must be a lot like waiting for your baby to be born. You are anxious, you want the pregnancy to be over, you hope that everything goes ok with delivery and that your child will be born healthy and sound, and you don’t know if you will have a boy or girl.  Granted the GPS technology on the trail is a little like the equivalent of the ultrasound that gives parents a pretty accurate picture of the sex of their unborn child.  But even that is not foolproof. I have a beautiful daughter that will fly to NOME with me today – and my doctor said I was having a boy!  The same surprises can happen in the Iditarod. Someone pointed out to me that a few years ago, Martin Buser won the race with a 10-dog team he had been running for half of the race, and that last year – Mitch Seavey actually turned around and lost an hour’s time dropping another dog from his little team in KALTAG in a move that ultimately pushed him higher in the final standings. Toss onto this the year when Rick Swenson and Martin Buser saw the leaders of the race depart WHITE MOUNTAIN enroute to a “sure” victory – only to see them turn back from the face of a raging blizzard. Rick and Martin went through the storm that year, a move that gave Rick an unprecedented 5^th victory in the race. So while there are teams traveling at certain stages in the race right now ahead of, and behind Paul, their journey is far from over.

I am eager to see the race continue to unfold, and I have no doubts that there will be some exciting changes as the miles separating the teams from the finish line in NOME slip away.

Until later… Life is a journey, enjoy the ride - Evy