Iditarod 2009 – Paul Gebhardt Update # 10 as of 6am Wednesday, March 18 ©Evy Gebhardt
Bib #15 Paul and team are currently running in 12th position
Out of the checkpoint of KOYUK as of 3:22am this morning.
To call this year’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race a journey of epic proportions would be an understatement. I have never been party to the kind of evolution the race has taken over the past couple of days, nor spent as much time praying for Paul’s competitors as I have this year. By now, for those of you checking the updates, you are aware of the group of mushers that had made the charge out of the checkpoint of SHAKTOOLIK without successfully navigating the run across the sea ice into KOYUK for over 24 hours. Spending many hours hunkered down in a tiny shelter cabin on the edge of the sea, while the winds roared and the blowing snow obliterated the landscape, I can bet there is a bond between those mushers that perhaps only those who served in battle can appreciate.
I am happy to report that the storm that paralyzed the race for a couple of days has abated enough for Paul and the other teams to be on the move. He is currently on the overland route headed for the checkpoint of ELIM – a trek that takes the team over a mountain called “Little McKinley”. Beyond that, awaits the checkpoint of WHITE MOUNTAIN, where all the teams are required to take the final of their mandated rests. At WHITE MOUNTAIN, the teams will rest for 8 hours nestled on the banks of the Fish River at the feet of this tiny village. Once they leave there, unless the weather is really severe, the teams will make the run into NOME in one leg without additional rests. On a normal year, I usually anticipate this to take about 10 hours.
Paul’s run over from SHAKTOOK took 6 hours. I don’t have the stats at my fingertips to compare previous year’s times to, but it has been unheard of for teams to spend 24 hours at one checkpoint once they hit the coast since Libby Riddles pushed through a similar storm in 1985 to become the first female to win the Iditarod. Because of this, I am at a loss to make a guess as to what kind of strategy Paul will approach this now “sprint” to NOME. He is obviously running a smaller team than his counterparts, with 8 dogs lined up in front of the team. The one advantage that I feel that fact gave him is in regards to the amount of nutrition he would have been able to provide the team while they rested so long in SHAKTOOLIK. Paul has historically packed heavy on his food drops, and given that he would normally have a much larger team when he hit the coast, would mean there would have been more food awaiting the team when they arrived in the checkpoint. I could compare this to putting high octane fuel into their tanks, coupled with the extra rest.
Even so, the mushers are all vying for positions now, so they will not be lollygagging as they make the final push towards NOME, so it is still anyone’s guess in my opinion for certain as to who places where. There is the assumption that Lance Mackey will seize yet another victory later today, but particularly after the turn of events the weather brought to the trail so suddenly, nothing is set in stone. John Baker is really not that far off of Lance’ pace, and has a team that trains on this barren tundra landscape year round. I personally would love to see John win if I were to choose. John and Paul started out as rookie mushers together back in 1996, and have often traveled the trail together. But the forecast isn’t looking like there will be any significant issues to hinder Lance’ travel into NOME, so I expect we will see John crossing the finish line with a personal best of either 2nd or 3rd place this year.
Obviously I am more interested in the pack just behind these teams, and am anxious to see Paul and our team making their way safely into WHITE MOUNTAIN foremost. I will then have a much better idea as to how things will pan out. This said, I recall Paul’s rookie run in the Iditarod when he gained a whopping 6 hours on the teams ahead of him after leaving WHITE MOUNTAIN, and even passed one of them as he hit the edge of NOME. Paul has also won the award for having the fastest run from the final Iditarod checkpoint of SAFETY into Nome. Judging from the mileage, he will most likely take a break with the team in the checkpoint of ELIM before making the run over to WHITE MOUNTAIN.
The temperature is reportedly around minus -10F this morning, which is ideal for the dogs, and they are on the section of trail that also serves as a wintertime highway for area villagers traveling back and forth along the coast on their snowmachines. This will give the trail a more solid base than the teams would have crossed earlier in the race. This doesn’t mean there still won’t be fresh blowing snow that could wipe out any existing trail. I am astounded by the deep snow that is piled everywhere around NOME.
Something that you don’t normally hear much about is the amount of travel that is done by both local residents as well as members of the media on snowmachines along the trail. The recent developments in the snowmachine industry (same as a “snowmobile” by the way….) have created machines with speed and capacity that is often times a little nerve wracking for the mushers. Fuel this power and speed with alcohol use by some of the drivers, and you have a deadly combination that is no different than a drunk driver at the wheel of a car. In recent years there have been a couple of incidents involving snowmachines hitting the dog teams. Earlier this winter, a doctor visiting the Kotzebue area was riding in the sled basket for a dog sled ride, when he was killed when they were struck by an intoxicated snowmachiner. Paul has a gangline that is interwoven with reflective material, as well as having reflectors sewn onto the sides of each dog’s harness. He has told stories of terrible close encounters in the past with snowmachines that roar within inches of his leaders during the race, as well as having a nice hard packed trail that is just chewed up in minutes by the whapping paddle tracks of the machines. It used to be that having a snowmachine pop onto the trail ahead of you was a real blessing. But now, it if the trail is already established and hard packed, it is actually a detriment if that machine has a paddle track propelling it forward.
An interesting story that Paul has from several years back involved a snowmachiner that had lost his way miles outside of the Yukon River checkpoint of KALTAG. The weather was brutally cold that year, and when Paul saw the obviously intoxicated man stumbling around along the trail, he did not think twice about loading him up to carry him to safety on the dog sled. The next year, deep in the hours of midnight when Paul was out caring for his team at the KALTAG checkpoint, a man quietly stood by watching him. He said to Paul, “last year, a musher gave me a ride in on their dog sled. That sure was nice”. Paul’s response was that “last year I gave someone a ride in”. No judgement, nothing further, just an unspoken certainty between these two travelers. However, when Paul returned back to his sled a few hours later, there was a hand carved piece of native jewelry hanging from his sled. He has also been the beneficiary of a handmade dream catcher that mysteriously appeared on his sled another time at this same location.
As Paul keeps up his progress towards the finish line, I will spend some time today handling the transport of our dog kennels from the airport down to the staging area where the dogs will rest here in NOME. I am accompanied on this trip by Kristy and her twin Anna, who are eager to help with anything. Unfortunately, our daughter Kristin, who flew out for a few days in hopes of seeing her Dad cross the finish line, has to get back to work and class today, so will miss all of the excitement in this Gold Rush city. The energy here is certainly building.
Until later, Life is a journey, Enjoy the ride - Evy
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