Copyright 2010© Evy Gebhardt
IDITAROD 2010 UPDATE #8 as of 5am Monday, March 15, 2010

Paul Gebhardt Bib #7 currently in Position #21 into UNALAKLEET as of 1am this morning
Next checkpoint: SHAKTOOLIK

Kristy Berington Bib #38 in Position #39 into KALTAG as of 2:28am this morning
Next checkpoint: UNALAKLEET

Since my last update, the temperatures have inched higher as the teams made their way further up the Iditarod Trail, and closer to the finish line of the Last Great Race. Paul has just 261 miles to go, and Kristy has already covered 761 miles in her Rookie Run to Nome. Currently it is a balmy -13 degrees below zero where Paul has the team resting in the coastal village of UNALAKLEET. And while Kristy is still enjoying temperatures down to -22 below, it is better than the -40 and colder weather that marked the run down the Yukon River this year.

I haven’t talked to Paul since he left KALTAG, so I don’t have an exact report on the health of the dogs, but he does appear to be moving steadily which is a good sign. Part of this may be the welcome change of scenery that the team embraced as they hit the banks of the Yukon in KALTAG and started the overland portage heading towards the Bering Sea Coast. After spending so much time on the wide expanse of the river, the chance to wind through the rolling, wooded country on the initial part of this part of the trail is something the dogs usually enjoy.

I know that Paul camped midway on the trail, near a popular spot called “Old Woman Cabin”, that sits near Old Woman Mountain, and offers an arctic oasis for the travelers of the region. The mushers can access water from a stream there, and there is a cabin available for them to dry their gear and warm up. It is not an official checkpoint in the race, but rather a logical resting spot on the long run between the river and the coast.

His stop was made in the company of two longtime mushers, DeeDee Jonrowe and Jim Lanier, as well as with one of our Kasilof neighbors, Bruce Linton. Of this foursome, Bruce is the newest face in the crowd – and knowing the trio of veterans as well as I do, I am sure that Bruce was party to some fantastic stories during the break they all took.   DeeDee is running with a team that is diminished in numbers, and 69 years old, I think Jim Lanier can run pretty much wherever he very well pleases and still amaze just about everyone.  When I look at the front of the pack, I wonder how much the dynamic may have been different had Paul’s team not gotten so sick. I think he is doing a stand-up job of getting the team towards the finish line under the hand that has been dealt him, and even though he isn’t in the lead pack, the overall pace of the race is clipping right along. The front runners are pushing nearer to the layover at WHITE MOUNTAIN as I myself prepare to fly out to Nome this afternoon.

In my last update, I mentioned some of the chores the mushers have to attend to each time they stop their teams for a break. In this shot, you can see Paul pouring dry kibble (Momentum Premium Athletic Dog Food in case you were wondering..!) into a cooler. Prior to shipping this out, he had these bags all measured out to allow for one “meal” per bag. The cooler is used like a bucket that he will add meat and hot water to, creating a flavorful soup for the dogs. Although all of the meat that the dogs will eat on the trail has been pre-sliced into snack sized pieces before packing into the food drops, you can see by this shot that Paul is using the knife on his leatherman tool to pry the melded pieces apart. Warmer temperatures during the transporting of the food drops will often cause this semi-melting to occur. Obviously if it is twenty below at a checkpoint now, that isn’t quite the problem, but when Paul and Kristy took their food drops up to Anchorage several weeks before the race for shipping, it was almost 40 degrees above zero.

Often times in photos (as in the previous one here) you will see those blue bags. These contain the bales of straw that the mushers use to bed their dogs. The plastic protects them from moisture during transporting. If you are one of the earlier mushers into a checkpoint, particularly on this coastal portion of the race, you will have the benefit of these blue bags all lined up to create a windbreak around the teams. But as more and more teams come through, this temporary shield gets a few chinks in it as the mushers collect the straw to bed their teams down. As you can see here, the teams literally camp out in the open – see that crack in the snow? That is actually a fissure in the sea ice that the teams are camped on.  The dogs are wearing their warm jackets, that both insulate and block the wind, plus having the bed of straw beneath them as well.  But the primary ingredient to their comfort truly comes from the warm meals that Paul is getting into them during these breaks.

When they leave UNALAKLEET the teams will start to make a climb up and over a region called the “Blueberry Hills” as they make their way towards SHAKTOOLIK. It is obvious by this picture to the left that there is very little in the way of vegetation on this part of the trail. Even at the top of the Blueberry Hills, where Paul stopped to shoot this overlook prior to heading down to SHAKTOOLIK and the sea ice, it is just low scrub brush. Once they leave these hills, there is not a buffer again from the winds that can be absolutely relentless. Add to this blowing snow, and you can literally have a “ground blizzard” which is when the snow whips around into a frothy cloud of white at surface levels, while blue skies paint the view overhead.   Paul will be making this run in daylight hours, but I cannot imagine what it might be like to cross through this section of trail in the dark of night.

Kristy made her last run through the darkest, coldest part of the night and will soon be stopping for a nice break in KALTAG. I noticed that she had dropped another dog, leaving her with 11 dogs on her team now. I am guessing that having the tough-headed leader, HOUSTON in front of the team has been a relief for Kristy during the windy conditions. He is a sage leader with much experience on this coastal part of the race. Kristy loves him to pieces and he will be an asset to her as she makes the 351 miles to the finish line from here.

I will update as I am able to do so …. Evy.