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Copyright 2010© Evy Gebhardt
IDITAROD 2010 UPDATE #9 as of 6am Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Paul Gebhardt Bib #7 currently in Position #21 out of KOYUK as of 5:11am this morning
Next checkpoint: ELIM

Kristy Berington Bib #38 in Position #40 into UNALAKLEET as of 2:26am this morning
Next checkpoint: SHAKTOOLIK
While it was under the shroud of darkness overnight that Paul made this run into the village of KOYUK on the edge of Norton Sound, I wanted to share this photo of the view as the mushers are traveling across the sea ice from SHAKTOOLIK.  Paul says that at night, you can see the lights of the village from miles away, and with the vast expanse of the open country of frozen sea ice flanking you on both sides, it seems like an eternity on the run to reach the checkpoint.

He has talked about how you can see your competition approaching the checkpoint, and how strategically mushers will recognize the opportunity to get their team back on the trail and to stay ahead of their rivals. The incoming, and outgoing race trails narrowly intersect – a fact that seemed to cause some anomalies in the GPS tracking overnight for anyone watching that. It gives the appearance on the computer screen that the teams that are actually enroute and have yet to reach KOYUK have passed the ones that are already on the outbound trail. And while it gives a momentary jolt to those of us on the sidelines who wonder how one tea suddenly shot forward in the standings, it is of zero consequence to the mushers as they continue their trek to NOME and the finish line of the 2010 Iditarod.

Kristy’s twin sister Anna and I have been watching the progress of both Paul and Kristy over the past week, and now from our vantage point in Nome – having arrived here last night. The city is bustling with activity, and already the “arches” of the finish line have been seated directly in the middle of Front Street atop a pile of snow. (This is done to elevate the teams coming into the finish chute for better spectator viewing. Although anyone who has ever been here, knows that what happens with the teams is that the race officials and media swarm in so tightly once the team has crossed the finish line that often times it is tough for the average person to get a decent view of anything other than their backsides once the team stops.)

Kristy is currently resting in UNALAKLEET with her team of 10 dogs, having dropped a couple more on the run down the Yukon River. Paul is still holding the same 12 that he has been traveling with since before the halfway mark, and is moving steadily up in positions after dropping back somewhat with an extended rest he gave the team in UNALAKLEET yesterday.  As I write this, he is fast approaching a significant challenge in the form of a landmark called “Little McKinley” which is a sharp uphill climb the teams take before dropping in towards the checkpoint of ELIM. He is literally within minutes of the two teams ahead of him on the trail, so it is possible he could move up a position or two – although I have no doubts that Rick Swenson, the Iditarod’s only five time champion, will give up a position easily.  There is an envelope behind them, with DeeDee Jonrowe still showing in KOYUK as of this morning.

With the sunrise at his back, it should be a lovely morning for Paul as he races the sun on its ascent into the sky on this run. As evidenced by this shot, taken on the trail coming into ELIM, you can see that it is very scenic, with the views of Norton Sound and the distant Bering Sea fanning out from aged spruce forest. After many miles of traveling on frozen sea ice and bare tundra, the wooded pockets along the coast from KOYUK to WHITE MOUNTAIN are a visual and mental relief for the dogs.

Equally welcome is upwards shift in temperature that has occurred over the past two days. Trail reports are coming in with downright balmy numbers of a mere -10 below and even inching into single digits over the zero mark.  I don’t know if they are having to contend with wind, but here in Nome there are no significant gusts stirring things up.

I remember Paul warning Kristy that if you have a good pocket of weather “on the coast” in this race, it is wise to take advantage of it and move, because if you wait you will undoubtedly encounter bad weather. But it goes both ways. There have been years when the front teams battled severe ground blizzards and weather that was downright unreal, while the back of the pack coasted in escorted by clear, sunny skies. One year, it got very warm on the coast and everything was sloppy and melting. Paul talked about the trail into ELIM where he had plugged through deep, slushy snow over the top of Little McKinley and when the team made the run down towards the checkpoint, he could see many teams fanned out and camping rather than continuing on. He moved up 8 positions just a couple hundred miles from the finish line because his team was able to keep running rather than demanding rest at that point.

As of this morning, there have been 14 teams that have pulled out of the race – including some that had been in the lead pack earlier in the race. And while Paul is certainly not enjoying the fruits of his labor with the high caliber run he had intended to have in this year’s race, he is still hedging on another top twenty finish if things come together.

All of the teams are required to take a final mandated rest at the checkpoint of WHITE MOUNTAIN. It is a full 8 hours that they will enjoy, curled up on straw on the banks of the Fish River near this lovely little village.

Likely we will see a winner in this year’s race while Paul is wrapping up this layover – just one final run away from the finish line. I think that if you look at how close the field is, it certainly speaks highly to how well Kristy is doing in her rookie run. It has been funny for me to see people do a double take looking at Anna, her twin. Since Kristy’s face has been splashed on newspapers and videos the past several weeks, she is very recognizable – we have had several people comment on this to her.

Stay tuned for a couple more updates – I will post as I have details to share.

Until later, life is a journey, enjoy the ride …. Evy.