IditaProject Forum

The front three are on their way.

Nic has a nice fat 6 hours banked, while the others only have 4.

From the Kaltag video (and the little chat they had with Nic on the trail 20 miles south of Kaltag), coupled with that nice fat rest, I got the impression that he was thinking he's like to go to Unk in one long run and rest up when he got there. Mitch and Joar likely don't have that ability, so will have to break it into two runs?

Nic said in his interview that wanted to get eyes on Mitch and Joar 's teams, so he rested on the trail (lying under his lead dog Kristy) and waited for them to go past. He missed Mitch, but woke up as Joar passed. He left and "caught and passed them both quite quickly "

He later said something like he didn't necessarily want them to see any more of his team (which made me think is he hoping to leave Unk before they get there?)

Unalakleet Checkpoint FB Page

https://m.facebook.com/Unalakleet-Idita ... tion=group

ADN was Facebook Live in Unk just a few minutes ago. You can view it here:

https://www.facebook.com/akdispatch/videos/1804531252902819/?hc_ref=ARRUl6f1eDjbKMP13Gw-T1e-tE6YWdixDuvExdAPjyR6LU5BuqWcGhA4jycQVHeK-8o&fref=gs&dti=169086336439345&hc_location=group

Keep checking our BSSD Facebook group page too because sometimes things get posted there that don't get posted here. (I do my best lately to cross-post, but it's hard when I'm here, there and everywhere, watching videos and chatting.)

Good Youtube channel from Kaltag:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB_aCg ... kLg/videos

Mitch is stopped couple hours from unk,
Nick nearly there.

Joar between them and moving.

Be interesting to see what nick does and does mitch try and blow through unk?

Who is really the rabbit / ghost..


In the vidoes nick seems comfortable and proud of his dogs, they move like a fresh team in the videos happy waggy and vocal, mitch seems a little pee’d off and like he can’t believe how well nick the non schedule seat of pants style over mitch the tactical schedule musher is getting this speed and away from him and joar. You can tell its starting to get to him. His dogs dont look as good, loping i to the checkpoints where nicks is sprinting in and out excited and wild eyed.

I guess mitch is hoping the runners come off nicks teams.

tanglefoot wrote:
Be interesting to see what nick does and does mitch try and blow through unk?

Who is really the rabbit / ghost..


In the vidoes nick seems comfortable and proud of his dogs, they move like a fresh team in the videos happy waggy and vocal, mitch seems a little pee’d off and like he can’t believe how well nick the non schedule seat of pants style over mitch the tactical schedule musher is getting this speed and away from him and joar. You can tell its starting to get to him. His dogs dont look as good, loping i to the checkpoints where nicks is sprinting in and out excited and wild eyed.

I guess mitch is hoping the runners come off nicks teams.

Nice play by play, Tangles! Yes, the Nick vs Mitch show is making this years event quite the interesting race at this point. Mitch and Joar have been trailing Nic since leaving Iditarod/Shageluk. I saw Nic briefly in Anch and he was full of vigor, laughing, and totally into this Idit deal! One thing i noticed is he has lost much of his French twang and spoke American American...

And to have Joar inbetween these two is even more exciting. I thought it would be the Ailey vs Mitch show with Joar in the wings...

For now, it doesnt look/sound like Nic's team is losing any steam or signs of wearing.

Froze

Kale Casey is doing a FB live now in Unk:
https://www.facebook.com/kalecaseylive/ ... 431231805/

Kale is a good friend of mine, he is super knowledgeable about the sport and a really nice guy.

Casey live again: https://www.facebook.com/kalecaseylive/ ... 584537323/
With Joar right now.

Bruce Lee, in Kaltag, says Mitch is dealing with nicks and dings that are slowing his team down - they aren't eating as well as they could.

Joar is having to rely on younger leaders that don't have the same drive as the little female (Missie) that he had to drop.

So there are these little cracks, and the whole game plan is starting to affect the musher. That one key dog that runs 1/4 or 1/2 mile faster over 200 miles, makes a difference. Having to hold up a bit for a dog that's not eating.

They comment that Nic appears to be having that magic carpet ride.

Usually there's something going on, some "reason" why the team isn't doing right.

Says Joee Redington - who just passed and was this year's honorary musher - had a hat that said "Musher hat" and on the side it had "Excuses": "packed the wrong food", "too cold", "stayed too long", "didn't stay long enough"...

They talk about Nic and how he's relatively new to the sport (compared to some of the old timers/mushing families) and that he takes every little tidbit of knowledge from anyone he talks to.

Says Nic puts in a ton of time building rapport with the dogs. Doesn't spend as much time with equipment or a job or building a house of whatever. The dogs' eyes are constantly tracking him, focused on him.

That, says Bruce, to him, gets away from the "science" of dog mushing, and into the "art". Nic has that gift with this group of dogs.

They talk about how those dogs are having so much fun.

Anyone who saw Nic's team coming into Kaltag (at 12 mph. Bruce said it was hands down the BEST dog team he has EVER seen coming into Kaltag) can't say this is abuse.

Apparently Matt Hall is in to Kaltag and his dogs were barking like crazy, wanting to keep going...



"You can't push a 60 ft rope".