Finger Lake to Rainy Pass to Rohn

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Finger Lake to Rainy Pass to Rohn

Postby libby the lab » Mon Mar 09, 2020 10:11 am

Finger Lake to Rainy Pass wrote:

This is a tough run with some short stretches of extraordinarily difficult trail.

After leaving Finger Lake, the trail climbs steeply over a ridge to Red Lake, runs along it for a mile or two, swings up a ravine, and then follows a series of climbing wooded shelves interspersed with open swamps. About ten miles from Finger Lake, the trail drops down a series of wooded benches toward Happy River, then onto the river itself via the dreaded Happy River steps. Then it’s down the river to its mouth, up the Skwentna River for a few hundred yards, and back up a steep ravine to the plateau on the south side of the Happy. The trail will cross Shirley Lake, then Long Lake (11 miles from Rainy Pass Lodge) and then run along the steeply sloping mountainside above the south side of the Happy River valley to the checkpoint. There are two nasty stretches of sidehill trail in the last eight miles.


Rainy Pass to Rohn wrote:
It has some very tough trail, including the notorious Dalzell Gorge.
The trail runs in the open on the tundra of Ptarmigan Pass from Rainy Pass Lodge to the mouth of Pass Creek, which it then follows northwest up to the summit of Rainy Pass itself. Then there are several miles of sometimes steep downhills and often tight, twisting trail through scrub willow southwest along Pass Fork to Dalzell Creek. The trail then drops into the infamous Dalzell Gorge for a few miles and finally onto the Tatina River for the last five miles to Rohn.


Rohn to Nikolai wrote:
This run breaks into three natural sections: 20 miles along the south side of the South Fork of the Kuskokwim from Rohn to Farewell Lakes and up onto the Farewell Burn, 35 miles across the Burn itself to Sullivan Creek, and then 20 miles north from Sullivan Creek past Salmon River to Nikolai.
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Re: Finger Lake to Rainy Pass to Rohn

Postby elsietee » Mon Mar 09, 2020 10:42 am

First team - Pete - is about to hit the Happy Steps... godspeed to all of them, they should be gnarly this year.

Per Insider video with Lance, he says he thinks Brent has the best shot since he's been training in these kind of conditions all year. Brent is currently biding his time in 35th (back with Mitch, Jessie Holmes, Tom Frode) just finishing a 5 hour rest (his second) at mile 107 on the trail (as a comparison, Pete is at mile 143).

(Pete, on a completely different schedule, has taken two short 2 hour breaks (other than snacking) since the start).

Martin Massicotte (do I understand he won CanAm?) said the conditions were the same during that race.
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Re: Finger Lake to Rainy Pass to Rohn

Postby flowerpower » Mon Mar 09, 2020 10:49 am

Lance is in 3rd place about 10 miles out from Rainy Pass. :o :o GOLANCEGO!! Don't know if he can keep it up, but sure would like to see him do well this year!
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Re: Finger Lake to Rainy Pass to Rohn

Postby tanglefoot » Mon Mar 09, 2020 12:12 pm

Lance says he has a potential winning team this year it's his health that could let him down.
i am thinking if it stays a warmer snowy year, he is A. going to do better health wise, B being lighter than some big guys out there will have less weight on the sled in soft snow...advantage?

the last few iditarods he has been down beat, saying he is trying to finish only or run a puppy team. doing the camp trip thing, this year he seems like old lance, fired up, keen and enthusiastic.... i wonder if he will be a dark horse! after all he knows the trail and every trick in the book
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Re: Finger Lake to Rainy Pass to Rohn

Postby Another UK Fan » Mon Mar 09, 2020 1:36 pm

Wow - Lance! Legend!
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Re: Finger Lake to Rainy Pass to Rohn

Postby fladogfan » Mon Mar 09, 2020 2:16 pm

GOLANCEGO
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Re: Finger Lake to Rainy Pass to Rohn

Postby Moose » Mon Mar 09, 2020 2:35 pm

elsietee wrote:. Martin Massicotte (do I understand he won CanAm?) said the conditions were the same during that race.


He has won the CanAm multiple times. It's become almost an annual event for him to win. 8-)
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Re: Finger Lake to Rainy Pass to Rohn

Postby flowerpower » Mon Mar 09, 2020 7:54 pm

Ah. I thought he was doing well for a rookie! I did not thoroughly research all the rookies, just went with Sean. :D :D
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Re: Finger Lake to Rainy Pass to Rohn

Postby elsietee » Wed Mar 11, 2020 1:29 am

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Re: Finger Lake to Rainy Pass to Rohn

Postby fladogfan » Wed Mar 11, 2020 1:37 am

Aliy says her team is running as she expected. From ktuu.

https://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Zirkle-568693511.html
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