Anvik, Grayling, Eagle Island, Kaltag

[elsietee]

Nic messing with my neatly pidgeon-holed three groups (why should I expect any different? )by resting longer at Mile 604 than the custom 4 hours. He has been there 5:45 hrs and isn't moving. If he rests for 6 hours, he could be doing the same as Hunter - resting long and running fast. But this drops him further than the 1:30 he was behind Jessie... have to see what any speed does to catch him up again?

Ryan just arrived at the front of the pack in Kaltag - dogs look good, trotting perkily in. In arriving first, he wins $2,000 and 25 lbs of Bristol Bay Native Corp. sockeye salmon. They parked him off in a spot that is very snowy and although slightly packed down, he still post-holed down to his thigh, floundering in the snow while caring for his team.

We should get a good snapshot of speed over longer distance from this (although frankly, they could hold their teams back and let others go ahead, to keep an eye on them) since Ryan, Richie, and Pete left EI within 12 mins of each other. I can't see that any of them stopped on this last 60 mile run over to Kaltag.

[Breeze]

I have it in my head that Nic will blow through Kaltag, planning on Old Woman cabin for a break on the way to Unk. Somehow I don't believe Nic has a master plan for running this race. Considering the " fluid nature" of this week's wilderness expedition, "going with the flow like H2O"takes less energy than fighting to keep to a schedule.
We all remember the year Nic was brought in from Old Woman cabin in a really bad way. He's come a long way as a musher since his early attempts in this race. He'll never be a socialite.
Anyway, he's staying close enough to the front pack to capitalize on position without the pressure of pushing for first place.

[elsietee]

Richie arrives next. Dogs look superb. The volunteer parking his team post-holed this time, running in front of the dogs.

Richie has a dog to drop tied to his sled. Dogs wearing coats, so it must be chilly out (internet says 7°F/ -13°C), but a lovely clear bright day. Vets go to work immediately checking over his dogs (Ryan's are already bedded down and checked over).

* * *

Volunteers talking in the background about "parking the dogs on the hard stuff" - maybe they realized that the post-hole snow isn't ideal?

Pete arrives next. Pete is de-bootie-ing in bare hands, but his dogs are also in coats and some still standing looking around five mins after arrival.

The spread has grown from 12 mins to 25 mins, but nothing really significant about that last run for them.

* * *

Heister says Eddie lost his dog team on his run to Eagle Island which left him walking, and the II snowmachine-people helped reacquaint Eddie with his team.

Bruce sees three pretty evenly-matched teams upon arrival. Is curious to see if the next teams look taxed by trying to keep up.

Brent was taken to UNK with 4 of his dogs, and planes have been sent in to get the other 7. Without revealing too much, privacy-wise, Nordman says Brent is in good condition, has good O2 levels.

Promised video footage from EI has arrived in Kaltag, so Heister is going to edit that and get it up.

[mira]

I don't think Nic ever have a great master race plan. Making him quite unpredictable, but in the end, it's about rest and run for all of them. But he has matured a lot.

Good to hear Brent is doing well and I assume he can get the pain killers and antibiotics he need being off trail.

[klmobile]

Peter Kaiser's dogs looked the best to me, all the teams looked ready to go, but his dogs moved with great rhythm and purpose.

[elsietee]

Video of Brent at Eagle Island:

Checker: "How are you?"

Brent: "Not great, but I'm alive <laughs ruefully>. [sounds a little congested like he did back around McGrath. And much quieter-voiced than usual] "

Checker: "Are you going to stay a while?"

Brent: "A long while, yes."

Interviewer, a little later: "Things took a turn?"

Brent: "Yes, things have been taking a turn for a while, but I just wasn't accepting it. I've been kind of sick on and off the whole race, but it kind of hit hard today earlier, and also I have three cracked teeth that I haven't dealt with and they've been kind of [hurting] on and off, giving me a hard time, but this morning it has just been a steady ache, nonstop all day long <laughs ruefully again> ... so, yuh, that's the story. "

Interviewer: "You said you were worried that your dogs were starting to pick up on the vibe?"

Brent: "Yah, that's kind of the problem. That rest earlier today, I was just wasted and slept the whole time, and didn't do all the things that I needed to do with the dogs, and they notice that, and they've been noticing it the whole time. They've been doing a good job, keeping it positive with me being kind of bummed out because I'm not feeling so hot. I've put on a pretty good façade at checkpoints and what-not, but when it's just me and them, they're definitely picking up on the fact that I'm not feeling so great. But it all came to a head today - when you were there earlier, I realized that I was not in a very great way. And then we got up from that rest and it was the worst take-off ever, and I was like "Ah, man, what's going on?" and that's when my tooth started really giving me a hard time.

But they just ate really good now, and ran really steady... nothing great into here... but they're moving all right, it's just a matter if I can get myself back to something I feel like I can do them justice. "

[elsietee]

Brent at Eagle Island:

[Moose]

Poor Brent. I'm sad for him, but know full well he'll return. "I believe".

[elsietee]

Eddie and his lost team:

Snowmachine arrives in the dark, Eddie clambers off and trudges across the snow. Looks at the team:

"Hey guys, did you have fun without me?!" <sighs>

Team, still hooked to the sled, are standing/sitting in the snow, looking sheepish.

Vet: "they all look pretty good".

Eddie: "Yah, they all look pretty good... went out and had some fun without me... <vet chuckles> ...gee-zus... I was walking for quite a while too." <sighs again>

Vet: "It happens"

* * *

Later:

"It was going pretty well, good river running... I was maybe 20...15 miles out... I was kind of dozing off and caught myself when I was falling asleep and I stumbled and fell off the sled and ...lost the dog team, so ... <laughs> that was unfortunate. [He seems rather embarrassed by the whole thing]... obviously that has its setbacks, but the dogs are safe and they're doing well. They ran all the way here into the checkpoint. It puts me a few more hours behind, now, because I had to walk for quite a while, but Hunter Keefe gave me a ride for a bit, and Christian Turner did for a little while, but having two guys on a sled wasn't doing him any favors, so I figured it was best if I just walked".

[elsietee]

And right as I posted that, Eddie arrived in Kaltag.

Jessie helps pull his sled back a bit when they go a bit to far.

I'm going to rerun the tracker and see what's to be seen re. last night's escapade.

* * *

Nic is still camped out at Mile 604 - he's been there since 7:15 am, so something's going on with him.

* * *

Red lantern Greg Vitello may also be done. He rested in ID for 10 hours, left the checkpoint with a lot of stops and starts, and only went 4 miles in 2:40 before stopping again and has been resting since 1:50 pm - 3 hours so far.