Red Lantern 2024

[elsietee]

Currently Bryce Mumford is red lantern, but I'm guessing they're going to withdraw him when he reach Unk because of "non-competitiveness" (the next musher, Joshua Robbins, is 16 miles from Koyuk).

It's a shame. I just saw this in the chat:

“Six weeks ago, Bryce was training in Idaho when his dogs took a sharp turn and sent him and his sled flying through the air. When he landed, his dogs continued to drag him along the ground. Bryce broke his scapula, two ribs and he suffered a punctured lung.” “He still ended up going,” said Lindsay. “He is not 100% and neither are his dogs. “He is moving, but very slowly.”

So Joshua Robbins might be our new red lantern.

[fladogfan]

I had wondered about him, his GPS stayed in that one place so long, I was guessing it might have broken, fallen off or something else. Good to see it moving again but I'm sorry for his troubles.

[mira]

I seem to remember that I have let people continue as long as they are at the coast.. but his GPS is in Unalakleet for a good while, he is still listed as out of Kaltag on the lists. Also, everyone else is off the ice and he is really lagging behind.. and with those injuries

I'm afraid you are correct.. The race has really changed "lately". Remember for ten years ago ( ) people were still on the Yukon river when the first teams arrived in Nome.. they used perhaps a week or more longer than the front pack. Now, we really don't have a back pack field as it used to have.

[fladogfan]

Yes and we have fewer teams running also, wonder if that makes the difference.

[elsietee]

The Iditarod (FB)

Rookie Iditarod musher, Bryce Mumford (bib #6), of Preston, Idaho, left the Kaltag checkpoint en route to Unalakleet at 6:56 a.m. on Tuesday, March 12. Iditarod snowmachiners were dispatched on the trail to make welfare checks after sufficient progress on the trail was not made.

After discussions with the Iditarod snowmachiners, Mumford decided he could make it to Unalakleet, where he then scratched at 11:30 p.m. on Wednesday, March 13, in the best interest of his team.

Mumford had 12 dogs in harness when he arrived in Unalakleet, all in good health.

To be fair, he was moving very, very slowly. I'm all about supporting mushers at the back of the pack - provided they are moving steadily along, but Bryce's team had slowed to a walk.

I'm sure he collected many memories along the trail and had a blast, but it's simply not feasible to keep checkpoints open and manned for a sole musher for days after the last previous musher has gone through.

But - wow - he made it 715 miles!!

[tanglefoot]

Had been watching him the last couple days and he was slowing down and lagging behind when others were at least maintaining speed. I expected him to scratch in UNK or be withdrawn sadly.

[mira]

Yes, it wasn't a surprise.. and with those injuries

So.. we have a new red lantern, at the moment not able to leave Golovin. At least we don't have to worry for their welfare, but fingers crossed for the team to be able to move on.

[mira]

Williams has left Golovin, but appears to have stopped, not very far out on the ice..

[fladogfan]

Does anyone know why when a musher scratches their flag on the GPS tracker disappears? I wanted to watch Sean Williams doing his circles in Golovin and his tracker is gone.
I've noticed that also in other years but does anyone know why? They were a part of the race till their scratch so IMO should still be able to be tracked till the scratch place.

[elsietee]

Yes, it's frustrating, eh? There were a few scratches that I wanted to go back and watch. We should lobby Insider to leave them up.