With the Iditarod in full swing, all of us on the trail
before Nome have been tracking the mushers and trying to figure out when the first
mushers will arrive. Many of us secretly hope that somebody (anybody) besides
Dallas Seavey or Mitch Seavey wins this year. I am personally rooting for
Martin Buser and Aliy Zirkle: Martin because he has been one of the longest
mushing racers and is so friendly and Aliy because she is a strong female role
model for all women and has a dog named Amber!
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| Cassidy greeted Martin Buser at the Unalakleet checkpoint |
Every now and then I check the GPS tracker to see who is
where and whether my racers are resting or running. I keep imagining the
stories each musher must have from past Iditarod’s and this year’s race. This
winter, there have been so many frigid cold days and I feel terrible for the
mushers and their dogs who are in interior Alaska. At one point the
temperatures in the interior were down to -30 degrees Fahrenheit. Can somebody
say, “frost bite”? Ouch!
Several mushers are in Huslia taking their mandatory 24-hour
layover. We expect that the leaders of the pack will be making their way into
Unalakleet sometime Saturday evening or Sunday morning. Unfortunately my family
and I will not be here when the first mushers arrive. We are heading into
Anchorage tomorrow until Monday to do some shopping and possibly looking at
snowmachines. But there will still be a bunch of racers coming through Monday,
so we won’t miss the whole experience.
Everybody gets hyped up about Iditarod mushers coming into
town. I mean, these people are amazing! Not everybody can do what they do.
Mushing a dog team across thousands of miles of Alaskan terrain all alone and
in terribly cold, windy weather does not sound appealing to me. So, I have a
lot of respect for the mushers.
At this point in the race, it is hard to tell who will win
the race. Many mushers have yet to take their 24-hour layover and some have not
taken their 8-hour layover. Those that have taken their layovers, will still
take short layovers on the trail before reaching Unalakleet, so it seems we
will not get a clear picture of who will win, until after the mushers reach the
coast.
Mitch is resting in Huslia. Dallas and Martin are making
their way up to Huslia. Jessie Royer, who is also another likely contender is
resting in Huslia. The race is getting to be exciting! Can’t wait to see who
has what it takes to win. Go team Buser and team Aliy!
