The Race to the Coast

As Lance Mackey was leaving Kaltag at a very early 4am this morning, he probably knew those right behind him were scheming a way to get ahead of the reigning Iditarod champion.  Mackey had been at the last Yukon River checkpoint resting for nearly 4 hours and was the only musher there the entire time, little did he know was that Sebastian Schnuelle would pull in just an hour and a half later and make a bold move of his own – to keep moving along to Unalakleet after completing a 9 hour run from Eagle Island.  It’s not that Schnuelle is or isn’t planning on resting, but between Mackey departing Kaltag and Schnuelle arriving, three other strong dog teams pulled into the checkpoint. By the time Schnuelle got there we can speculate that he realized a surprise needed to be made, and he needed to keep the other teams guessing.  There are a few comfortable spots to rest along the way to Unalakleet, although they are a good distance away from Kaltag.  About 35 miles down the 90 mile trail is the “tripod flats cabin” which is owned and operated by the Federal Bureau of Land Management, and “Old Woman Cabin” 15 miles futher can be favorite and popular spots for mushers who plan on running through Unalakleet.

I’ve spent lots of time in Unalakleet and love the amazing mix of native culture with a twist of balanced modern lifestyle.  Once we have a musher to the coast I look forward to sharing some pictures and thoughts on this amazing place, and its amazing residents.  It’s also been a few days since the last podcast, Greg and I plan on getting together this afternoon and re-hashing the trail so far – and looking ahead to the next, very exciting phase of the Iditarod….. they’ve been saying “The real race begins on the coast” ever since last Sunday in Willow.

Keep sending us your questions and comments to josh@radioalaska.org and we’ll try to anwser them today as we record the podcast.