Officially Halfway to Nome
March 14th, 2009
Laura has officially reached the halfway checkpoint, Iditarod Checkpoint. This is an old ghost town that the race was named after. It used to be a booming town in the early 1900’s. Millions of dollars of gold was mined in this area. Now, no one lives there and all the buildings are abandoned and collapsing. Although Laura technically has a little more than halfway to go, this checkpoint is considered halfway at 534 miles. Somewhere between Iditarod and Shageluk she will cross the actual halfway point and then it’s all downhill from there. Okay, so it’s not really that easy, but it is encouraging to know she will be halfway there. As I am typing Laura is leaving Iditarod for Shageluk. I just watched her icon jump forward a few miles on the trail indicating she is up and moving!
The temperatures have dropped drastically in Laura’s local. It is about 7° with a wild chill of 0°. This is a much better temperature for running dogs than near 32° which is what it has been. Laura’s dogs will feel and look a lot perkier on the trail and Laura will not have to worry about her big boys getting too warm. She has some larger dogs that run in wheel position (right in front of the sled). They are needed for their brute strength but they also have a tendency to get warmer if running in heat (anything above 20°). Last year Laura had to carry her two biggest dogs in the sled basket for many miles during the day because it was just too warm for them to safely run. I am really glad to see the temperatures drop and can guarantee that Laura is very excited about the change.
The trail from here to Shageluk is very hilly. For Laura and her dogs that is great news. Laura’s dogs are known as “mountain dogs” versus” flat-land dogs”. Their training mostly occurs in hilly and mountainous areas as opposed to dogs that train mostly in flat area. When Laura’s team gets on hilly terrain they actually pick up the pace because it is familiar to them. It is also nice for the musher to have some beauty to behold while running. Sometimes the long flat expanses can start to play tricks on your mind. Laura says it can feel like you’re not moving. So, although some mushers may not like the extra work the hills can bring, my sister and her team will enjoy this stretch. She knows there is a lot of flat land ahead at the coast and she’ll appreciate the hills for the visual break they are to her.
Before I posted this I checked the current standings and saw that Laura left one more dog with the vets. She told us to expect her to do this over the next few checkpoints so it doesn’t surprise me. I will give an update on dropped dogs as soon as I find out any news. Until then, happy trails to you!