On to Rainy Pass we go!

What a day it has been for everyone making their way toward and over the Alaska Range!  As I write this, 350 leaders Kevin Breitenbach and Clinton Hodges have just rolled into Rohn after a rugged bike push up, over and even part of the way down Rainy Pass. Five more cyclists, including Nome-bound Miron Golfman, Tyson Flaharty and Lael Wilcox, are not far behind. What a good feeling to leave the breathtaking and sometimes harrowing Dalzell Gorge and the Tatina River onto the brief bit of wooded trail leading to Rohn, settle in to enjoy a delicious brat, and break open your drop bag and see what treats await. One downside to being first in the checkpoint is that you don’t get to rummage through the treats that other racers left behind!  

Nikki Potter and Tazlina Mannix are currently pushing their bikes up the narrower part of Rainy Pass amidst eight other cyclists. Though cyclists generally have faster finishing times overall on the ITI, some conditions are much more favorable for skiers and foot travelers and this is one of them! For perspective, Amber Bethe’s bike, loaded with gear for Nome, weighs 85 pounds–approximately “0.7 Ambers”. That’s quite a lot of weight to push into the wind, uphill, through the snow. 

In general, travel was a lot slower today than yesterday, especially for those on wheels.  A few inches of snow fell along much of the trail and reports are that it is windy even down by Skwentna and Shell Lake. Missy Schwarz is still leading the women’s bike race to Nome, followed by Leah Gruhn and Kinsey Loan, who have been traveling together, with Kinsey’s fiance Mark Moeller, for the latter part of the day. Leah got some sleep along the trail last night just shy of Shell Lake after she and Tiziano Mulonia left the Iditarod Trail for a different path. While the ITI has no required route to follow, the path of least resistance is usually the historic Iditarod Trail. There are a few areas between Skwentna and Finger Lake where the Iditarod Trail crosses mining roads. Sometimes these roads provide good travel for short stretches, but sometimes they entice racers down a path that ends up being more difficult, which is what happened to these two last night.

Faye is still leading the women’s foot race to Nome and is currently on Shell Lake with Jeff Leuwerke making solid, steady progress about 14 miles behind Herman Watson, who is leading the men on foot to Nome. Ashbjoern Skjoeth Bruun is past Shell Lake, averaging 3.8 mph on skis and Sunny Stroeer took a very short break at Skwentna and is moving on, maybe to take a longer break at Shell Lake.

The Shell Lake Lodge was always a favorite stop for ITI racers, but sadly it was destroyed by fire in February 2023, a couple weeks before last year’s race began.  The owners have kindly allowed racers to use two cabins that still stand on the property and anticipate having their lodge rebuilt by the end of this coming summer, which is no small feat anywhere, let alone off the road system in the Alaskan bush!

For the 350, Ryan Fox and Brian Hamilton are at Shell Lake leading the men’s foot division, with Dean Denter right behind them. Carole Holley is in a mix of other foot travelers who may get to Shell Lake just past dusk tonight. Nicholas Janssen is at Finger Lake making excellent progress on skis and Laura Rushfeldt should be at Skwentna in time for a hot meal if she chooses to take a break.

While last night was a chilly -25 on the river, temperatures on the trail have been relatively mild today.  Tomorrow we may know more about the snow situation north of the Alaska range, which can be wildly different than what racers have experienced to the south. As I wrap up today’s report, Kevin, Clint and Miron are already back out on the trail from Rohn. Racers will likely see much colder temperatures on the north side of the range, with lows in Nikolai forecast to be around -30F for the next few days.

Thank you Emily Wanless for the photo of Faye Norby and Ryan Wanless under a bluebird sky at Skwentna!

Written by Kori Marchowsky