The Mighty Yukon.
Tyson and Miron have completed their Yukon River push and made it to Unalakleet and Peace on Earth PIZZA ( the pizza is speculation, but come on really…). After multiple bivys on the river with questionable trail, miles of pushing and riding, (but also staying really positive) they were rewarded with a nice trail into town as their speeds indicate some swift riding. Miron says it’s been “hard and soft”…. hard as in difficult and soft as in SNOW. They are now on their way to Shaktoolik, and in the next day or so, Norton Bay.
Further down the trail, the convoy that took a break in Ruby (the Wild Iris BnB must have been busy) is now on the Yukon; they may be experiencing a slightly better trail than their predecessors. Our first women's bike, Kinsey is traveling well. She left Ruby around 8am and is already almost to Galena! Our first men's ski division, Asbjoern is about 20 miles from Galena after a nice stop in Ruby, ahead of the next skier Jan Francke 30 miles from Ruby. Interestingly, Jan plays in a punk band, and in 2019 finished the 350 on foot, and came back in 2022 for his first 1000 attempt on skis but dropped in Galena “due to mental injury.” I think we all want that story.
The mental toll is a serious factor for all of our athletes, and unlike training their bodies, training the mind is a lot harder to pin down. The tools they use to cope are as varied as they are. Even though the days can take their toll, these athletes are also adapting to the life on the trail. At over 500 miles in, our first men's foot division athlete, Gavin Hennigan, noted “I’m out here giving this everything I got. The days are relentless, up to 20 hours on my feet. But I’ve adapted to the routine now and I want more of this iconic trail.
“These moments aren’t lost on me, it’s really only a handful of times in my life I’m going to get to experience this feeling of going this deep, I’ve been to the brink before and I’m ready to go again.” Gavin left Ruby a little after noon, AK time, forgot something, and is now on the Yukon.
In addition to the mental strain, the body still needs to “stay happy” out there. Food is a hot commodity on the trail, sometimes a drop bag does not make it to town, sometimes the miles are slower and the athletes burn through calories at a higher than expected rate. Multiple 1,000 mile finisher Ryan Wanless ran out of snacks earlier, and a strategic plan needs to be in place in order to get to food. Without calories or water, the body is much more susceptible to cold, including frostbite. The feeling of being a tiny dot on this planet and days away from food is acute.
Just ahead of Jan is our Leading Lady in foot division, Faye Norby. Faye and partner Jeff stopped for about an hour at Midnight Creek last night. They were hoping to find a protected spot to bivy, but the only spot that quite a few racers have stopped at this year, is the abandoned ruins at Long. They stopped for about 5 hours at Sulatna River crossing, which may have a protected spot, but being on a river was likely quite cold.
Further back, Mark Hines, foot, and Joshua Brown, ski are at N Fork Innoko River cabin, Petr also on skis just joined them for a reprieve.
Our Red Lantern, Sunny, continues to move steadily. She is about 20 miles from N Fork Innoko River cabin, and about 26 miles from Cripple where racers often mail themselves a drop bag. Sunny has no drop, but raiding the leftovers is one of the benefits of bringing up the rear. Hopefully she will get some goodies. She was at Carlson Crossing cabin last night and we hear the hilarious Iditarod sweep crew might have been there as well. All of our athletes are settling into life on the trail and everything Alaska has to offer. Settling in does not equal comfort however, and weather reports are saying another dangerous and deep cold is coming.
Written by Kari Gibbons
Photo credit:Gavan John Paul Hennigan, taking time for a little comfort and food on the trail.