Day 22: The Futility of Trail Math

Mayella Krause on bike (photo: Kendall Park)

Gavan Hennigan on the Yukon River (photo: Mayella Krause), after “tracking him” for 22 days

Twenty-two days in, and the 1,000-mile race has found its pulse — beating steadily along the mighty artery of the Yukon River, after some threadier moments in the Alaska Range and the interior.

The past week was defined by the brutal realities of the interior: unbroken trail, never-ending rolling hills, soft snow, temperatures as low as -50°F, and the added challenge of rationing food across a remote section that took most athletes 5–6 days longer than planned. The six remaining athletes faced some of the most challenging conditions in recent ITI history, waiting for trailbreakers before they could make efficient forward progress. That all six emerged unscathed is a testament to their preparedness and discipline. Mayella Krause described the kind and welcoming volunteers she met along the way as "rays of light" and the highlight of some of those long and difficult days.

Now, with the trail packed in by both breakers and Iditarod dog-sled teams (covered in our Day 18-21 updates), the stubborn six are making significantly better time, with a fast 50 miles heading northwest out of Ruby. Morale received a welcome boost in Galena, courtesy of the legendary Larry, the hospitable innkeeper at the B&B — a stop that never disappoints the weary traveler. And for the first time in days, we have eyes on the entire field: Erick Basset, who lost his tracker in the interior (see Day 19), picked up a replacement unit in Galena, and reappeared on Trackleaders.com today. Welcome back to the dot-watching grid, Erick.

All six athletes arrived in Galena at various times before 10:00 PM last night. Ryan Wanless, who got in late in the afternoon, was the first to leave, slipping out in the middle of the night. Whether it was to make more room at the B&B for his comrades, or to seek a hard-packed trail under a new moon and the northern lights, we do not know, but he found his way to Nulato by mid-afternoon today. Troy Szczurkowski followed later, leaving from his resting spot at the Sidney Huntington School just before sunrise, with bike athletes Erick Basset, Mayella Krause, and Kendall Park rolling out a couple of hours behind him. By mid-afternoon, Troy, Erick, Mayella, and Kendall were all within 10 miles of Nulato and closing in. Gavan Hennigan, our lone foot racer, took a longer rest in Galena this morning— well earned after his relentless and very cold march through the interior. Foot athletes carry a different kind of fatigue than their bike counterparts, with less margin for the necessary chores and rest at checkpoints, and if anyone has earned the comfort of Larry's hospitality, it's Gavan. It was this location where Gavan’s race ended last year due to a medical issue, but he showed no signs of stopping today and was out on the trail again by mid-afternoon, bound for Nulato.

Today's conditions along the Yukon remained cold (in the -20s °F) but stable — sunny with minimal wind, and little temperature fluctuation expected. That could feel like a gift. The temperatures appear to be 10-15 degrees warmer downriver.

From Galena, the trail math looks like this: Nulato sits roughly 51 miles ahead, Kaltag another 35 beyond that, and then approximately 78 more miles to Unalakleet — the coast, the final “leg” of the race, and a milestone these athletes may have been carrying in their mind's eye since the start at Knik Lake nearly three weeks ago. The coastal stretch beyond, however, is also no place for complacency.

With the Nome cutoff of 3:00 PM AKDT on March 24th looming, the field has 9 more days for an official finish — our trail math says that is an average of 44-45 miles per day. Demanding for the bikers, and an extraordinary ask for Gavan on foot, with even less margin for suboptimal weather or trail conditions.

But perhaps 22 days in the remote and brutal Alaskan wilderness has a way of replacing a person’s care for “deadlines” with something more elemental: focusing on just one foot in front of the other, one bite of food, one sip of water, mile after mile, day after day, until the Bering Sea fills the horizon and the beautiful burled arch in Nome comes into view.

Like certainties of death and taxes, we are certain Alaska doesn't care about our trail math, and maybe the remaining six shouldn’t either. At the end of the day, just like the thousands of others who have traveled this river in winter before them, they don’t need our math; they just need to control the controllables, and take whatever they are given by the trail.

Today’s update written by Allison Carolan

Thanks to Wild Winter Women - Kari Gibbons, Amanda Harvey, Faye Norby, Jan Redmond Walker, Jessica Roschlan, Laura Wiesmann Hrubes,  Leah Gruhn, Lynn K Hall, Madeline Harms, Rashelle Hintz, Rebecca McVay-Brodersen, and Sarah Bergstrom.