Sasha aka Sauchi#Iditarod update. Jessie is getting ready to leave Finger Lake. Team looks good. It’s windy. Thomas W and Rokke are camping out on the trail past Finger Lake. Jessie’s team harness setup is so cool. His team is ready to get the heck in the trail!!! Bork Bork Bork #MusherSky
And he’s off!
I can’t believe I missed it! Paige snuck down the trail from Thomas and Rokke and is resting there instead of FL. 😁
Brenda and Jodi are almost to FL.
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In FL: Michelle, Ryan, Riley, Bailey, Jessie, Pete, Kevin, Jason, oh and Jodi and Brenda are both in FL! One of them was giving snacks to their team.
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Very bundled up so not sure who it was. Lauro, Mille, Matt, Sydnie (yay!) Travis, Rohn, Wade, Hannah, and Richie are all a few miles outside FL.
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Travis Beals checked into FL. Picked up supplies and left. His team did not want to stop. The wind isn’t phasing them at all.
Ryan is getting ready to head out.
When mushers go through checkpoints w/o stopping, they are usually on a run/test plan that doesn’t include that
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Checkpoint. I haven’t been closely following individual run/rest schedules. I have heard the Pass is supposed to be crazy windy, which is why Jessie H tested in FL when he was going to pass through and camp on the trail.
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Mille and Matt ran through FL. Paige is now moving.
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Update: Paige is not moving.
Snowmachine 2 is 10 miles down trail of FL at the steps, which look not so bad. There doesn’t appear to be a ton of snow in that location. There will be footage of Jessie H, Mille, Matt, and Travis heading down the steps. It’s windy af.
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I will probably miss when Jessie runs through. I have a meeting soon. Sigh.
Also to clarify, the steps are the famous/infamous Happy River Steps.
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Missed Jessie (darned meetings).
Got to see Mille just now. Trail looks pretty smooth. No issues. Team looked perky.
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Now we are waiting for Matt Hall.
After Matt goes thorough, snowmachine 2 (Ty I heard his name was from the chat) will head after the leaders. He is explaining how the snowmachines have to travel to stay out of the mushers way.
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Watching some Insider videos. Apparently, for the first time ever, Jessie Royer lost her team. Her quote, “Jesus took the wheel on that one.” Said with a grin. Her new mittens are too slick. Her sled went into a deep hole followed by her foot. She was dragging…
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By one hand. With her old gloves, no problem. New gloves, no burning. Dragging on her belly, tried to grab the brake bar when her hand slipped off. Bye team! The song that kept going through her head over and over was Jesus take the Wheel (she only knows that line).
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She said, “Oh lord, stop them, please. Please stop them. Please stop them.” She said it felt like forever, but looking back she probably only ran 3 minutes. Her sled had tipped over and wedged into a tree. Not a single dog was tangled.
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She said, “So Jesus took the wheel on that one. I was thanking the good lord on that one cause that’s not a good feeling. So I will not be wearing these mittens…” as she chuckled.
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JODI and BRUCE!
Rainy Pass the wind is much milder than Finger Lake. Leaders will
Probably just go through, grab supplies, and head on out. #Iditarod54 #Mushersky
Jodi says in general data shows that teams that are more conservative early tend to be faster overall. Can’t remember the name of her stats place. She reminds fans is it is too early to get upset or too happy. The race hasn’t really started yet.
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Bruce is talking about the huge mountain peaks. There are in the western edge of Denali National Park. There will be a lot of air taxis during the day bringing in tourists. The actual Pass is 12 miles up the valley and drop into the northern Alaska Range.
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Jessie H will be there in about an hour. He is not expected to stay. Mille and Matt are behind him. Not sure of their run/rest schedule if they will stay there or get supplies and rest farther down the trail.
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Jeff Deeter came and went through Finger Lake and got was his team very UNHAPPY about stopping. There were BORKING their heads off. I had to turn the volume down in my headphones.
Jaye Foucher is moving along at a great clip and is a few miles out of Finger Lake.
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Jessie H is currently taking a break before Rainy Pass. Mille is 4 miles behind him. Matt Hall and Travis Beals are 2 miles behind Mille. Paige is 2 miles behind them. Ryan R, Rohn, Riley, and Michelle are 1-2 miles behind Paige. Trail is fast!
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Jessie H is very near Rainy Pass. He should be there shortly. He has been sighted!
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Jessie is going to go through. He is unloading supplies into his sled as he prepares to leave. Team looks great. Barking to go. Taking a bale of hay. He’s going to camp somewhere on the the trail. There R horses that hang out around this checkpoint so mushers use hay.
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