No Time Like the Present

What a great day and night for Ryan...he left Rainy Lodge at 11:30am AKST, went up and over the pass without a trail nap, and descended into Rohn at 1am AKST...13.5 hrs is a fantastic time for this section, so I hope that means the weather was fantastic (recon from Weatherman Rick indicated it would be).  There was a bit of interest in his stopping place, as the tracker had him 0.3 miles from the checkpoint and a packed house at Rohn (capacity in the canvas tent is 6ish people and I believer there was just about that many when he arrived).  I haven't been able to talk to him, but I don't think he actually had to bivy considering his tracker didn't move for 7+ hours and that would be a reallllllly long bivy.  Rather, I choose to think his tracker just took a breather and he got to enjoy all the warmth and brats Rob's Roadhouse had to offer.  Here's a picture I stole from the internet to show you the tent (fun fact: they line the tent with pine boughs because it makes a softer bed for the racers...and it helps with stench mitigation hahaha).

In the previous two iterations of Ryan's ITI experience, the crux of the race comes after what looks on paper like the crux of the race (Rainy Pass).  After the adrenaline rush of going up and over the steep pass, there's a long, long haul to the village of Nikolai (Checkpoint #7, Mile 260ish).  There is a cabin that racers have access to, Bear Creek (Mile 230ish), that helps break up the journey from Rohn....however, from the trackers of others, it doesn't look like people are stopping at the cabin, making me wonder if the snow is that deep or they're parking their sleds (and GPS) and walking to the cabin.  I will try and get some intel and update soon. Weatherman Rick's forecast for the next stretch sounds dreamy (so long as it cools off as promised 😬):

Weather to Nikolai looks really good. McGrath to west is calling for a warm day today(up to 39 degrees but lows back in high teens and low twenties) Nikolai is calling for similar temps today and then it cools down with highs around 30 with lows in high teens. Winds up to 22 but out of the south for a good push. Possible light snow with little to no accumulation.

If I recall correct, we might be operating off of the Garmin inReach for communication for the next bit, but we do have a friend volunteering at Nikolai and I'm hoping she scored the wifi password for the community center they crash at.  Even without talking to him though, I know things are going great...he seems to be making smart and strategic decisions about when to rest and when to push. Color me a happy camper (and not just because I write this bellied up to the bar at Knuckle Brewing Co. in Sturgis after a romp with George on the Centennial Trail.  SPRING BREAK Y'ALL!!!).