The Moose Threat is Real People!

 Good morning!  A quick update as George stares at me with his people eyes demanding a romp in the field (Where the dead things are 👀):

Ryan left Yentna Station around 7:30pm AKST last night, knocking of a 10 mile chunk during his favorite part of the day...night time.  You may have notice he's been stopped for the last few hours near an air strip at Fish Lake Creek (mile 76.5).  Most racers will get a good stop here (extra food, water, rest) at Bentalit Lodge (for sale if anyone is interested!) because Chanda is a welcoming host and because they like to make a quick stop at Skwentna and push through to Shell Lake Lodge (where I'm told the water and bathrooms are free and hamburgers aren't $100 dollars?!?!  That's some good intel Mr. Bertsch).  Skwentna is about 11 miles from Bentalit, with Shell Lake 25...so he'll be moving towards mile 110.

Just got a text from him saying that weather has been fantastic...has yet to put on a jacket.  The trail, while fast, is bumpy (a result of limited grooming) and so his sled bounces into him and then jerks back when he starts up again.  Sounds like he's being a little high maintenance, but what do I know ;-)

This is Ryan at Bentalit Lodge (sans red wine) with friend and fellow walker Chris Moroch.

The only other thing he mentioned was that there were a lot of moose.  If you recall, I identified two concerns for racers at the start....overflow and moose.  Thus far, temps have refrozen the overflow and it hasn't been a huge problem (knock on all the wood).  But the moose, well, yup, they like the groomed trail as much as the racers and so they've caused a number of issues.  Probably the most substantial was with a pack of bikers further along than Ryan...the following is my favorite image:

Ryan's had a few moose encounters himself so far...a little trail humor for you (and it's funny because the moose didn't try and kill them...probably as annoyed with that TikToc song as me haha)

If the video doesn't work, click here (you don't need a TicTok account).  You'll also be able to see Ryan's first ever TicTok, taken the first morning he was in Alaska (you'll sense a trend)