Day 14-15: Eagle Island (581) to Kaltag (647.5)

Well folks, I think Ryan’s getting all he could ask for (and then plenty more) in the adventure department right now.  I think it’s safe to say that the Yukon River is not his favorite place and this has not been his favorite two days at the ITI. And yet, less than 10 miles to Kaltag and off the stupid river. Finally.

Two nights ago Ryan made a good push from Grayling (mile 526) to Eagle Island (581).  His leg was better, but not great ("it doesn’t hurt in the morning!"), the weather was okay, but not great (temps were fine, but the wind was picking up)...ultimately, he wasn’t in any hurry - he was under the impression they weren’t going to get any sort of aid or accommodations at Eagle Island and he really didn’t want to blow up on the river with over a day and a half left (minimum) left to go before a true rest.  

He ended up staying a bit behind the bikes he had been with, but alone miles are typically pretty fine with Ryan.  We in the real world heard stories from Leah and George that the Eagle Island volunteers were wonderful, offering up a warm tent, spaghetti and meatballs, WiFi, and whiskey!  I was so excited for the surprise that was in store for Ryan!  But with a midnight arrival, the food and whiskey and company were all packed up for the night.  He said he slept in the tent’s vestibule, but I’m not sure if that was a space issue, a minimal disturbance issue, or what.  He was able to text and eventually call the next morning while mowing down on some oatmeal.  He seemed upbeat, but I would be lying if I said he didn’t sound less than enthused about the push to Kaltag....that feeling you get when you just know it's going to suck.  He did seem pretty pumped about the first bottle of water he scored the whole race (it's the little things!).

The wind was supposed to be even worse, temps were dropping, and the last of the dogs came through…meaning no more snowmobile and dog sled traffic knocking down the trail, not more trail markers, etc.  Because of this, Ryan felt compelled (I think) to not let the group of 5 get too far ahead of him…if trail needed breaking it would be much easier with six than one.   He left around 10:20am after only a 9hr. rest (the bikers have been taking about 12 hours to recover from each segment before heading out again…it’s actually quite amazing the rhythm they fall into).  12 hours later he had fallen hours behind the bike gang having traveled 36 miles in the time they covered 60.  At that point he texted he was going to take a bivvy nap and that it was very apparent he had not eaten enough the day before.  *Side note: one of the biggest hurdles for Ryan in his transition from foot to bike is the eating…he has trouble eating while biking and stopping to eat in winter events is cumbersome and cold.*

Between a miserably cold two days and a missed Italian feast in Eagle Island, this information was heartbreaking to hear, but not all that unexpected. All I could hope was that he would eat and sleep in the bivvy, replenishing the energy he would need to get to Kaltag.  He started back up again at 3:15am AKST only to indicate slowing speeds…like, clearly no longer biking at all.  He messaged at 5:30am having only covered 5.5 miles that there was no longer any semblance of a trail and he was going to bivvy again until daylight.

At this point I’ve started to refer to this stop as his Bivvy of Denial (and don’t get me wrong, I completely understand (no I don’t) and we’d probably all be the same way!).  He knew the wind was only going to get worse, he knew no one was near enough to share in the trail breaking, he knew there was only one way to Kaltag…and the sun was now up.  He started pushing the bike (yup, still no riding of said bike) at 9:15am after what I hope was some sleep and a lot of food.  He’s currently moving at a variety of speeds, but is navigating at 20+ headwind and 0 degree temps without the windchill. 8 miles to Kaltag…8 miles to Kaltag and off this damn river!