Day 4: Finger Lake (124) - Puntilla/Rainy Pass Lodge (153ish)

 Sorry for the lack of updating…I wasn’t sure what to post about given I had no communication with Ryan, no stockpile of pictures, no dog, and my professional life ramping up for a bit.  Good news is I now have updates!

Ryan made the call to push on through the night from Shell Lake to Finger Lake…he doesn’t rest well if there’s a lot going on, and as I noted, there were 12+ wedged in two cabins.  He basically mowed down on some 110-mile-old pizza, got organized, and hit the trail to Finger Lake (124ish).  There’s no cell between Shell and Finger, so I have no updates specific to that section.  I can tell you he arrived at miles 124ish about 12:45am and left twelve hours later to arrive at Rainy Pass Lodge (Puntilla checkpoint - 153.1 on the map).

I stayed awake until I saw he arrived and thought a text would wake me up…I need to work on my alert system because I most certainly did not wake up.  I received the following pictures indicating a good time but also a message that “my legs are on fire”.  Regardless, I think he was relishing in the time with utter badasses and wise, experienced, or new and enthusiastic racers. 

That and there’s zero compulsion to push on given there appears to be no trail for those continuing on to Nome (second place biker, Miron, will likely have to stay in McGrath (finish of the 350) for a few days until a random trapper, hunter, or the Iditarod trail breakers come through). So, I thought he would wait.  Went to class and a meeting and found him making his way up to Rainy Pass. Sneaky bugger! As the elevation profile indicate, this is the crux of the climbing for the race, but also this year is filled with a ton of snow and wind. Aka, slow going (that saying, it appears TC 2 (associated with the race) has moved from McGrath to Rainy Pass Lodge...meaning *some* help with trail breaking).

He’s in great spirits, pleased with the decisions made so far, and looking forward to another 20 days on the trail! We're all looking forward to more wine pictures to make a calendar possible (h/t Colleen MacDonald!) Ha!