ITI 2024 Day 11 & 12: Post-Cripple (422) to Ruby (495.5)

 

Y'all. That long slog of a stretch from McGrath to Ruby is done and done. Thankfully.  Between messages from others to getting sit rep reports from Ryan, the unanimous opinion about this section was that it was rough.  The weather was never too cold (for long...it certainly got cold, - 25 last night), nor too hot.  The wind was a non-factor. No snow or drifts. The dog sled traffic was a blessing.  Yet, it was a soft trail that made efficient travel hard for everyone, foot, ski, and bike alike.

Ryan reported better trails, then terrible trails, then okay trails all night on Thursday.  He finally found a decent trail...and then it was promptly churned up by a film crew for the Iditarod dog race.  He ended up bivying for 8 hours at mile 443.5, pressing on to the abandoned mining camp of Long (467...his tracker lies).  This spot has a few outbuildings including "a good shed, missing a door, sure, but perfect for getting out of the elements and making food & water"  Reconstituted beef stew was on the menu: "Heaven!" (not sure if that referred to his meal or taking a load off).   His tracker says he only stayed about 15 minutes, but that seems sus. Doesn't matter, he got word from fellow 1000 biker Leah that the trail was getting good, and sure enough about 5 miles past Long he was cruising with bike speeds (4-6mph).  He arrived in Ruby (495) around 1:30am.

(Leave her alone Ryan, she just wants that cat food buffet...)

Racers hope to snag a spot at the Wild Iris BnB.  Two years ago, Ryan, Daniel, and Chris arrived to a birthday party, which was both entertaining and unhelpful for their own R & R (pic of the celebration above, along with this year's set up). The do have great stories to share from that experience! I haven't heard all the stories from this year, but it sounds like it was equally as eventful.  Note the birthday banner and cat/cat food dishes. Ryan's extremely allergic to cats...and at this point in the race, little kids... but he seemed to take both in stride.  A trail angel (you know who you are!  And thank you!) scored Ryan a grilled cheese while he unpacked and repacked his drop box of supplies... Pringles making the perfect chip drink!

I'm not sure the final bill, but for the living room cot, food, laundry, and wifi, the 12 hrs. spent in Ruby ways probably $200.  But again, laundry and meals ;-)

(I received this pic mid-run.  Belly laughs, I love him!...it's of foot division leader Gavan.  My only response: "Must be laundry day!")

There's a cold snap coming (-20s and -30s, with -55 wind chill), which is great for firming up the trail...I'm sure this will be appreciated for a while before the bones just.become.cold.  

Ryan messaged (we're back to inReach land) that it was cold and there was a less than pleasant headwind, but that his legs were feeling good.  Can't complain about that!  Next stop is Galena, 50 miles west down the Yukon River.  Notoriously colder on the river (generally), I'm grateful the dog sled trail breakers and dog sleds have been through to make a decent trail (the lead two riders weren't so lucky...they got their own different slog the last few days).  23 racers remain.....yes.they.do. #noseonthegrindstone

 I was able to get a number of pictures from the past few days, but I'm going to hoard for the sections coming up that I won't get content from Ryan.