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TL; DR: Another day on the river
Ryan’s ride (all times in AKST):
*Departed Nulato (595.6) departed 11:44a (<6hr. stop)
*Arrived in Kaltag (630) @ 9:25p, departed @ 9:28a (12hr. stop)
*77 miles to Pizza Heaven (aka Unalakleet), with couple of options for stopping along the way (Tripod Flats Cabin - 656.4, Old Woman Cabin - 672)
Day on the river was uneventful…in large part because he’s only encountered three dog teams on the trail. What’s slow for the ITI racers is slow for the dogs apparently. However, plot twist: a significant number of teams took their required rest at Kaltag, meaning it.was.hopping. And, not for human resting.
Racers were relegated to the (too warm) Library and Ryan reported a bit of a chaotic scene. He loves seeing all the dogs, but maybe not like that ;-). He left almost after almost a 12hr stop, ready to tackle what he thought would be another warm day on the trail. Biggest complaint so far is that his feet are always too hot (really thrilled with the new warm boots purchase thus far), not the best thing when you’re hike-a-biking quite a bit in squirrely, soft snow. So far his dogs have held up, but definitely something to keep an eye on.
On trail, he got caught up on all things highschool and college basketball, reported the trail being good, firm, lots of “whoop de doos” in the wooded sections, and a light snow (like ½ in. in six hours). Still too warm. Dog race will head south for an out-n-back, so shelter cabins and dreams of Peace on Earth Pizza will have to be the motivation now.
Pictures of Emily & her dogs @Kaltag, the trail from Galena, & Glenny’s ITI fuel
What Say You Ryan?
Day 13: Favorite thing to swipe in a drop box…
*Context: Racers mail consumable items to themselves to villages across the course. If/When they drop, their boxes become fair game for racers still working towards Nome.
Baked goods/homemade treats (no need to swipe because this year good friend Glenny made some monster cookies I packed in his Ruby & Golovin boxes)
Preparation H Wipes (there’s no way he doesn’t have enough of these packed for himself)
Advil/Tylenol (actually doesn’t usually need. freak)
***Batteries (they’re lithium gold out on the trail and very expensive to purchase in the villages if you miscalculate your battery needs)
Day 14: Biggest score from someone’s dropbox to date…
A premade mixed ziploc of sour patch kids, gummy bears (such a wonderful change of pace from the Reece’s, Snickers, and Reece’s)
Oil of Olay body wash (something he’d never pack, but a luxury if it costs nothing to get)
Caviar. Yes, caviar (for real, someone shipped themselves caviar…and then dropped!)
Softlips Chapstick (He’s a diehard Dermatone, but this was an unexpected luxury)
Comment with your guess and I’ll reveal the answer tomorrow!!
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