Wednesday, March 15, 2023

DAY#10 IDITAROD WED. MARCH 15, 2023 SHAKTOOLIK/KOYUK/ELIM/WHITE MOUNTAIN/SAFETY/NOME

 DAY#10 WED. MARCH 15, 2023 SHAKTOOLIK/KOYUK/ELIM/WHITE MOUNTAIN/SAFETY/NOME

I sometimes get photo's and info a day late due to the difficulty of telecommunications in some of these remote areas. 

ERIC KELLY, who was at the back of the pack, did scratch in SHAKTOOLIK with 10 healthy dogs.There is no further info. 

I do have some video footage of RYAN REDINGTON coming 1st into NOME and an interview. Lets hope I can get that up and running.I also have some pictures of #2 PETE KAISER and #3 Richie Diehl, #4MATT HALL and #5 KELLY MAIXNER. 

FYI: BRUCE LEE thought RICHIE DIEHL had the prettiest dog team. He may have finished higher up but decided to take more rests, for his dogs, and come into NOME looking good and feeling good, dogs and RICHIE. He was pleased with his trip.

RYAN, RICHIE and PETE are all natives of ALASKA and from some of the villages they passed through.

2 days before the banquet in ANCHORAGE ,RYAN REDINGTON went to an Asian Restaurant. They always give you a fortune cookie (Ryan was thinking it was just a cookie) so he was eating the "cookie" when he started to choke on something THE FORTUNE paper!!!! The fortune read "next week #5 will be very lucky for you". What was his bib number  - right--#5 and he WON!! Strange but true>>>

They spoke about NO AURORA seen on these 8 day but it was a full clear beautiful moon. They did not run into any big storms except at WHITE MOUNTAIN where a wind storm came through and the mushers were advised to wait the storm out. They all did do that. 

The mushers decision in KOYUK was, as they say in baseball, the turning point of the game!!!RYAN was going to rest a short time there but decided to go on. PETE decided to rest a short time. They were both ok with their decisions. We will never know if PETE would have been the winner and RYAN would have been second, if the tables were turned.

JESSIE ROYER, my favorite, had not been to NOME in two years. She took last year off and a few of her dogs were veterans and retired. She had a few young dogs and some more inexperienced. She said that would help prepare them for next year. They asked what she listened to on her headphones during the trip. She said some music but a few good--murder mystery audio books.

CHRIS TURNER said he had been off for 8 years and was tempted to come back when MITCH SEAVEY offered him a team. He was one that waited out the wind storm last night. 

As of 10:30 EST there are 3 in ELIM, 5 in WHITE MOUNTAIN, 1 in SAFETY and 14 in NOME. The "others" are on the run.

I have to say, every other year the back of the pack was VERY far behind the top 5-10 winners. This year they are very close together and I believe will be finished by the weekend, perhaps for St. Patricks Day!!

Photo's on the next page.

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