Newsletter
We made our way through Alaska’s interior and arrived in Shageluk. We stayed 6 hours and moved on to Grayling via Anvik. I expected this run to take 5 ½ hrs. Three hours over to Anvik and another 2 ½ to Grayling. We flew over to Anvik. We stopped briefly and moved on. Once we left Anvik we dropped onto the Yukon. As soon as we made the drop the wind was instant. I could not believe the affect it had on our speed. This was the first time in the race that I had felt as though we were crawling. I would search for a landmark ahead such as a rock outcropping and then time how long it took to get there. I took a quick glance at my watch and it had already been two hours since we were in Anvik. Well we should be getting close. But I could see for at least 1 mile ahead and I saw nothing but a huge river lined on both sides by a big bank and trees. Another ½ hour passed and still no sign of civilization. Then I saw what appeared to be two dog teams. As we moved on it appeared that I was gaining on them, though quite slowly. We traveled around a big bend in the river and I lost sight of the two teams. It took me about 10 minutes to get where I saw them last. We had been on the trail for 6 ½ hrs now and I was unsure. We traveled around another bend and there was a village. It was Grayling. We climbed up off the river and finally had relief from the strong winds that had been blowing directly into our face. After finally arriving at the checkpoint I started my chores quickly and fed the dogs. Once done with chores I spoke with the mushers who came in just before me. They said they had a great run over. I asked if they thought they were moving slow. They felt they were moving just fine and commented as to how I gained time on them. I explained that was fine but I expected that run to take 5 ½ hrs not 6 ½. Well they were sure it only took them 5 hrs 45 min. I was confused. I pulled out my watch and asked what time they left Shageluk. They both said 8:15 a.m. which was about 45 minutes earlier then when I left. I said it is 4:30 pm now I have been in for about and hour. So that is 6 ½ hrs. Then the truth came out. Somehow from the time I left Anvik to the time I checked my watch I had advanced my clock one hour. All of a sudden I realized I had made the run in just under 5 ½ hrs and my attitude changed completely. This was a classic case of sleep deprivation. I immediately drank a lot of water and lied down to get some sleep. I woke up about three hours later. The plan was feed, bootie and leave by 8:30 pm. When I went back outside I realized the wind had picked up and the temperature was dropping rapidly. While I was sleeping another team had turned around and retreated back to Grayling. The musher described a miserable experience.
Several mushers and I were debating whether we should go out into the storm that night or wait until sunrise. At that time we saw three snow machines coming down river and heading towards Grayling - it was three natives. They described the conditions as being at least minus 50 with wind gusts up to 60 + mph. One of the natives said “You would have to be crazy to head up river tonight into the wind. It is deadly.” At that time it was decided that no teams would leave until sun up. We all went back to sleep for several hours and ate all the food we had and could find. We finally got going around 10:30 am the next day. After we woke and found it was minus 40 and the wind was blowing harder than it was the night before, we were not in much of a rush. The truth is at that moment I was filled with fear. The weather conditions were severe and a wrong decision could mean permanent and unrecoverable damage for one of the dogs or myself.