On the Way to Unalakleet - March 12,2008 

 

     Laura left Kaltag at 6:02pm Alaska/7:02pm Pacific time after a little over 7 hrs rest. Best case scenario she will be into Unalakleet in about 2 hrs, worst case she will be another 10 hrs. The wind has picked up closer to Unalakleet but it still looks calm at Kaltag. There’s no telling where it starts to pick up but as it is only blowing at 10mph it will drop the temps due to wind-chill but won’t be particularly difficult for the team. I know that she will rest on this trail but am not sure for how long. There are two great places to rest along this leg. There is a cabin 35 miles from Kaltag and then another 15 miles beyond that there is another cabin. Both are open to the mushers and provide a warm, snug place to nap. I’ll fill you in more in the morning as I get new news.
     The race is over for the leaders. For those of you following the race on the Iditarod site this won’t be new but for those of you not glued to every second of this race, Lance Mackey took first and Jeff King came in less than 2 hrs later. Dad set his alarm to get up and see the finish. I haven’t talked to him today but am curious to hear how many people were lining the streets at 2:45am. It won’t surprise me if there were crowds.