Daniel Vetsch for Ultimate Iditarod

Linwood Fiedler as he travels into Unakaleet this morning

WHO IS WHERE
MITCH
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

WHO IS WHERE

Right now I am sitting in the checkpoint at Unalakleet as the mushers pour through. The leaders have come and gone and now the rest of the field has started to make their way into Unalakleet. This morning at about 9:30 a pack of three mushers pulled into the checkpoint together. It was Sonny Lindner, Ed Iten, and Rick Swenson. Linwood Fiedler, Ramey Smyth and then Aliy Zirkle quickly followed this group. These people are fighting it out for 7th through 12th position and all are within an hour and a half of one another.

Within this group of mushers there are years of experience. There is a Five-time Iditarod champion, two Yukon Quest champions, and many years of top ten finishes. One can be sure that they will be fighting it out right to the end.


MITCH

A huddle of kids crowd around DeeDee Jonrowe in Unakaleet getting autographs

Mitch puts booties on his dogs feet as he gets ready to leave Unakaleet

At two o clock Mitch pulled into Unalakleet in fourteenth place. In talking to him he said, “the run over from Kaltag was some of the most fun he had ever had on the Iditarod.” Because he has been on a relatively relaxed schedule the dogs have been resting longer and therefore running fast. He said, “it was a blast to travel with a fast dog team and go through incredible scenery.” The terrain from Kaltag to Unalakleet is beautiful with all kinds of terrain from thickly treed areas to running on tundra and many parts of it with mountains in view.

Although Mitch is having lots of fun on his runs it was easy to tell that he was bummed out because of his position in the race. Mitch is a very competitive person by nature and to not be pushing his limits is bothering him. He has had to make some decisions recently as to whether it would be worth it to cut his rests and pursue some of the teams ahead of him or if he should just stay were he is and enjoy himself. First, he had to consider what his dogs are capable of and not push them beyond those limits. From the sound of things his final decision was to continue running his team the way he has been but he definitely is not ruling out catching some of the mushers in front of him. He is going to give his dogs plenty of rest so that they continue running fast and try and catch some teams by using his speed. Also he is hoping that some of the teams who have gone before
him will be unable to continue the pace they are running at. In the words of Mitch Seavey, “I believe Aliy’s going to decide to rest a little more.” He is referring to Aliy Zirkle and saying that he believes she is not going to be able to maintain the speed of her team if she doesn’t rest more. If this happens then he will have an
opportunity to pass her. Mitch is not expecting to have a great race competitively but he is having fun.


ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

To receive rookie of the year honors is an aspiration that all newcomers to Iditarod dream of. To win the race the first year someone runs it is an unrealistic goal but to be the best rookie is something that is attainable.

This year that position seems to be wrapped up by Jessica Hendricks. She pulled into Unalakleet this evening in 19th place and looking great. She quickly went through her dog care routine and did it looking like an experienced veteran. By watching her it was easy to see why she is the leading rookie. She was efficient in how she did things and went about everything with a spring in her step. For someone who had just traveled over 900 miles by dog team she didn’t show it.

The closest rookie behind her is Randy Chappel who is currently in 32nd place. So unless something drastic happens Jessica should be the first rookies to Nome. On top of all of this, Jessica is also one of the youngest mushers in the race. That only makes her accomplishment all that much greater.