No More Sociable Robert

Sunday, March 9, 8:30 a.m.

Team Sorlie mushes past our camp at dawn this morning, in the lead of Iditarod XXXI

Robert and his checklist. Could this be the winning game plane??

The world’s best athletes await their coach’s word to go. Robert is partially hidden behind the blue bales of straw.

The first place Iditarod team heads upriver out of Eagle Island.

HE WILL BE “SORLIE MISSED”

No question about it: you’re getting it first on UltimateIditarod. When the leading team arrived back at Eagle Island checkpoint this morning as the sun rose, the AP, Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Public Radio, and KNOM were nowhere to be seen.

Robert Sorlie and his twelve hustlin’ huskies breezed past our tent, under the wing of our Otter, and into the checkpoint at about 8:15 AM this morning. They are looking just as strong now as they did going the other way before dawn yesterday.

We were confused and excited at first this morning. A team mushed past our tent heading upriver into the checkpoint and was witnessed by our pilot, Paul Claus. “They were really smoking,” Paul noted.

When I got out of the tent a few minutes later, here comes another team heading upriver. It was Robert!! Could that mean that another team had passed him on the stretch upriver from Anvik? Ramy Brooks left Anvik just under three hours after Robert. Robert did the run in just over ten hours. Could Ramy have run 80 miles in seven and a half hours?? Highly unlikely.

A trail veterinarian solved the mystery when he told us that the first team in was Randy Chappel. He had left going downriver and remembered he had forgotten his Heet, the fuel for his cooker. So he had turned around and mushed back in for a re-supply.

We found Robert loading his sled with more supplies from his drop bags. He was carefully using his checklist, just like a good pilot. But he remained calm and open to questions as he always is. He told us he had rested a short time on the trail. That would explain why it took him over ten hours to come upriver, when it had taken him only about nine to go down.

It was obvious he was heading toward Kaltag directly, passing up the chance to rest here at Eagle Island again. He has already completed his required checkpoint rests: the 24 and the 8 hr. stops. Now he is free to rest wherever he wants, based on how his dogs feel, how they are trained, and time of day, as we’ve discussed before. It would appear that Robert is planning to do more trail rest than he has before. As he departed he told me: “no more sociable Robert.”

From our vantage point, it would appear that Robert and his solid team, has no weak points. His dogs look well-nourished, alert, and ready to go. They ate their snacks readily. I saw no sign of diarrhea, or other health problem. There was no lameness.

But from checking the time sheets, it would appear that we do indeed have a real race. Ramy Brooks is coming on strong. And Martin Buser is not far behind and moving fast. Jeff can leave Anvik after his 24 just under ten hours after Robert left.

Jeff will be heading out after taking his 24 further down the trail than any other contender. We’ll be watching whether this gives him the advantage he’s hoping for: better speed, and perhaps the ability to shorten his rests more than the others without sacrificing speed.

Rick Swenson has fallen back after appearing to make a charge a couple days ago. His difficulties appear to be the result of two factors: the trail change, eliminating Shageluk; and also his own fatigue. When he came into Eagle Island soon after taking a five or six hour rest on the trail just 15 miles upriver, he looked very tired. In fact, Susan Butcher, who knows Rick well, and raced against him many, many times, told us she had never seen him look so sleepy in a checkpoint.

Today, we’ll be flying around to the various checkpoints again, and trying to catch up with our family’s teams, so we can update you on how Mitch, Cindy, Jim and Tyrell are doing. Stay tuned.