The Winner Should Arrive in Nome Wednesday

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I'm back in San Diego, but still reporting on the Iditarod. Feels weird to be in warm, southern CA while the mushers are still out on the snowy, icy trail.

The top 5 mushers keep trading places and it's hard to keep up with. But right now Mitch Seavey is in first place (he's the Dad Seavey, Dallas is his son & currently in 2nd place). They are at a place on the Iditarod Trail that crosses the Bering Sea. This area can be very cold and windy. In previous races mushers have gotten disoriented due to the blowing snow, getting off course, and accepting help (which means they are out of the race). I just checked the weather for checkpoint Shaktoolik and the temperature is 7, wind 6 mph, and snow flurries. I did hear yesterday that small aircraft were not landing due to the weather and some volunteers got diverted to a different checkpoint temporarily.

Yesterday was a fun day at the headquarters. We were dealing with 5 checkpoints: Huslia, Koyukuk, Nulato, Kaltag, and Unalakeet. We had mushers arriving & leaving checkpoints all over the place. It was fun to keep up with where everyone was on the trail, look at videos & pictures, and enter our guesses who would come in first & what time. The local TV stations have great coverage of the race, and they run specials with videos from previous races. In 2015 the temperatures were very, very cold, with little snow. 2016 was warmer with little snow. The Alaska countryside is beautiful.

Musher profiles:

Karin's Mom has volunteered for the Race for 18 years. Gwen is a sweet woman, and by now is on her way to Nome.

Karin Hendrickson

Bib Number: 20
Hometown: <span>Wasilla, Alaska
Website: http://www.blueonblackdogs.com

View full career in the archives

Biography

Karin, 46, was born and raised in Mt. Baldy, California. She left home after high school, skied for a year and then went to college. She received her BA in Environment from Colorado University and lived in Colorado and Idaho before coming to Alaska. “I saw my first sled dog in March of 2002, when I came up to volunteer for the Iditarod. By 2003, I had sold everything I owned, quit my job and moved to Alaska to become a handler. After two years as a handler, I tried to quit my dog habit. That didn’t last long—I was miserable without dogs!”

“I started building my own team in 2006. I really never expected to do any racing, much les run the Iditarod ! I am not too sure how it all happened, but just two years later, I found myself signed up for my first Iditarod. 2017 will be my 8th Iditarod.”

“I was hit by a truck while training in 2014 and broke my back in three places. Luckily all my dogs ere O.K., but I wasn’t able to run in 2015. In 2016, I managed to make a comeback and finish the race once again, but it was a big challenge physically.”
“I am one of a very few mushers to work full-time through the winter. My biggest challenge is trying oto fit training and racing in around the demands of my job. It is just this side of impossible to get everything done, but somehow we make it happen.”

Cindy Abbott

Bib Number: 31
Hometown: <span>Willow, Alaska
Website: http://www.reachingbeyondtheclouds.com

View full career in the archives
Biography
Cindy Abbott, 58, was born and raised in Nebraska. After graduation from California State University, Fullerton, with a Master’s Degree in Kinesiology in 1996, she became a professor there and taught Health Science for 23 years. Cindy has always been drawn to the world of extreme sports. Already an extreme scuba diver and underwater videographer, in 2007, at the age of 48, she took up mountain climbing with the single goal of standing on the top of the world. A few months after she began training, Cindy was diagnosed with a serious and rare disease (Wegener’s granulomatosis), but she was determined to achieve her dream and on May 23, 2010, after 51 days of working her way up the mountain, Cindy stepped onto the summit of Mt. Everest holding the National Organization of Rare Disorders (NORD) banner.

Cindy learned about the Iditarod in the early 1990’s, while taking an Environmental Exercise Physiology course. But it wasn’t until 2004, that she came to Alaska and took her first ride on a dog sled. In 2011, she began working under Lance Mackey’s Comeback Kennel. She immediately fell in love with the sport, the Alaskan people and culture, but most of all; she fell in love with the world’s most amazing athletes – the dogs!

On March 3, 2013, Cindy started her first Iditarod. About 20 miles out, she injured her leg and thought that she may have to scratch at the first checkpoint. After resting for a few hours, she felt better and decided to run to the next checkpoint. In this way, Cindy went from checkpoint to checkpoint until, on day 10 and 630 miles into the race, her condition worsened and, for the safety of her team, she scratched at Kaltag. When she got back to Anchorage, she was told that her pelvis was broken in two places!

Running under Vern Halter and Susan Whiton’s Dream a Dream Dog Farm, Cindy started her second Iditarod on March 2, 2014. Unfortunately Mother Nature made the race course usually challenging and Cindy injured her shoulder, and, for the safety of her team, she scratched at Rohn.

On March 7, 2015, Cindy started her third Iditarod. After 13 days, 11 hours, 19 minutes, 51 seconds, she crossed the finish line in Nome and received the Red Lantern Award, a symbol of perseverance. After, extinguishing the Widow’s Lantern, officially ending the race, Cindy got her NORD banner photo standing under the Burled Arch. Vern Halter, “Third time’s a charm.”
“Alaska and the dogs have captured my heart and soul,” said Cindy. After 5 years of living and working in California while training and racing in Alaska, Cindy and her husband, Larry, have moved to Willow, Alaska. They have built a home just 6 miles from Dream a Dream Dog Farm so she could be close to the dogs and continue racing.

Since her diagnosis, Cindy has become a very active rare disease awareness advocate for the National Organization of Rare Disorders (NORD). She also enjoys mountain climbing, SCUBA diving and international travel.

Misha Wiljes

Bib Number: 4
Hometown: <span>Prague, CZECH REPUBLIC
Website: http://wwsleddogkennel.com

View full career in the archives
Biography
Misha Wiljes, 48, was born and raised in Prague the capital city of the Czech Republic, a beautiful and ancient city in the heart of Europe. After attending trade school in graphic design, she worked as a sign writer, and several years as a painter for movies, TV advertisements and billboards. She has always loved to travel. Her spare time was spent hiking and exploring with her dog and a backpack. While sleeping under the star’s blanket, she developed the desire to explore other country sides. She has traveled extensively in Australia and the Yukon Territory, finally coming to rest in Alaska, making it her permanent home in 2003. Naturalized in 2009, she now holds USA and Czech citizenship. She began mushing in 2000 and learned about it while handling for Charlie Boulding, Vern Halter and Judy Currier. After completing several mid distance races, she completed the 2012 Yukon Quest with dogs from Jim and Bonnie Foster and Leslie Morrison. The Iditarod is her next challenge and it is a goal she has firmly in her mind. Together with her husband, Gerhard, she built WW Kennel in Willow, Alaska, and now lives her dream while running with her own dogs in distance races like the CB 300 and the Northern Lights 300. She has worked for the post office in Willow for the last two years. She says she enjoys fishing, sewing and travel.

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Comments

[Afra M Roet]

map
Nice map!

[Afra M Roet]

map
Nice map!

[Pat Collins]

Thanks for sharing
Have loved reading your posts. I will take some time later to read about the mushers. The photos are stunning and all of your adventures sound wonderful. Will google this year's winner.