After 8 hour 45 minutes of rest in Shaktoolik, Jeff and team are making their way up to Koyuk! From the Iditarod’s trail info in regards to this section “There is only one thing to say about this leg—bleak, flat, and deadly monotonous.”
Several years ago Jeff was making his way up the coast to Koyuk, and he had a run in with a seal. Here’s a refresher of that trip! We’re guessing it sure broke up that monotony!
Current temperatures in Koyuk are reported at 17°F.
Forecast for Koyuk:
This Afternoon: A 40 percent chance of snow. Cloudy, with a high near 23. North wind around 10 mph.
Tonight: Snow likely. Areas of freezing fog after 7pm. Cloudy, with a low around 12. North wind around 5 mph becoming southwest after midnight. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New snow accumulation of around an inch possible.
Jeff is 25 miles out from Koyuk at this point, running just behind Anna Berington, and just ahead of Mike Williams, Jr.
Dropped dog update:
Swenson made his way home late last night and is taking it easy, basking in the sunshine of the afternoon here at the Homestead. Our friend Maren was working the drop dog lot in McGrath and got to visit with Swenson for a bit before he was flown out – she shared a couple of pics with us. Thank you, Maren, for giving all of our dogs some extra love!
Swenson after arriving at the McGrath dog drop.
Swenson gives Maren his version of a high five.
Bailey – He was left in Unalakleet when Jeff departed there yesterday evening. Jeff told us he had a fever, however the vets were taking great care of him and he was already on the mend. He will likely travel from UNK to Nome and meet up there with our handler Cody.
Stay tuned!
PS – For your fun-to-worthless knowledge bank:
– Dorothy Olmstead wrote a great piece on Unalakleet for the Iditorod Insider that’s worth a read: Unalakleet: A Cultural Crossroad
– Bryan Bearss wrote another article for the Anchorage Daily News, The Evolution of the Iditarod, that you may find interesting!