Posts - Page 68 of 287 - Christof Teuscher

In the early morning I loaded my pulk with resupplies and rearranged my chaos. It was time to say goodbye to MP, who was hopping on a flight to Anchorage. Her wrist was heavily swollen. Her surgeon will soon tell her that she had broken her hand by crashing down on the infamous Happy River Steps after Finger Lake. She had nevertheless finished the remaining 200+ race miles.

Adrian topped my thermos off with Fireball and off I went. I was now running in 3rd place among the foot athletes. At the end of town, I ran into Peter Schneiderheinze, legendary former McGrath ITI host and maker of the infamous mancakes. We chatted about getting older and he wished me luck. For the race, but probably also for getting older.

The scenery changed once again. After a few hours, I reached Takotna on the north bank of the Takotna River, a typical rural Alaskan community. Current population: 53, a mix of non-Natives, Athabascans, and Eskimos. A diesel generator produces electricity for the entire town. I chatted with two teenagers, who were on the way to shovel off a roof. They told me it was a long walk to Nome. “Oh really?” I said. We laughed. Then I was alone again.

A lot of hunting in rural Alaska is subsistence hunting. Trapping provides Alaskans with food, fur, clothing, and income. One can see a lot of different traps on the Iditarod. I always stop and try to figure out how their mechanism works and for what animal they are intended. Trappers set up traps along a trap line that they follow to set and check the traps. Marten are the most sought-after furbearer in Alaska. Most traps along the Iditarod are marten traps, but there are traps for larger animals, such as foxes, wolves, or lynx too. A marten is worth $40-70. A high-quality marten pelt is worth over $200. A good marten trap line can yield 200 to 300 marten per year.

At 11pm I set up a bivy and rolled into my cozy nest. I slept like a baby for a few hours. It was snowing when I got up. How far will I make it? What trouble will I get into? And will I finally encounter a wolf? Stay tuned…

A new river, a new scenery. Or something along these lines.

The trail was good. For now…

Some mountains, some clouds.

A typical house in Takotna, a rural community of 53. Not all houses have indoor plumbing. The tank on the side is for the heating oil.

I slowed down.

A marten trap that is not set.

A marten trap with birth feathers used as bait. The trap is not set.

A set marten trap. You can see a few bird feathers on the chain as a bait. The marten will try to get to the bait. When he goes through the trap ring, it snaps and traps it.

A trap for larger animals. A (dead) marten and some other (unknown) items are used as bait.

#iti2022 #iditarodtrailinvitational #ultrarunning #nome #alaska

George’s carrots served as a motivational driver throughout the day. Rohn’s checkpoint wizard and bratwurst grillmaster Adrian surprised us with chocolate and Fireball trail magic. We didn’t refuse. At ~mile 20 we opted for the slightly longer, but flatter river route to avoid further moguls. Soon we were moving again on the fabulous Kuskokwim River.

MP moved in her traditional Duracell Bunny style while I tried to follow in her footsteps. How and why we were still moving together remains a mystery. The sun was out and I even took a short trail nap somewhere. But MP woke me up and reminded me that this was a race, not some sort of leisurely vacation. I complied and we continued.

Suddenly we spotted a mother and baby moose committed to cross the river and cut right into our path. You never want to mess with a moose, and most definitely not with a mother moose who will protect her baby. Moose are unpredictable and very dangerous. They can be very aggressive and will trample you to death. On a river, without protection, you need to be extra careful. If a moose hangs out on the trail, which they often do, your only option is to wait. That can take hours. You can’t go around because the snow is too deep and soft, and you would risk an attack. The saying goes that there is no safe distance from a moose. The moose were still quite far away and were increasingly hesitant. We decided to proceed quickly to get out of their way. That worked, uff.

Many hours passed as we made our way around seemingly never-ending river bends. Night fell, yet, we were still not in McGrath. As often, things took a little longer than expected, but we finally made it to the checkpoint. Yay and wow! MP finished her 350mi race in 7d 8h 41min and placed 2nd in the women’s foot category…way to go! I was reminded that my race wasn’t over yet. I wasn’t even supposed to be tired. 700mi to go sounded still intimidating to me. But before I had more time to think, we were offered a beer (even some wine for MP), great food, a shower, and a bed. We gladly accepted all of it.