Posts - Page 69 of 286 - Christof Teuscher

The race so far may have given the impression of a leisurely cakewalk through pretty Alaskan winter landscapes with culinary highlights at regular intervals. That’s not exactly what it was. But it is true that there is good number of lodges at the beginning of the race that serve food, the trail was in exceptionally good condition, and the weather had cooperated so far. Nothing was easy, yet it could have been a lot worse. It certainly was in 2020. But things were about to change as we moved into and over the Alaska Range.

After a rather long night, we arrived at Finger Lake by 6am or so. Our checkpoint was in a tent on the lake. The Winter Lake Lodge by Finger Lake is a luxury resort where people pay thousands of $$$ per night in all-inclusive packages. We were not allowed in the lodge. The checkpoint tent was warm and a bunch of athletes was still sleeping. We ate and I picked up my first drop bag. MP’s drop bags had not arrived, so she had to carry all her supplies for the 350mi to McGrath.

We didn’t dally and left quickly to tackle the 30mi-ish section to the Puntilla Lake checkpoint (mile 150). The section tends to be much harder than one would expect. We passed a sign that said “NOME 852 MILES.” It was not the most encouraging sign I had ever seen. It’s hard to wrap your mind around this number when you are going 3mi per hour at best and are schlepping a heavy pulk. Instead of thinking about the total mileage, the trick is to break things down into chunks that your mind can handle, e.g., make it 30mi to the next checkpoint.

It started to snow heavily. After a few hours of moving, my sleep deprivation forced me to sleep trailside for an hour. MP moved on. It took me the entire day and a lot of hard work to catch up with her. The wind picked up and it got dark. At some point I stepped into a deep and hidden moose hole and my shoe came off. It took me a while to find it and dig it out of the snow.

We arrived at the Puntilla Lake checkpoint, a musher cabin, late at night and passed out after wolfing down some noodles.

Winter Lake Lodge at Finger Lake. A luxury resort where people pay thousands of $$$ per night in all-inclusive packages.

Coffee time in the middle of a long night.

Athletes slowly getting up at the Finger Lake checkpoint.

Only 852 miles to go…

It started to snow heavily as soon as we left the Finger Lake checkpoint.

Moving toward Puntilla Lake. Conditions can change very quickly in Alaska.

Wolfing down some noodles at the Puntilla Lake checkpoint before hitting the sack.

#iti2022 #iditarodtrailinvitational #ultrarunning #nome #alaska

It’s about 30mi from the Yentna Station to the Skwentna Roadhouse, and another 15mi or so to the Shell Lake Lodge. We pushed through the night and it was still dark when we reached Skwentna. Breakfast was in order. I admit that I had a (light) beer as well. Beer is one of the oldest beverages in the world, so it must be good for you. It was definitely good for me. Especially at 6am.

We left as soon as we could do so without headlamps. It was a quick and efficient pit stop. We were now off the Yentna river and the landscape started to change. That was welcome because rivers get old after a while.

Most Nome veterans will tell that it’s not the best idea to get caught up in the 350mi race frenzy to McGrath if you are Nome-bound. Instead, it would be wise to have a routine and pace that is sustainable for the 1000mi distance. I am grateful to MP to teach me how to sleep enough, avoid ineffective zombie walks, and move more relentlessly. I thought I was good at that, but I clearly wasn’t. It appears I stop a lot, adjust a lot of things, eat a lot, pee a lot, and drink a lot. The latter two are probably somewhat related. Each time I had to stop and saw her quickly disappear at the horizon provided me with a fresh opportunity to become more efficient, or better even, not to stop at all. It was a humble learning experience, but it helped me to get to Nome.

Once we made it to Shell Lake, Chris made us a tasty burger. I admit I had a (light) beer. Again. MP insisted on 6h of sleep. I agreed, but cheated and set the alarm 1h earlier. The cabin was cold, so we lit the stove and loaded it with plenty of wood. The next thing we both remember is that we woke up drenched in sweat, gasping for air. The stove had turned the cabin into a sauna. We stripped to the bare essentials and had to open the cabin door for 15min before we fell asleep again. Beginners!

At 9pm Chris made us breakfast for dinner. I had no beer. Not sure why not. And off we went into and through another cold night toward checkpoint 4 at Finger Lake (~mile 125).