Iditarod Trail Invitational Part II

Happy River Valley.  Photo Credit Laura Fox

Happy River Steps.  Moose Tracks.  Third Quarter moon.  Three foot whoop-de-dos.  (Warning, there is a bit of language in this part.  Please don't take offense.)

I've heard race veterans chit chat about the steps, about the climbs, and about Rainy Pass.  One thing is for sure. None of their descriptions quite capture what it's like to ride this section.

The trail leading out of Winterlake Lodge got us right up to pace.  We got a short downhill till we leveled out and started riding on various lakes and swamps.  The sky had cleared and we had great visibility from the Third Quarter moon and stars.  I was enjoying the trail.  Craig Medred came up on his snowmobile and stopped to chat with me for a little bit.  I don't remember much from our conversation other than that Craig mentioned that Jay P had left with someone's boots!  I guess they got it all figured out but it sounded like it created quite a commotion.  I continued on down the trail and started to run into moose tracks that punched through the trail.  I didn't have much trouble with the punchy trail but it sounds like some folks really got tested through there.

Near the confluence of the Funny River and the Skwentna River is a part of the trail called "The Gorge."  Holy Shit it goes straight up!!  I looked up and could see the retroreflective markers (think road sign material) and thought to myself this is fucking steep.  I dragged my butt up the hill and had to stop a couple of times to catch my breath. This was full on hike-a-bike.

Next up was Shirley Lake and Finnbear Lake.  It took me nearly an hour and a half just to cover the climb up and over the two lakes.  Soon enough the sun started to rise right along with the elevation. The tough part about this is that its a rolling section of hills.  You gain some then you lose some. This happens over and over and I'm not what you would call a climber.  I knew that I would be losing time compared to the other fellas but the tracks that Tim and Tyson left told me they were not going really fast and were battling the same elements that I was.  I was also wondering if leaving Winterlake Lodge without any actual sleep was going to start working against me.  

Prior to the race, I told Laura that she should contact our great friend, pilot and photographer Dan Bailey, about taking a flight up the trail to get some pictures.  I know Laura really loves to fly and I know my pilot friends love taking folks up. These are some pictures she took on the second day of the race.

Dan's plane.  Photo Credit Laura Fox

 

Photo Credit Laura Fox

Just outside of Puntilla Lake.  Photo Credit Laura Fox

The push fest begins just outside of Puntilla Lake.

After many hours I finally hit the crest to Puntilla Lake and Rainy Pass Lodge.  The snow was really tough to traverse up there and anything that was out of the wooded areas was wind blown and had to be hiked.  I rolled into Rainy Pass checkpoint and to my surprise there were Tim's and Tyson's bikes! After getting my stuff together I walked into the infamous Rainy Pass Lodge cabin and laid my stuff out to dry.  I was definitely tired but I felt there was a bit of tension in the room.  We were the pointy end of the pack and I was wondering if Jay P would fly in and out of the checkpoint.  I thought his strategy at this point was to sleep well at Winterlake Lodge, make a quick stop at Rainy Pass, get a bit of warm food in his belly, and then leave.

But he came in and started winding down just like the rest of us.  I was excited!  There's going to be a race and I'm in it!    

Tyson started to get his stuff ready about an hour after I got there. He left and then Tim left about 15 or so minutes later.  Before he left, Tim came over to the bunk and told me I was running a great race.  Did I mention that Tim is a nice guy?  :-)

I got about half an hour or so of shut-eye and then I realized that sleeping just wasn't going to happen. It was the middle of the day and some folks started rolling into the cabin.  Craig delivered a couple of message from Dan, Laura, Greg and Chris!  How awesome was that!?!  Dan and Laura flew over while I was zonked out and as Tim and Tyson were leaving.

Jay P left and about 10 minutes later I left.  The info on the trail conditions made it sound like we were going to be hiking for a while.  Sure enough we were walking just about immediately.  

Iditarod Trail Tripods

Funny, I took this photo by accident.  It's a pretty good representation of what we were walking through.

After some miles and some hours we reached the plateau of the Happy River Valley.  We had walked a long way and route finding wasn't too bad.  Most of the way I could distinguish the trail from the wind blown cover.  Three snowmobiles had gone by and less than an hour later the trail from them was almost gone.  To help pass the time and to try and cover some ground I started to do short running intervals.  I would count to a number, slow to a hike, then let a minute or two pass and run again.

My view of Rainy Pass.  I wanted to get a picture of it prior to darkness settling in.

I yo-yo'd from Jay P because I had to replace the presta valve in my front wheel. Stan's No Tubes is a bugger when it plugs your valves up and keeps them from closing.  I took my time, ate some real food, drank some water, and just focused on not dropping my tools or my parts.  I got the tire pumped back up and was on my way after posing for Craig Medred.

To my surprise, the trail started to get solid in a few spots.  This is where being mentally tough really kicks in.  We were able to get on the bike and ride for 50yds, 100yds, 200yds at a time.  Each time I rode as far as I could and when it was time to walk I just accepted fate, hopped off and walked. As I got closer and closer to Happy River crossing we did more and more riding.  By the time I got to the crossing I was pretty stoked and when I pulled up to the river I thought "yeah, I can just ride this little crossing!"

After crossing the Funny River.  I felt pretty bad ass for riding across.  I didn't ice up too badly either.

After crossing the snow got really soft again.  I hiked for a while and then just about the first spot I could ride I noticed a sad Dillinger tread.  Somebody had a flat tire.  I popped over a little hump and there was Jay P putting a tube in his tire.  He had dropped pressure and he said the tires rolled off the bead.  

After hanging with Jay I decided to walk with him.  It's not often you get to follow a Pro.

Another view of Rainy Pass as we approached.

We continued to walk a while and soon we got to a point where I felt I could ride again.  Jay P let me pass and this was my chance.  I had to focus and really be efficient.  Wherever I could ride I needed to ride and wherever I had to walk I had to keep my pace.  We started rolling into Rainy Pass now and the trail was still rideable in spots.  I went as long as I could without my light.  I didn't want him to see how far ahead I was.  I kept looking back wondering where he was at and how fast he was going.  I just hiked my butt off.  Just before the pass it gets pretty darn steep.  I just put my head down and just put one foot in front of the other.

At the top of Rainy Pass.  I was excited for the downhill!

 I took my Rainy Pass photo and got right back on the bike.  I was so excited for the downhill but the wind drifts proved to be a little difficult.  I was in my easiest gear going downhill!  I was a little nervous and tried to get my momentum going.  Finally, I was able to recognize the harder of the two snowmobile trails and got moving.

I looked back up at the top of the pass and I saw a headlamp...