The Big Finish

We were estimating the first musher to cross under the Burled Arch sometime late Tuesday or early Wednesday morning.  This presented a problem as our flight was scheduled to leave Tuesday evening.  We diligently monitored race progress on the internet over the course of our stay in Nome, as well as spoke with every local we could.  As it turned out, the early favorite and defending champion Lance Mackey had to pull several dogs from his team and wasn't progressing as quickly as people would have hoped.  Last year's 3rd place finisher, John Baker was slowly creeping to the front.  As the race progressed Baker surged to the front of the pack.  We got word that he would be in Tuesday morning.  We got down to Front St. about 8am to get a good spot to watch him finish.  The trail breakers were the first to cross the finish lines.  They were a group of several snowmachiners wiarmed with shovels and trail markers. Their job was to break and mark the trail for the mushers.

Then I turned my attention to the porch of a nearby building to see the Anchorage news team prepping for their telecast.

This gentleman is an Inupiat Eskimo from Unalakleet, Alaska.  He was in Nome along with a group of Native singers, dances and drummers who stood at the finish line welcoming John Baker into Nome.  Mom actually got a video but I'm having difficulty loading it at the moment.

There were even celebrities in attendance.  This is Ariel Tweto, of the popular television show "Flying Wild Alaska," a show on the discovery channel about a family who owns an airline in Unalakleet,AK.

And HERE COMES JOHN BAKER!!!  He and his dogs set a new course record by nearly 3 hours arriving at 9:46am with a total time of 8 days 18 hours 46 minutes and 39 seconds.  Pretty amazing that theycovered roughly 1150 miles taking 2 mandatory 8 hour breaks and 1 mandatory 24 hour break!  John is Inupiat Eskimo from Kotzabue, Alaska.  He placed 3rd last year after being in the lead but falling asleep on his sled and getting lost!

One of John's team dogs ready for a snack and a nap!

A normally very reserved John Baker with his daughter walked around and shook the hands of everyone lining the corral.  Myself and Jackie included! He was ery grateful for all the support.

Baker being presented with the 1st place purse:  $50,400.

Not long after John Baker arrived 2nd place finisher Ramey Smyth.  He felt his pups had worked hard enough and done such an excellent job that they didn't need to pull him across the finish line so Ramey ran part of the Bering Sea ice and all of Front Street with his team.  That made me cry. :)



Ramey's pups were anxious to get their booties off.


Mom had planned a helicopter trip to Safety, AK for the afternoon.  We weren't sure if we would see any mushers finish, so she was hoping to at least see them from the air.  Safety is the last checkpoint, 22 miles south of Nome on the coast.  We booked the chopper for 2 PM.  The plan was to fly out to Safety, land at the roadhouse, check it out and fly back.  This was out ride...and I got to sit in the front.  It was all windows and offered virtually unobstructed views!



Heading south on the Bering Sea coast.  This is the sea ice that was jammed into the shoreline during a storm several weeks prior.




And look what we saw about halfway to Safety.  It was soon to be 3rd place finisher Hans Ghatt.




Hans was off the sled tending to the team, changing booties and giving them a quick snack.



Up and down the coast there are very small, one room wooden structures.  These are fish camps during the summer months.

To the east, off the left side of the helicopter were the Sawtooth Mountains.

This is the Safety Roadhouse.  It is closed all winter, except for the Iditarod week.  It closes after the last musher passes through.  It has been run for the last 20 years by the same adoreable Eskimo - Tom.  We made instant friends.  He apparently has a Dr. appointment here in Anchorage.  He plans to find me in the orthopedic clinic so that I can take HIM out to dinner.  He asked if I would take him and I accepted.

This is inside the roadhouse.  Virtually every bit of usable space has a dollar bill stapled to it.  We of course autographed and stapled our dollars as well.  Mine is above the men's room door if you ever make it out there.

The volunteers at the checkpoint informed us that Dallas Seavey was nearly there.  He had to crest one more ridge.  And here he comes...

...and there he goes after a very brief 90 second check in.  His dogs had to be held back.  They knew they were almost done and seemed like they were just ready to "GET THERE ALREADY!"

We bid good-bye to Tom, promising to return next year (probably via snowmachine next time)!

We spotted Dallas not long after taking off for the return flight.

Yes.  Your eyes don't deceive you, those are bare buns you see.  We were MOONED!!  Hilarious.  Our pilot, Russell, spotted it first!

This is Point Hope, just 5 miles south of town.  It is called "Little McKinley" by the mushers.  This is the last true obstacle of the race.  The winds whip dangerously around the cape where it juts out into the sound, potentially blowingg people and dogs into the ice/water.  The mushers have to go over it to the left (just out of view of the picture)



You'll have to take my word for this one, but these are 2 spotted seals that have clawed through the pack ice!  They come up through this ice to sun themselves off shore far from preditors.

This is where someone has dropped crab pots.  They crab for Alaskan King Crab.  Delicious!

 We got back to Nome and hurried to the finish line because Hans Ghatt, the musher we saw from the air heading out to Safety was about to come in.  I couldn't resist snapping of pic of this woman's gorgeous parka!

And here comes Hans Ghatt...3rd place.  When he got into the corral he bent over and snuggled and kissed each and every one of his dogs.  This made me cry too.  LOVED IT!

SNACK TIME!  Frozen salmon of course.

Someone set the bag of frozen fish down and I was thoroughly impressed that this guy just sniffed it...for the first 3 minutes, then he managed to swipe an extra piece or two.  Who could blame him!

Hans loving on and congratulating his 2 lead dogs.

"I'm hot!"

"We're ALL HOT!"

 Traditionally, at the finish, the mushers will tos their used booties into the crowd as keepsakes.  Mom was thrilled that she managed to get a booty tossed to her.  Jackie and I didn't witness it, but I didn't hear a child scream so we're hoping there was no shoving of children out of the way. :)  (Just kidding Mom!)

And here comes 4th place Dallas Seavey.  He is just 23 years old.

It's difficult to tell in this picture, but this pup was leaning on the one behind him.

Dallas was really excited.  He said, "So this is what it's like to come in during the day.  Last year I came in in the middle of the night and it was just my parents out here!"

After the teams come in, the judges check the sleds to make sure all the "required" items are there.  The vets check the dogs and then the teams are taken to the dog lot.  They are kept here for several hours or overnight until they can be flown out of Nome. 

The pups are given straw and a big, hearty meal...and plenty of love from the handlers and volunteers assigned to the dog lot.

We departed Nome Tuesday evening and had an uneventful trip.  Mom and Jackie left the following evening.  The last musher crossed the finish line and blew out the Red Lantern on Sunday, March 20 with a time of 13 days 19 hours 45 minutes and 49 seconds.  Her name is Ellen Halverson, she was 47th this year.  The first winner of the race, in 1973, took nearly 3 weeks to reach Nome.  They've come a long way baby! 

62 mushers started the race this year, 15 scratched for one reason or another.  Some scratched due to injury, some scratched because it was what was best for their dogs, and still others gave no reason why they scratched.  Regardless, they trained and attemped one of the scariest and most difficult things on earth.  They, along with the 47 finishers, certainly have my respect and admiration!

See you next year Iditarod!