|
That mandatory 24hr. layover came to an end (way too fast) and at almost 11am I left Takotna. We were running on the road and it was going up and up and up - a steady climb and although it was not very warm at all the sun was shining bright and hot - maybe it just appeared hot to me, because I was working so hard.
We approched Ophir and stopped just long enough to grab some dog food. I also dropped , she had sore feet and the rest in Takotna wasn't enough to make her feel better.
I enjoyed the trail leaving Ophir - even took out my camera and took a couple of shots. It was smooth and covered with snow - imagine that. About 1/2 way between Ophir and Iditarod was a shelter cabin (Don's) where I had scheduled a quick stop. I was there with Sigrid, Hugh and Redington boys.
And again - it was clear and cold. I heard later that Ophir experienced -45F the night before I got there. It didn't feel much warmer now.
|
 |
outside Ophir still a nice trail with lots of snow
|
|
|
The trail towards Iditarod got worse by every mile. Since there was only very little to no snow on the ground the trail markers didn't stay in the ground very well and got blown away by the wind. Since there was no visible trail to follow I tryed to run from marker to marker but they were very difficult to see at dusk. And it seems there were markers from previous Idiatrods still out there too. I had a trail marker right next to me and saw markers a couple hundred feet to the left and right of me - all in all pretty confusing.
The rough and very bouncy trail also made it hard for me to hang on - by that time, my left hand was so swollen, that I couldn't grip anything anymore.
|
|
between Ophir and Iditarod the closer to Iditarod I got the less snow there was. I was still able to take a picture here, but soon the snow was completely gone and I stayed busy hanging onto the sled again.
|
|
