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February challenge - week 3 progress
Here is our progress as of February 21! I did not get updates from two people; their mileage as of week 2 is indicated in parentheses and any new mileage will be added to week 4 instead. (Please don't feel bad if you aren't making your self-determined goal! As you can see we have several overachievers who are making up the miles for the rest of us slackers.)
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ilanarama - 141/200 miles = 71%
thalia - 12.5/35 miles = 36%
semielliptical - 33/45 miles = 73%
silveraspen - 3.5/50 miles = 7%
cadenzamuse - (3.5)/15 miles = 23%
ell - 105/140 miles = 75% - gets a special award for being right on target!
temve - 103/120 miles = 86%
meri_oddities - 106/100 miles = 106%
calico_jane - (5)/35 miles = 14%
linaelyn - 41/50 miles = 82%
blnchflr - 51.1/55 km = 93%
ridicully - 73/75 km = 97%
630.5 miles total.
At the end of last week we were about 15 miles from the ghost town of Poorman, location of the Cripple checkpoint. This week we continued on to Ruby checkpoint along the historic Yukon Mail Trail, which was a main thoroughfare between 1911 and World War II, peak years for the mining activity here which employed thousands of people. At Ruby we got onto the main snowmachine (snowmobile) route on the Yukon river. This is a very cool aerial view showing just how huge and complex this river is - it's a mile wide at Ruby!
The trail notes on the Iditarod website warn:
We continued on the Yukon through Galena and Nulato checkpoints to the town of Kaltag (629 miles from Anchorage, so I'm handwaving the little extra bit we did), which is where the northern route we took rejoins the southern route that is used in odd-numbered years. This is what Kaltag looks like in the winter. The octagonal building is the community center, which is the Iditarod checkpoint. Here we can rest up for the last leg to Unkaleet, our planned destination - though maybe we can push it farther toward Nome!
ilanarama - 141/200 miles = 71%thalia - 12.5/35 miles = 36%semielliptical - 33/45 miles = 73%silveraspen - 3.5/50 miles = 7%cadenzamuse - (3.5)/15 miles = 23%ell - 105/140 miles = 75% - gets a special award for being right on target!temve - 103/120 miles = 86%meri_oddities - 106/100 miles = 106%calico_jane - (5)/35 miles = 14%linaelyn - 41/50 miles = 82%blnchflr - 51.1/55 km = 93%ridicully - 73/75 km = 97%630.5 miles total.
At the end of last week we were about 15 miles from the ghost town of Poorman, location of the Cripple checkpoint. This week we continued on to Ruby checkpoint along the historic Yukon Mail Trail, which was a main thoroughfare between 1911 and World War II, peak years for the mining activity here which employed thousands of people. At Ruby we got onto the main snowmachine (snowmobile) route on the Yukon river. This is a very cool aerial view showing just how huge and complex this river is - it's a mile wide at Ruby!
The trail notes on the Iditarod website warn:
It is absolutely critical that you do not get off the marked trail on the Yukon. Like most big rivers in Alaska in the winter, the Yukon has spots and stretches of open water, some no more than a narrow leads a few feet long, some big enough to float a good-sized boat. There can also be overflow on a massive scale just under unbroken snow. When snowmachines pack down the snow and expose the overflow, it freezes quickly into a hard surface, while just off the trail you can go in up to your waist. Needless to say, the threat of thin ice is always present if you go exploring.Just in case, though, here is a Discovery Channel video on how to survive falling through ice:
We continued on the Yukon through Galena and Nulato checkpoints to the town of Kaltag (629 miles from Anchorage, so I'm handwaving the little extra bit we did), which is where the northern route we took rejoins the southern route that is used in odd-numbered years. This is what Kaltag looks like in the winter. The octagonal building is the community center, which is the Iditarod checkpoint. Here we can rest up for the last leg to Unkaleet, our planned destination - though maybe we can push it farther toward Nome!
