Lance Mackey is starting to look like Forest Gump as he sprints toward Nome. He's now at the Kaltag checkpoint, and his nearest competitor is Mitch Seavey, 16 miles south of Kaltag. Seavey is followed by Jeff King, 18 miles south of Kaltag. Who was it Lance said would have the best chance of catching him? That's right: "Mitch Seavey and Jeff King in that order." Talk about prescient! It's not just a three man race yet, though. In fact, in the time it took to write that, Hugh Neff moved up and is now between Mitch Seavey and Jeff King. Sebastian Schnuelle is only 20 miles from Kaltag, and John Baker and Aaron Burmeister are only 3 miles behind Schnuelle. Next in line and still within striking distance are: Hans Gatt, Paul Gebhardt (who stopped drinking 19 months ago), and Dallas Seavey (who is only 36 miles behind his Dad). Two great ladies: DeeDee Jonrowe and Aliy Zirkle have reached Eagle Island, and will probably be back on the trail shortly. The leading rookie, Karin Hendrickson, who has been called a Fox, has just about reached Grayling (check the map in an earlier post).
Here's a little information on Kaltag from the Insider GPS Tracker:
Kaltag
Course Distance 624 Mi
Latitude N 64°19.579'
Longitude W 158°43.499'
Population 234 -- This town signals a brief respite from the driving winds as the trail from here leads overland through Kaltag Portage to the coast of Norton Sound where the winds take on new meaning. Kaltag is the home of Virginia Kalland, widow of Edgar Kalland who was one of the original mushers who helped carry life saving diphtheria serum along this trail in 1925. She also owns one of Kaltag's three stores. Note: The location for mushers check-in is at Rich Burnham's house, but the official checkpoint and gathering spot is the community hall about a block away.
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Could Forest Gump keep up with Lance Mackey? Sure - but only in the movies.
