Day 5 of Iditarod

Smoky and Goblin lead Ryne and the team (total of 13 dogs) out of Ophir checkpoint at 8:25am AKDT. They’ve completed the 24 rest but still must take two mandatory 8 hour rests before the finish line.

Trail breakers have rerouted the trail in order to leave out the Flat. Overflow and excess snow has made it too difficult to break trail and snow machines were getting snuck. The Flat was the 20 mile turnaround loop after the Iditarod checkpoint. Instead, all teams will leave from Iditarod and head back over what they’ve already done.

This is the first time in the race’s 49-year history that the trail won’t finish at Nome. It’s finishing at Deshka Landing. The 2021 path is called the Gold Trail Loop. Since the checkpoints are the same both directions, they often have North or South added to the end, depending if it’s the out or return journey.

The stretch between Ophir and Iditarod is a more empty one; a stretch of miles on miles. There is a mixture of terrain, at least! Black Spruce to barren upland tundra, brush hillsides to frozen lakes. It’s about 80 miles checkpoint to checkpoint.

Enjoy Bowser peeking around Ryne, waiting for some love after Dolly!

Photo credit: ZachaRiah hughs