Paxson
Checkpoint - Sunday, January 15, 2006
By the time I got to the checker at Paxson at 9:35am it had started to snow.
It was a beautiful dry snow and the temperatures weren't too cold, so it was
pleasant. I set about the usual checkpoint chores, having a little clearer
sense of what I needed to do, and also realizing I had a bit more time to
do it since I was taking my designated 8 hour layover here. I probably didn't
start out with my chores too efficient though, as I was still riding on a
bit of the euphoria of the great run from Chistochina.
About 1.5 hours after arriving I had the dogs bedded down and fed. Their feet
were taken care of and they were all nestled under their dog coats and a layer
of freshly fallen snow. They were such good campers, settling in and sleeping
well. I made my way inside the Paxson lodge where JJ, Wayne and Bill were
getting some food and set out my stuff to get it dried out and defrosted or
thawed out. Bill had gotten a room and I was able to spread out all my gear
there and dry out much of it and change into some new layers of socks, boot
liners and other clothes.
I had a bite to eat and then checked on the dogs one more time. By this time,
the musher I had passed on the hill had made it into the checkpoint, but she
had left everything behind except her sled and the dogs. She had even taken
the sled bag off the sled in an effort to reduce the weight. I didn't see
her come in, but heard that the dogs were looking quite proud of themselves
since they had gotten the upper hand and had coasted into the checkpoint with
not much weight behind them. Since she had arrived at the checkpoint without
her required gear: cooker, ax, snowshoes, food, booties, sleeping bag, she
either needed to go back for them or scratch. She ended up scratching and
the musher she was running dogs for, Dee Dee Jonrowe, ended up scratching
too.
I wrestled a little bit with the question of whether or not I should have
given her a hand, but have been comfortable with my decision to continue on.
For one thing, as I was approaching the hill I had no idea if my team was
going to be able to make the hill. I also was really in no shape to give her
a hand once I got up to the top. Or at least I wasn't in any shape for the
first 10 minutes or so as I tried to keep from hyperventilating. I also realized
that while she was still about 7 miles from the checkpoint, she wasn't in
any physical danger. She just plain and simple couldn't get her team to do
what she wanted them to do.
I rested for about 2 ½ hours and actually slept for a bit of that time
while JJ and Wayne occasionally checked on the team. During the eight hour
layover, the time differential from the staggered start was added in so by
the time the teams all left, they were running in real time. In other words,
there were 36 minutes from the time the last musher left and when I left the
start, so I needed to take 8 hours and 36 minutes of rest while he only needed
to take 8 hours. This way the first musher across the finish was indeed the
winner.
I got another meal in my system before heading out to the team again and boiling
up another cooler full of water for this next run. The snow had stopped after
putting a fresh layer of 3-4 inches on the ground. A little extra cushioning
for the feet on the trail is all that it amounted to. I was the last to leave
the checkpoint, but before doing so made the decision to drop Jim due to his
sore wrist. He had made a valiant effort and kept right in there throughout
the long run, but his wrist was definitely slightly sprained so I left him
for Bill to take back home.
