Day 3: 2012 Iditarod

Matt checked in to Rainy Pass last night at 9:23 pm AKST where he rested for 5h 45m.  He made the run from Finger Lake to Rainy Pass in 3h 40m with all 16 dogs.  He averaged 8.18mph on this leg which means the extra rest at the start of the race is paying off as his average is better than 1.2 mph faster than all the musher who ran this leg. 

Currently, Matt is about to check into Rohn.  After leaving Rainy Pass last night at 3:08am AKST, he has made this run in just over 3 hours.  My guess is he ran this leg at roughly 19-20 mph as a good portion is downhill.  Once in Rohn, Matt will most likely sign in and then out immediately to run 5-6 hours before camping between checkpoints.  This is the last portion of the Alaskan Range of the Iditarod and the entrance to the flatlands/interior.

Description from Rohn to Nikolai by Donald Bowers, Jr.

"This leg isn’t as long as it’s alleged to be. Some people say it actually runs only 75 miles, but the real distance is probably closer to 80. It’s still quite a pull, but not as bad as it could be. (The published figure probably comes from the old trail routing over to Farewell Station and then to Nikolai.) On the other hand, there are some truly bad spots on this stretch, mostly within the first 20 miles. Expect a total of 10 to 15 hours for this leg; you’ll want to rest the dogs for several hours somewhere, or else take a lot of shorter breaks.

This run breaks into three natural sections: 20 miles along the south side of the South Fork of the Kuskokwim from Rohn to Farewell Lakes and up onto the Farewell Burn, 35 miles across the Burn itself to Sullivan Creek, and then 20 miles north from Sullivan Creek past Salmon River to Nikolai."

At this point, Matt is running strong.  His pace  is very good and he still has all 16 dogs.  Look for Matt to begin passing mushers here as his dogs have a bit more rest than most other teams. 

GO MATT GO!