Distances, Sea Ice, and Knowing Some, but Not All

14 March 2012
5:59 PM

Sunrise at	8:11 AM	in direction	93°	East
Sunset at	7:51 PM	in direction	267°	West

Duration of day: 11 hours, 39 minutes (6 minutes, 44 seconds longer than yesterday)

Morning light

I was mildly chastised today by an ITC (Iditarod Trail Committee) volunteer for my blog yesterday.  He thought my comments about Mike Santos being stranded on the ice misled people into thinking he was in worse trouble than he was.  He also reminded me, "What race fans from outside AK don't realize is that we can't just easily 'send someone out there'".

In any case, he did move toward the eastern shore of Norton Sound at some point.  I wonder what made him realize he should go all the way over to that shore?  Perhaps it became dark enough he could see the lights of the other mushers running to the east.  He was roughly following the trail as it would have been in previous years.  I don't remember where he scratched before; he is a rookie, although this is not his first Iditarod.  I don't know if he went straight because the trail had previously gone straight instead of veering sharply to right or what.

When submitting a blog on a site where many people will read it, I did learn, however, it pays to reread it several times before actually publishing it.  Although, it is hard to get certain assumptions out of your mind, taking time to see the picture you are painting from the eyes of those who don't know a thing about you isn't a bad idea.  In the past, before publishing something, I would indicate my status an an Armchair Musher.  My assumption, as silly as it seems now, was that most of the people who would read my blog know me for what I am, an avid fan of the sport.  I have friends that mush and know a little of what they go through.  Aliy has talked about not drinking coffee for weeks in advance of the race, for example, so she will get the full benefit of the caffeine while functioning on little sleep.  I take time to read Aliy's yearly trail notes,  journals like that of Ken Anderson's YQ 2011 journal and Sebastian Schnuelle, and the commentary from those at the ITC and YQ (Yukon Quest) each year.  But I am watching the race just like everyone else.  Clarifying perspective is important, i.e., your vantage point, whenever making something public to a wide audience.

Nevertheless, my concern was valid and it was not a bad idea to "send someone out there" if for no other reason than to recheck the trail makers as a result of Mike's misdirection.   Apparently, it was still hard to follow today as another musher, Justin Savidis, missed the trail and went in circles looking for it.  People were in agony watching him from what I read on Facebook.  I saw several posts showing his GPS tracker history through various snapshots in time and he was all over the Sound trying to find the trail.  In years past, people have mushed right up to the edge of the sea ice to open water when off trail.  His concern about finding a safe route was a valid concern.  I, however, refrained from comment - having created sufficient commotion last night.

The pink hues of the sunset were far more subtle than the riot of color on the eastern sky this morning.