Hurrah!!, this time we made it to leave Shaktoolik. At 9 am our guides Marlin and Dan came back from their scouting trip on the Norton Sound and confirmed us that everything was ok. The bitter cold of yesterday and last night has frozen all the overflow and flooded sections making it possible to travel safely on the most dangerous part of our challenge trip. So, after the preparation of my sled and Gianni's snomachine sled I put booties to all my dogs,( to avoid damages to their feet from the ice ). We left at 11 am with all the kids and teachers of the School ( who made so much for us in these days of wait ) greeting us from the River's banks.
The dogs were really excited and happy to get going. I put in lead Lightning and Storm ( who recovered very well from her muscular ache ) while Megh and Ciors were enjoing some Team work without the stress of being in lead all the time. The sky was super clear without any wind and the temp. around - 28c. Even in the tundra before the sea ice the landscape is absolutely spectacular. Mild hills without trees and bushes, infinite spaces until the bluff which marks the boundary between the shore and the sea ice. We stopped after two hours in the only shelter cabin of the area. I wanted to check if there still was an inscription I wrote during Iditarod 96 in the inside wall. Yes, it was still there clear as anything else …" The Triad was here "…Ararad K - Aaron Burmeister - Rob Carss " 3/13/1996..
From here on we traveled on the sea ice covered with a layer of snow. As soon as we were leaving the coast I knew we were traveling on a layer of ice probably 3 - 4 feet thick with 50 ore more yards of sea water underneath us. But the wild attraction of this unreal place captures you and make you think in a positive way. Anyhow I do not dare thinking how it could be here in case of a snow storm like in the past days!! Even because now the trail is not even marked and it will be only in a few days thanks to the Iditarod whose participants today just left Ruby towards Galena on the Yukon.
We arrived in Koyuk at 5 pm after 6 hours of good travel with two little stops and a snack of soaked dry dog food and salmon slices for the dogs…and two biscuits for me. At the local School ( where we'll stay on the floor of the kindergarten classroom while the dogs are bedded under some spruce trees down here ) a little crowd of curious and helpful kids was waiting for us. So I gave them as a little gift my postacard and some chocolate…gnam, gnam… I miss very much my two children Alicja ( 14 ) and Azad ( 21 months ) and my wife Monica who his anxiously following me from Italy with this web site and some scarce phone calls, working hard in our International Mushing School in Tarvisio.
Tomorrow we are leaving pretty soon, after having greeted a friend teacher who I knew 19 years ago during my brother's Iditarod 84, and who thought me some words in the Eskimo language. We'll hit the trail towards Elim.
Yours ARARAD K
…didn't you order yet your postcard from Nome ? Send the money to Tarvisio and write me your address at : ararad1@hotmail.com
