Galena to Nulato

There just isn't a lot to say about this leg of the journey. Perfection just speaks for itself sometimes! The trip to Nulato was one of the nicest legs I've ever had on the Iditarod trail. The dogs were well rested, happy and wanting to rock! Their little aches and pains - and mine - were a thing of the past. I was actually riding my drag track with both feet on occasion as we traveled through the cold, early morning. 

I was looking for Bishop's Rock - which is close to the halfway point between the two villages. Many teams camp there - and that was actually my original plan, until I messed up the run to Manley and the run to Ruby and had to regroup. 

I had talked to Bob Chlupach prior to the Race and he had told me that the name of the rock came from Hudson Stuck's time. Stuck was Archdeacon of the Yukon in the early 1900's and his wonderful book, Ten Thousand Miles with a Dog Sled I had just started reading in the weeks prior to Iditarod. When I saw the Rock, it was another chance to appreciate the trail that has remained unchanged for more then 90 years and to marvel at the people that traveled it in those times. 

I was rather amazed at myself when the trail took a slightly different route then in 2000 and I realized I remembered this trail like I had only been on it yesterday. Maybe it was because the team was going so slow at this point in 2000 that the details had time to engrave themselves in my memory. I even remembered the exact spot I lost my team in 2000 and earned the nickname Karen 'Runs-instead'. No such incidents this year though - my frisky and happy team moved at a good clip down the river and into the checkpoint of Nulato.