03/11/2024
Arriving in Unalakleet, majority of front pack in Iditarod 52 opts for a break upon reaching the coast
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Those running the Unalakleet checkpoint in this year’s Iditarod were prepared for an early morning arrival of the first team to town. Instead, it was a little after noon that veteran musher Jessie Holmes rolled in as the first musher to reach the coast.
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Holmes – welcomed warmly by a small crowd braving temperatures with wind chill values around -30 degrees – made it to the checkpoint with 11 dogs in harness.
“All that rest I was able to get and still be able to be in somewhat of a position to be up in the front,” he said, “got to be foolish to not do something with that. That’s my dream.”
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Making a meal for his dogs, Holmes said Unalakleet is one of his favorite stops, largely because of the hospitality – and the food that comes with it.
“I’m not going to be getting up and leaving, not with all them sourdough pancakes and bacon and eggs in there,” he laughed. “The people are super welcoming and happy that you’re here. And they put on a huge feed for you here – people buy you pizzas, and I mean, I like pizza, but I don’t even touch the pizza here. I’m just all about the sourdough pancakes, the blueberry syrup, and bacon and eggs. You just dream about something like that!”
The veteran musher out of Nenana, who’s cracked the top five in the Iditarod twice already, took the lead when he departed Old Woman, a safety cabin near mile 676.
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“I didn’t mess around,” he explained. “I did a short rest there, because I had been given so much rest, that Dallas (Seavey) was back in front of me by 40, 45 minutes out of Kaltag, when I was ahead of him by almost two hours. I was like, ‘I gotta do something.’
“Actually, Travis Beals was super kind to me, ‘cause my alarm went off,” he continued. “And sometimes, I lack a little bit of cutthroatness, you know, for racing. And I was like, ‘Well, man, you know, I haven’t slept in days; I’ll just lay here for a bit.’ And he goes, ‘I hear footsteps moving, and they sound sneaky. You need to get going!’ And I was like, ‘Yep, I think you’re right. I’m outta here!’”
Five-time Iditarod Champion Dallas Seavey, who’s eyeing a record-breaking sixth title in 2024, moved quickly through the Unalakleet checkpoint after arriving there only 17 minutes after Holmes. Seavey has already reached Shaktoolik, pausing there for only 12 minutes. Holmes headed toward the same checkpoint after a several-hour break in Unalakleet.