Broken Trails

As the miles passed, she kept an eye out for Roman. She estimated he was close to a half hour behind her as far as checking out. Whether or not he would catch up before she reached Cripple was the question. The sun rose, and she turned off her head lamp, putting on sunglasses to combat the glare of light on snow. Her heart ached at the sheer beauty of the area. According to her research, if the Iditarod did not go through here, no one would pass along these hills and river at all. This section of trail was too remote for anything more than back packers and the like during summer.

She snacked her dogs, keeping an eye behind her for evidence of Roman’s approach. Still nothing. Had he decided to take his time?

The trees thinned and disappeared. Blackened stumps thrust from the snow and even in the dead of winter she could smell a hint of ash. A fire had come through here at some point in the past, and the trail led right through the damage. Lainey prepared herself for a rougher ride, but it never materialized. This burn was far less dangerous than the Farewell Burn.

Her team ate up the miles, rolling in snow to cool off when she stopped to snack them, and biting at it to quench their thirst. The trail crossed the river again. Burnt trees faded, replaced by uninjured ones.

Lainey’s bladder began to argue with her about all the liquids she was drinking, and she fought with it for a while. Sooner or later they had to come to the next checkpoint. She dug out her copy of Scotch’s notes, flipping through the pages. Scotch said it was normally a four to six hour run at the most. Lainey checked her watch. She had been on the trail for close to four hours. Should she stop and find a shrub or keep on a little while longer?

Deciding to tough it out, she continued on. She fantasized about being in the middle of the desert, trying to convince her body that she had not had anything to drink for days, that she was parched with thirst. It worked for a few more miles, but as the sled hit various ruts and bumps her bladder twinged more and more.

She debated how long it would take her to drop her drawers long enough to pee and move on. Her worries grew by leaps and bounds as she went, becoming so water logged that she almost missed the checkpoint as it came up.

“Whoa!” she called, stomping on the brake, and then cursing as the liquid in her bladder wobbled dangerously. Just what she needed was to pee her pants out here in the middle of an Alaskan winter.

She checked in, breathlessly demanding the location of the latrine.

The checker, a thin woman with a bright orange parka, chuckled. “It’s over there. Go ahead, I’ll have the vet wait until you’re done.”

“Thank you!”

When she finished, she ambled out of the outhouse with a relieved smile. Her dogs watched her, grinning and laughing as if to say they had it far easier than she. Of course, they did, having been trained to relieve themselves as they ran. A couple of men were with them, already checking each animal’s health.

“Feel better?” one asked.

Lainey chuckled. “You can’t imagine.” She found her vet notes and handed them over.

“Looking good,” the other said after completing his examination. He made some notes on one of the pages. “That one has some cumulative abrasions to her paws, though.”

She gave Heldig a concerned look. “I don’t want to run her into the ground. Do you think I should drop her now?”

The veterinarian considered a moment, even going back to Heldig to go over her feet again. “Not yet. I think she’s good for a few more miles. She’s definitely healthy enough to get you to Ruby, maybe even Galena.”

Lainey nodded. Ruby was the next checkpoint and seventy miles away. Galena was the one after, about sixty miles further. “Okay. Thanks.”

As she turned away from the vets, she saw Roman arrive. She debated snacking the dogs and getting out of the checkpoint to camp in the wild. No. Just her luck, he would decide to do the same and pass her up somewhere on the trail. Then he would know it for the ruse it was. There was still plenty of time for friendly competition as they neared the end of the race.

She directed her dogs to the holding area and began the process of feeding them and putting them to bed. Melted snow for water, two Gatorades drained, dog chow distributed and straw laid out for them. She was pleased to see Roman remained at the checkpoint, as well. She heated a couple of Molly’s sandwiches on the lid of her boiling pot. She downed them, followed by warmed pumpkin bread slathered with butter for dessert. The butter tasted better than the bread, and she remembered Scotch eating a stick of butter at an earlier break. While the thought of doing the same still made her lip curl, her mouth watered a little.

Maybe one of the upcoming villages would have a store or something. She certainly did not have any extra butter in her food drops like Scotch did, not having planned for the craving.

Lainey yawned, and she put aside her considerations. She heard Scotch’s voice in her head. “If you don’t take care of yourself, you can’t take care of your dogs.” Smiling, Lainey prepared her sled and sleeping bag for a nap.

When she woke, it was still daylight, though the sun hung low enough to play hide and seek among the tree tops. It was cold, but not terribly so. She had a small thermometer attached to her sled, and it indicated the temperature hanging somewhere above zero. Lainey felt a mental burble of laughter. That was not what she was thinking last year about the weather! A few other mushers utilized this checkpoint for a break. As before, she kept her activities concealed, making as little noise as possible. Roman had learned his lesson, though. He had parked as close to her as he could, and woke when she started up her cookers. Lainey sighed in resignation as he rolled out of his sleeping bag with a knowing grin.

“Fool me once,” he said, and began his own preparations.

Lainey smiled. “Didn’t anybody teach you that the female is the more devious of the species?”

He barked a laugh. “Is that my warning?”

She did not answer, giving him a placid look. He laughed again, and she turned her attention to her team.

Heldig’s paws were worn but not too much so, just as the veterinarian had said. Lainey donned her latex gloves and hand warmers, and slathered Heldig’s pads with ointment. “Duct tape is still an option,” she told her. Her response was a snuffling kiss on the cheek.

Chibee whined in excitement as dinner was dished out. “You act like I never feed you,” she said. He ignored her words, falling to his chow with single minded purpose.

Nearby, Roman chuckled. “It’s never enough.” He glanced up from his cookers. “You might want to up their fat intake a little. How much are you running?”

“About a half pound.” Lainey went back down the line with the extra water.

“Maybe make it three quarters, at least through the interior. They’ll burn it up.”

She murmured a response and continued her tasks. Would Roman endanger her dogs by giving her poor advice, all to beat her? From what she had read and heard of the Spencers, they seemed to be decent kennel owners. At the very least, Georgio Spencer had won three Iditarods and two Yukon Quests over the years. Roman had the experience of being raised in a kennel, just like Scotch had. There was also her own craving for butter. Were the dogs feeling the same?

Lainey decided that he would not give advice designed to affect her dogs and, hence, her standing in the race. Besides, what would be the point? So he could arrive in Nome a few places before her? He would be in upper middle of the pack, anyway. The major champion contenders were already jockeying for position.

Regardless, she resolved to not take his advice. Not until she could talk to Scotch, at least. Chances were good they would see each other in Ruby. She could ask her then. The only reason Scotch had not been at the Cripple checkpoint was because she normally blew through to camp in the woods nearby. Lainey, however, still held a little trepidation at being so far from civilization. Even the meager population of a checkpoint in the wild felt safer. There would be no choice between here and Ruby, though. The next checkpoint was too far away for the dogs to run all in one round. Lainey would have to camp in the wilderness next time.