Posts from — February 2019

Looks like Brent is coming in with his entire team of 14 puppies. Brent finished at 3:40PM CST (12:40AM AKST).

The Current Standings at 8:30PM CST (5:30PM AKST):

Finished At Fairbanks
1 Brent Sass (3)
2 Hans Gatt (2)
3 Allen Moore (26)
4 Michelle Phillips (8)
Beyond Two Rivers
5 Matt Hall (7)
6 Paige Drobny (23)
At Two Rivers
7 Denis Tremblay (1)
8 Torsten Kohnert (5)
Beyond Mile 101
9 Jessie Royer (18)
At Mile 101
10 Nathaniel Hamlyn (11)
11 Ryne Olson (21)
12 Cody Strathe (28)
Beyond Central
13 Brian Wilmshurst (16)
At Central
14 Martin Apayauq Reitan (10)^R
15 Curt Perano (29)
16 Dave Dalton (12)
17 Jason Biasetti (27)^R
Beyond Circle
18 Rob Cooke (30)
19 Andrew Pace (19)
20 Deke Naaktgeboren (25)^R
21 Jim Lanier (13)^R
22 Chase Tingle (22)^R
23 Misha Wiljes (17)
24 Isabelle Travadon (9)^R
At Circle
25 Remy Leduc (4)^R
26 Laura Allaway (24)^R
27 Hendrik Stachnau (20)^R
[Read more →]

At 9:30PM CST Brent is about 4.5 miles from Two Rivers. He should be in Fairbanks tomorrow.

The Current Standings at 9:25PM CST (6:25PM AKST):

Beyond Mile 101
1 Brent Sass (3)
2 Allen Moore (26)
3 Hans Gatt (2)
4 Michelle Phillips (8)
Beyond Central
5 Paige Drobny (23)
At Central
6 Denis Tremblay (1)
7 Matt Hall (7)
Beyond Circle
8 Nathaniel Hamlyn (11)
9 Ryne Olson (21)
10 Torsten Kohnert (5)
11 Jessie Royer (18)
At Circle
12 Cody Strathe (28)
13 Brian Wilmshurst (16)
14 Martin Apayauq Reitan (10)^R
15 Curt Perano (29)
16 Dave Dalton (12)
Beyond Eagle
17 Jason Biasetti (27)^R
18 Deke Naaktgeboren (25)^R
19 Andrew Pace (19)
20 Rob Cooke (30)
21 Chase Tingle (22)^R
22 Misha Wiljes (17)
23 Isabelle Travadon (9)^R
24 Jim Lanier (13)^R
25 Remy Leduc (4)^R
26 Laura Allaway (24)^R
27 Hendrik Stachnau (20)^R

[Read more →]

Take your pick:

NBC News – Tax code changes leave Americans asking, ‘What happened to my refund?’

Crooks & Liars – IRS: Average tax refund down 8.4 percent under Trump tax scam

Stephanie Ruhle with David Cay Johnson – Millions of Americans won’t get a tax refund and might have to pay

David Dayen at The Intercept – Trump wanted to goose paychecks, but now a surprise bill may be coming due for tax filers

In order to convince the middle class that they weren’t really getting screwed by the Trump administration’s ‘tax cuts for billionaires’, they diddled the withholding tables. This means that while your paycheck may have been somewhat larger you will not be getting back your usual refund, and may, in fact, owe the IRS money.

The entire field is in Alaska this morning.

The Current Standings at 9:30PM CST (6:30PM AKST):

Beyond Circle
1 Brent Sass (3)
2 Allen Moore (26)
3 Hans Gatt (2)
4 Michelle Phillips (8)
At Circle
5 Paige Drobny (23)
6 Matt Hall (7)
Beyond Eagle
7 Denis Tremblay (1)
8 Ryne Olson (21)
9 Torsten Kohnert (5)
10 Nathaniel Hamlyn (11)
11 Jessie Royer (18)
12 Martin Apayauq Reitan (10)^R
13 Cody Strathe (28)
14 Brian Wilmshurst (16)
15 Curt Perano (29)
16 Jason Biasetti (27)^R
17 Deke Naaktgeboren (25)^R
18 Dave Dalton (12)
19 Andrew Pace (19)
20 Rob Cooke (30)
21 Chase Tingle (22)^R
22 Misha Wiljes (17)
23 Isabelle Travadon (9)^R
24 Jim Lanier (13)^R
At Eagle
25 Hendrik Stachnau (20)^R
26 Remy Leduc (4)^R
27 Laura Allaway (24)^R
[Read more →]

Jimmy Lebling (6)^R and Olivia Webster (15)^R made the decision to scratch at Dawson. Lisbet Norris (14)^R also decided to scratch at Dawson.

The Current Standings at 7:00PM CST (5:00PM PST):

Beyond Eagle
1 Allen Moore (26)
2 Brent Sass (3)
3 Hans Gatt (2)
4 Michelle Phillips (8)
5 Paige Drobny (23)
6 Matt Hall (7)
7 Denis Tremblay (1)
8 Ryne Olson (21)
At Eagle
9 Nathaniel Hamlyn (11)
10 Torsten Kohnert (5)
Beyond Dawson
11 Martin Apayauq Reitan (10)^R
12 Jessie Royer (18)
13 Cody Strathe (28)
14 Curt Perano (29)
15 Brian Wilmshurst (16)
16 Jason Biasetti (27)^R
17 Deke Naaktgeboren (25)^R
18 Rob Cooke (30)
19 Andrew Pace (19)
20 Dave Dalton (12)
21 Isabelle Travadon (9)^R
22 Misha Wiljes (17)
23 Chase Tingle (22)^R
24 Hendrik Stachnau (20)^R
25 Jim Lanier (13)^R
26 Laura Allaway (24)^R
27 Remy Leduc (4)^R
[Read more →]

The people who have represented me in the House have been whackoes. Duke Cunningham, Federal inmate; Earl Hutto, star of a local children’s TV show; Joe Scarborough, star of a children’s TV show for adults; Jefferson Beauregard Miller, real estate agent from Chumuckla; and now Matthew Gaetz of 16 speeding tickets in 16 years, a DUI that went away [not related, of course, to his father being the President of the Florida Senate at the time]. Congresscritter Gaetz (NRA FL-1) a nominal member of the GOP, has spent all of his time in Congress sucking up to Trump.

A member of the House Judiciary Committee, he spent his time at a hearing on gun violence pimping Trump’s Wall:

When Rep. Matt Gaetz began to speak, he started pounding on undocumented immigrants, claiming that everything that H.R. 8 proposes to solve could simply be done by building Trump’s wall on the southern border.

“I hope we do not forget the pain, and anguish, and sense of loss felt by those all over the country who have been the victims of violence at the hands of illegal aliens,” Gaetz said. “[H.R. 8] would not have stopped many of the circumstances I raised, but a wall, a barrier on the Southern border may have, and that’s what we’re fighting for.”

Hearing observers Fred Guttenberg and Manuel Oliver were not having it, protesting loudly, rules or no rules. No wall would change the fact that Nikolas Cruz was an American citizen with a gun and a grudge, after all.

Guttenberg and Oliver are parents of students killed at Parkland. The killer at the Pulse night club in Orlando was an American with guns, as was killer of the 5 women at the SunTrust Bank in Sebring. Mr. NRA-A+ doesn’t want to hear that guns are a problem.
[Read more →]

The leaders are across the border into Alaska.

The leading rookie, Martin Apayauq Reitan, is an Inupiaq [Native Alaskan] / Norwegian musher. His dad, Ketil Reitan, has finished 7 Iditarods. In addition to the Quest, Martin has also signed up for his rookie run at this year’s Iditarod. He’s 21 and started mushing at 4.

The Current Standings at 9:00PM CST (7:00PM PST):

Beyond Dawson
1 Brent Sass (3)
2 Michelle Phillips (8)
3 Hans Gatt (2)
4 Allen Moore (26)
5 Paige Drobny (23)
6 Denis Tremblay (1)
7 Matt Hall (7)
8 Ryne Olson (21)
9 Torsten Kohnert (5)
10 Nathaniel Hamlyn (11)
11 Martin Apayauq Reitan (10)^R
12 Jessie Royer (18)
13 Cody Strathe (28)
14 Jason Biasetti (27)^R
At Dawson
15 Curt Perano (29)
16 Brian Wilmshurst (16)
17 Olivia Webster (15)^R
18 Deke Naaktgeboren (25)^R
19 Rob Cooke (30)
20 Andrew Pace (19)
21 Dave Dalton (12)
22 Isabelle Travadon (9)^R
23 Misha Wiljes (17)
24 Jim Lanier (13)^R
25 Chase Tingle (22)^R
26 Hendrik Stachnau (20)^R
27 Laura Allaway (24)^R
28 Remy Leduc (4)^R
Beyond Pelly Crossing
29 Jimmy Lebling (6)^R
30 Lisbet Norris (14)^R
[Read more →]

The teams will be dribbling in all day for their major layover, so not much racing. The standings will do odd things as volunteers catch and correct errors made overnight.

Hendrik Stachnau, a German musher, has a team of purebred Greenland Dogs and Alaskan Malamutes. They are larger and stronger breeds than the Alaskan huskies, but were not bred for all out speed.

The first teams will be able to leave Dawson at midnight PST, 2AM CST.

The Current Standings at 9:30PM CST ( 7:30PM PST):

At Dawson
1 Brent Sass (3)
2 Michelle Phillips (8)
3 Hans Gatt (2)
4 Allen Moore (26)
5 Paige Drobny (23)
6 Denis Tremblay (1)
7 Matt Hall (7)
8 Ryne Olson (21)
9 Torsten Kohnert (5)
10 Nathaniel Hamlyn (11)
11 Martin Apayauq Reitan (10)^R
12 Jessie Royer (18)
13 Cody Strathe (28)
14 Curt Perano (29)
15 Brian Wilmshurst (16)
16 Jason Biasetti (27)^R
17 Olivia Webster (15)^R
18 Deke Naaktgeboren (25)^R
19 Rob Cooke (30)
20 Andrew Pace (19)
21 Dave Dalton (12)
22 Isabelle Travadon (9)^R
23 Misha Wiljes (17)
24 Jim Lanier (13)^R
25 Chase Tingle (22)^R
26 Hendrik Stachnau (20)^R
27 Laura Allaway (24)^R
28 Remy Leduc (4)^R
Beyond Pelly Crossing
29 Jimmy Lebling (6)^R
30 Lisbet Norris (14)^R

[Read more →]

Lizbet Norris is another Iditarod veteran trying the Quest. Like Rob Cooke, her team are pedigreed Siberian Huskies.

The Current Standings at 9:30PM CST ( 7:30PM PST):

At Dawson
1 Brent Sass (3)
2 Michelle Phillips (8)
3 Hans Gatt (2)
4 Allen Moore (26)
5 Paige Drobny (23)
6 Denis Tremblay (1)
7 Matt Hall (7)
8 Ryne Olson (21)
Beyond Pelly Crossing
9 Curt Perano (29)
10 Nathaniel Hamlyn (11)
11 Torsten Kohnert (5)
12 Cody Strathe (28)
13 Isabelle Travadon (9)^R
14 Hendrik Stachnau (20)^R
15 Olivia Webster (15)^R
16 Martin Apayauq Reitan (10)^R
17 Andrew Pace (19)
18 Brian Wilmshurst (16)
19 Dave Dalton (12)
20 Jessie Royer (18)
21 Jason Biasetti (27)^R
22 Rob Cooke (30)
23 Deke Naaktgeboren (25)^R
24 Misha Wiljes (17)
25 Chase Tingle (22)^R
26 Laura Allaway (24)^R
27 Jim Lanier (13)^R
28 Jimmy Lebling (6)^R
29 Lisbet Norris (14)^R
30 Remy Leduc (4)^R
[Read more →]

The Current Standings at 7:00PM CST ( 5:00PM PST):

Beyond Pelly Crossing
1 Allen Moore (26)
2 Hans Gatt (2)
3 Brent Sass (3)
4 Paige Drobny (23)
5 Michelle Phillips (8)
6 Denis Tremblay (1)
7 Curt Perano (29)
8 Ryne Olson (21)
9 Matt Hall (7)
10 Nathaniel Hamlyn (11)
11 Torsten Kohnert (5)
12 Cody Strathe (28)
13 Isabelle Travadon (9)^R
14 Hendrik Stachnau (20)^R
15 Olivia Webster (15)^R
16 Martin Apayauq Reitan (10)^R
17 Andrew Pace (19)
18 Brian Wilmshurst (16)
19 Dave Dalton (12)
20 Jessie Royer (18)
21 Rob Cooke (30)
22 Deke Naaktgeboren (25)^R
23 Misha Wiljes (17)
24 Laura Allaway (24)^R
25 Jim Lanier (13)^R
At Pelly Crossing
26 Jason Biasetti (27)^R
27 Chase Tingle (22)^R
28 Remy Leduc (4)^R
29 Jimmy Lebling (6)^R
30 Lisbet Norris (14)^R

Note: Seeing Jim Lanier listed as a rookie is a bit jarring as he and his signature white huskies have been running the Iditarod for decades. He’s in his mid 70s and is a retired MD.
[Read more →]

Year of the Brown Earth Pig

Chinese New Year
[Spring Festival]

The Current Standings at 9:30PM CST ( 7:30PM PST):

At Pelly Crossing
1 Hans Gatt (2)
Beyond Carmacks
2 Allen Moore (26)
3 Dave Dalton (12)
4 Matt Hall (7)
5 Paige Drobny (23)
6 Michelle Phillips (8)
7 Brent Sass (3)
8 Denis Tremblay (1)
9 Torsten Kohnert (5)
10 Jessie Royer (18)
11 Nathaniel Hamlyn (11)
12 Olivia Webster (15)^R
13 Cody Strathe (28)
14 Ryne Olson (21)
15 Isabelle Travadon (9)^R
16 Curt Perano (29)
17 Jason Biasetti (27)^R
18 Martin Apayauq Reitan (10)^R
19 Deke Naaktgeboren (25)^R
20 Brian Wilmshurst (16)
21 Hendrik Stachnau (20)^R
22 Laura Allaway (24)^R
23 Rob Cooke (30)
24 Jim Lanier (13)^R
25 Misha Wiljes (17)
26 Andrew Pace (19)
27 Chase Tingle (22)^R
28 Remy Leduc (4)^R
29 Jimmy Lebling (6)^R
At Carmacks
30 Lisbet Norris (14)^R

These are the official standings. That means they are official, not that they are correct. Things jump around a lot as people decide to update the standings. This problem is especially bad in the back of the pack, as no one bothers to update those standings when the lead is changing.

The Mushers in bold are former winners of the Yukon Quest, the numbers in parentheses are their Bib numbers, and the small “R” indicates a rookie.

Note: This post will be updated during the day, and the map changed on all posts to reflect the current situation.

All posts on the Yukon Quest can be seen by clicking on the sled dog or selecting “Yukon Quest” from the Category box on the right sidebar.

Whitehorse 2089 feet [637 meters] Start
Braeburn 2326 feet [709 meters] 100 miles [161 km]
Carmacks 1722 feet [525 meters] 77 miles [124 km]
Pelly Crossing 1558 feet [475 meters] 73 miles [117 km]
King Solomon’s Dome 4002 feet [1220 meters]
Dawson 1050 feet [320 meters] 202 miles [325 km] 24 Hour Stop
American Summit 3920 feet [1195 meters]
Eagle 880 feet [268 meters] 147 miles [237 km] 6 Hour Stop
Circle 597 feet [182 meters] 159 miles [256 km]
Central 435 feet [133 meters] 74 miles [119 km]
Eagle Summit 3685 feet [1123 meters]
Mile 101 2250 feet [686 meters] 33 miles [53 km]
Rosebud Summit 3640 feet [1109 meters]
Two Rivers 750 feet [229 meters] 42 miles [68 km] 8 Hour Stop
Fairbanks 440 feet [134 meters] 45 miles[72 km] Finish

Because of a lack of snow between Braeburn and Carmacks, the teams are being trucked, not racing. It has been cold, but it hasn’t been snowing. The official notice of the changes due to lack of snow.

The trail between Central and Two Rivers checkpoints is really a nasty piece of work, going up and down two mountains at the end of the race.[Two Rivers is also called Chena Hot Springs on some maps.]

Why? Why not…