It is 6AM on the trail between McGrath and the Yukon River and the temperatures are above freezing. This is not good news if you are on a dog sled.

Martin is managing to take full advantage of his early strategy and has arrived for the meal and cash given to the first musher to reach the Yukon, but he had to wade in water to do it. This is not the March in Alaska that I experienced, when I went through Arctic survival school near Fairbanks in temperatures down to -45°F.

Aliy has taken the lead and it looks like Martin is going to take the 8-hour mandatory stop on the Yukon in Anvik. Aliy has an hour lead on Aaron and two hours on Jake, which is not much at this point in the race. Everyone has to take an 8-hour on the Yukon, so the lead will change.

Martin is back in front having finished his 8-hour in Anvik, while Aliy et al. wait theirs out in Grayling. Martin has 5 hours on Aliy, so it will come down to the race to rest ratio the teams use. Jake still has all 16 puppies, and is posting good speeds, but if he starts reducing the rest periods, the speed won’t last. Martin has a plan that has proven to work this year, so he won’t alter it.

Joar Ulson of Norway has been having an impressive race for a veteran, and this is his first time on the Iditarod. He is the latest of a long string of Norwegians to take on the Iditarod, and he obviously has done his homework.

Beyond Grayling
1 Martin Buser (2)
2 Aliy Zirkle (27)
3 Joar Leifseth Ulson (32)^R
4 Nicolas Petit (16)
5 Jessie Royer (30)
6 Mitch Seavey (36)
7 Jeff King (18)
At Grayling
8 Aaron Burmeister (24)
9 Jake Berkowitz (44)
10 Sonny Lindner (67)
11 DeeDee Jonrowe (28)
12 Paul Gebhardt (11)
13 Ray Redington Jr (52)
14 Peter Kaiser (10)
15 Dallas Seavey (19) [Read more →]

On Hold

The service lately has been terrible!

[Editor: Property has to do an encore, because none of the cats is happy with the circular saw I’ve been using to finish up the rehab.]

Friday Ark