Well time for a bit of true Armchair Mushing, as I am not on the Quest trail. Instead I keep on telling my 22 house dogs, how lucky they are, that they can sit here with me in the living room, and not be running the Q300 as we had originally planned. It is cold out there, 40 some below. Just as a note, with this blog being for Iditarod, I will concentrate on IDITAROD mushers mainly, so no offense to anybody I leave out.

Strategies during the first 24 hrs of the Quest vary greatly. Hugh Neff has once again pushed to the front with being the first team into Carmacks. During the first 174 miles of the race, he rested a mere 2 hours on the trail. A strategy which has backfired on him in the past.

Jeff King ran all the way straight to Braeburn. There he took his mandatory 6 hrs rest plus start time differential totaling 7hrs. His team is moving very well, keeping an even speed and currently being the fastest team in the race. Resting for 7hrs in the comfort of a checkpoint at these kind of low temperatures is for sure not a bad move. Plus the Cinnamon buns and burgers at Steve’s Braeburn Lodge would really be a shame to pass up on.

Allen Moore is even playing it more conservatively. He rested on the trail to Braeburn and took close to 7.5 hrs of rest in Braeburn. That gives his team over 10 hrs of total rest as opposed to 2 hrs Hugh’s team had. That is a lot of time to make up. There is also a lot of trail left to make up that time. Notably his traveling speed has gotten higher after he left Braeburn than it was on the way into the checkpoint. Where Allen is speeding along at 10 mph, Hugh’s team had dropped to close to 7.5 mph. That is a major difference. Hugh will have to take his mandatory now in Carmacks, which will put both teams much closer together again. Both teams can rest through the heat of the day. Just kidding.  Heat being 35 below in this case.

Brent Sass seems to settle on a nice run rest schedule. In his true fashion he is avoiding the checkpoints and camps out on the trail. The man is wild and free. He is comfortable and confident in the bush, his dogs carry a good coat and have most likely more camping experience than any other dogteam out there. He so far has racked up close to 8 hrs of rest, and has yet to take his mandatory 6 hrs. He started somewhat conservatively last year too, and then put the hammer down at the 200 mile mark. It for sure is wise to play it conservative when it is this cold out.

Joar Ulsom is running close to the same schedule as Brent, has rested a little shorter, His team is traveling well. Lance has also rested long. He picked Braeburn to stop, which is no surprise as he is dealing with fact that his body can not tolerate the cold as much as it used to. His team is young and will benefit greatly from being eased into the race. His traveling speed is up, typical for a young team. Keeping the speed up over the longer runs will be the tricky part.

Ray Redington Jr is probably wondering what possessed him into running the Quest, while freezing his butt off, while camping out on the trail twice. Same as in the Copper Basin, his team has a very high average speed. He is running a team of bigger, strong dogs with good coats. This weather might be in his favor so far.

Scott Smith is on the same schedule yet travels slightly slower. The trail to Carmacks is a fun one. It used to be called ping pong alley. A lot of work has been done over the years in that section, it does not quite deserve that reputation anymore, but it still is some fun and technical sled driving. At 40 below that is not a bad thing, to keep some blood circulation going.

Back in 2005, with just one Quest finish under my belt, I had signed up for ” the double ” myself . Camped out at the end of Mandana Lake, I was shell shocked and really wondered what I had gotten myself into, with another 1900 miles to go. Good thing I had a solid handler who kept me from scratching in Carmacks. In hindsight a very defining moment in my racing career. I wonder if the same thoughts are going through Jason Campeau’s mind, who signed up for both races as a rookie. Long ways to go for him and not an easy start with being thrown into the deep freeze right away. Rob Cooke on the other hand, will be much happier with the cold, than he would be with heat, running a fuzzy Sibe team.

Time to let my dogs out for a pee, get a coat on and go for a short run, The sun is warming things up to 20 below. I guess that is as good as it will get today. The emphasis is on a short run…. And oh, maybe I best put the harnesses on inside, keeps my fingers warmer. After all, it is called Armchair Mushing….

Enjoy some of last night’s show… , the lucky mushers got the full display: