A beautiful morning on the Yukon River. I was not the only one thinking that, as when I passed Aliy Zirkle, she called ove,r ” Isn’t this a fine morning on the Yukon River ?”

The closer she got towards Galena, the better the trail conditions were getting. Leaving Ruby, the Yukon is quite bare of snow, pretty icy. Then there are several miles of crossing gravel and sandbars till a light cover of fresh snow makes the trail better by the mile. Aliy’s team looked solid. She was being the signature “ Spider Aily ” working the ski poles hard.