Hi Boys and Girls,

Good Morning! While we were sleeping, the teams were busy moving down the trail. The top 5 have remained the same but have changed places. Up to Huslia, the checkpoints are further apart and it can take 15+ hours to get from one checkpoint to another. Once the mushers reach Koykuk, the checkpoints are closer together. For example the time to reach Nulato from Koyukuk is averaging between 2 and 3 hours. So you will be seeing many of the mushers go through more than one checkpoint today.

Who’s In First

As of 05:10 AST, Mitch and Dallas lead the pack, leaving Kaltag 5 minutes apart. Right now this looks like a father-son race! The next 3 mushers are in Kaltag. Jessie Royer, Aliy Zirkle, John Baker, Ray Redington Jr, and Jason Mackey round out the top ten. Look for any of these teams to move up to the top 5.

1. Mitch Seavey
2. Dallas Seavey
3. Wade Marrs
4. Nicolas Petit
5. Joar Leifseth Ulsom

Rookie Report

Currently in the Rookie of the Year Position is Sebastian Vergnaud who is in 17th Place. He is in Koyukuk. Robert Redington is in 25th place. He is also in Koyukuk.

A check on some of the other rookies show Nicolas Vanier in 40^th place  (picture on left is of Nicolas and one of his dogs), Laura Neese in 45^th place, and Justin High in 50^th place.

Red Lantern Position

Ellen Halverson is in Galena. It looks like she is finishing up her 24 hour rest and should be on the trail soon.

Scratched

Rookie Ryan Anderson scratched in Galena last night. He made the decision in the best interest of his race team.

Trail Tales

Mitch Seavey was awarded the Bristol Bay Native Corporation Fish First Award for being the first musher into Kaltag. The award was a check for $2000 and 25 pounds of fresh-caught Bristol Bay salmon. Congratulations to Mitch.

Weather

Huslia- It is -4 degrees, Partly cloudy with light winds. The high today should get to 19 degrees 

Koyukuk- It is 10 degress, and fair with 4 mph winds. The high today will be 26 degrees.           

Nulato- It is 7 degress, clear, with 3mph winds. The high today will be 27 degrees.                         

Kaltag- It is 12 degrees, fair, with 3 mph winds. The high today will be 26 degrees.

Question of the day

No questions today. Check back tomorrow.

Answer to previous question

Dog booties are special fabric boots that dogs wear to protect their feet against ice and other elements of the trail. They are usually made of a material called Cordura. It is a sturdy nylon material. They are attached by Velcro straps. They are not my favorite thing to wear but I know I need them to protect my feet. It’s like you wearing snow boots to protect your feet against the cold and snow.

That’s it for this morning. Enjoy your day and check back this evening for another update.

See you on the trail,

Gypsy