Martin was in good spirits when I met him on the Yukon River. Going out, I met a Moose, which clambered into the forest. Deep snow here.  The trail looked very blown in, so riding the machine I though I was all on my own. Far failed, as I met 5 more machines about 5 miles out. And they just had been over the trail. That tells you how much the wind is drifting in the snow.

I have the deepest respect for Martin’s positive attitude, despite him being on a very tough run. He was joking while snacking his dogs: “ This was the 10 hr storm I was hoping for, just not here and this place “. The snacks he offered his dogs very gobbled up quickly, its been a while since I have seen his team eat that well.

But Martin, the trail breaker, sure has lost a lot of ground. Aliy is only 5 miles behind Martin now, and Mitch is just another Mile behind that, moving a tad faster than Aliy. By the time this front group will leave Kaltag, they should be leaving right together, as Martin might need to rest a bit longer, as he also ran longer. That is the tricky part. Once you speed goes down…. You also need to rest a bit longer and that way the other teams reel you in.