Dear Friends,

Some of the mushers are now leaving Ruby, the checkpoint where they will then start running on the mighty Yukon River.  The only problem with running on the huge river, which is frozen over, is that it can get boring for the dogs.  Did you know dogs can get bored?  On the mile-wide river that goes on and on for about 134 miles to Kaltag, there aren’t many interesting things to see or smells for us dogs to notice.  Sometimes, when we get bored, we don’t want to keep going in a boring direction.  That can be a problem on the race.  A musher must know the dogs well to keep us motivated when the scenery doesn’t change. They can sing or talk to us, toss us snacks, or try other ways to keep it interesting.

Strategies are being planned right now for upcoming checkpoints along the river.  Some mushers may take their required 8 hours (on the Yukon River)  in Ruby, get rested up, then blast on down the river.  Others may leave  Ruby and take their 8 hour rest farther down the trail  in Galena, Nulato, or even Kaltag. 11 mushers have opted to leave Ruby so far, including Jessie Royer, Brent Sass, and Joar Ulsom.  Only two took their 8 hour rest.  Watch the race standings to see when the others take their 8 hour mandatory stop! 

Until next time, this is your canine reporter,

Gypsy