With Martin’s impressive entry to Anvik, let’s take a look at the competition.

Martin has been sitting for almost an hour at mile 486 in Anvik.  On the tracker we note the nearest competition on the trail is Mitch Seavey at mile 459, a huge gap of 27 miles.  Add up the numbers and Martin is at a minimum four hours ahead.  This is a real marker in the race.

Martin talks about water in Iditarod

Martin declared an eight hour rest in Anvik and took the liberty to answer questions from the press while enjoying each course of the Millenium gourmet meal.

Martin admits to making a mistake in Idiarod.   After 26 Iditarods he knew that slough water from Iditarod was not good to mix with the ration.  Normally everyone melts snow water.  But, volunteers had punched a hole in the ice and transported water by bucket for the mushers.   Even some of our camera guys observed that the water had that brown, partly decayed, look of stagnant water.  Martin took advantage of the water but realized up the trail that it had affected his dogs.  He suspected that other mushers staying in Iditarod may have the same problem.  He is feeding dry dog food and thinks that the dogs will tighten up, but one can imagine the damage to the pack if other mushers used the water.

I raced in the 80’s, thirty years ago, and was aware not to use swamp water in Iditarod—always melt snow.  But that kind of knowledge even goes deeper.  On the trapline, I remember being told by Athabascan friends of mine not to use swamp water for the dogs.  Even a lake on the tundra often has that brown, stagnant, mossy flavored water that still has that taste with tea and surgar.   Its better to chop ice or just melt snow, even though it takes more effort.

Contemplating this news, I think that Aliy Zirkle probably did not use the water from iditarod because she rested outside the checkpoint.   If the reason Aaron Burmeister is pulled over parked, and Mitch Seavey is shown to be parked in Shagelulk, is water at iditarod—-then its a total bummer.  I hope it’s not the reason.

Inexplicably, I notice that AaronBurmeister’s tracker shows zero speed at a point short of Shageluk.  Could his team be affected by the bum water?  Somehow Seavey and Berkowitz, who started AFTER aaron from iditarod, are now ahead resting in Shageluk.  This is a big mystery.

Looking over the field

Nicolas Petit has to be happy with his team.  I thought he was a flash in the pan, but he is definitely making a statement running in the top ten with fast times.

The trail

John Jensen, checker from the village of Anvik, told us it poured rain yesterday and then froze, leaving the trail rock hard.   Martin should have an excellent trail uprive to Grayling, then Eagle Island, and finally to Kaltag.