8 AM   King up to Checkpoint

Aliy and Mitch are catching a nap in the checkpoint, just as Jeff King, who arrived on the river with 11 dogs in harness, appears in the checkpoint.  He mirrors Zirkle and Seavey, knowing by rote from previous  years that he can dry gear in the furnace room. I took a photo but the internet is so hammered it will be lucky to even upload this text.

While he took off his boots, those of us in the checkpoint peppered him with questions.  What happened on the trail out of Koyuk where  we noticed you were stopping often?  “My plan was to just work my way slowiy from Koyuk to Elim, but I quickly realized the trail  was soft and I wasn’t going to make it without some rest.  The sun was coming up and it was so warm.  I was drunk with exhaustion.”

AT 8;18 am, our analyst for the Insider, Bruce Lee, came into the checkpoint and reported that Dallas Seavey and Ray Redington (minutes apart) came into the checkpoint joking and alert—a sharp contrast to the leaders.   “The trail was great,” Dallas Seavey reportedly commented.

The Comm volunteers said that food and other volunteers were to arrive by airplane this morning.  I look out the window at 8:21AM and can report that it is absolutely dark—not even an indication of sun rise, not even a grey dawn.

Can Dallas Seavey the Younger, now having worked his way to fourth on the trail, reach the front triumvirate of Dallas the Older, Zirkle, and King?  I don’t think so—-not enough miles, but I ask Jenson, our Comm guy, for an analysis.  Jenson posits that Dallas has the speed advantage, but agrees there is not enough trail to Nome. 

Here are the times calculated by Jenson for the out time from White Mountain.

Mitch Seavey                     13:11

Aliy Zirkle                             13:24

Jeff King                               14:52

Dallas Seavery                   16:09

Ray Redington                   16:11