Ruby - Kaltag (Yukon river)

[SuldalsXpressen]

Now Brent is out aswell!! Also not done with his 8.

[Moose]

Joar as well. Not sure who I saw, but I did watch one of them leaving and moving up the river. Love that live stream.

[SuldalsXpressen]

Joar as well. Not sure who I saw, but I did watch one of them leaving and moving up the river. Love that live stream.

Richie Diel

[elsietee]

Ruby:

There's a lovely lady at the Ruby check-in, who's cheer-leading the dogs on every team as they arrive - similar to the reception Bridget (Allen's daughter) gives their dogs upon arrival.

Jessie says she has a good team, but sees that there are other teams behind her with more speed, so she likely won't stay ahead of them - is realistic. But then again, it's only half-way. Says she's confident she'll be in the top somewhere, but agrees that her team don't have the animation that Thomas' team has. Says Thomas' team make you go "WOW, that's impressive!" when you see them on the trail - and he's her pick (currently) to win. That said, she says her team isn't even that animated at home. At home they hang out, pretty mellow, don't bark, they are a pretty calm dog team. So although it looks impressive - barking and banging - it doesn't necessarily mean anything wrt how well they're doing. What she's talking about is watching T's team running on the trail - they look like a freight train - like powerhouses. Her team is going good, although they've lost a bit of speed. The difference is between bloodlines and training, as far as animation goes.

On the same subject - Brent, getting ready to leave Cripple. Dogs ate great and are ready to go - although it may not look like it: his dogs save their energy and don't bark and bang. He feels great - got loads of sleep and feels like he's just starting the race again.

Thomas and Aaron's teams really look good coming into Ruby. Jessie's look pretty much the same than when they came into Cripple - trotting businesslike.... and, after 5 hours rest, leaving Ruby, they still look exactly the same

And speaking of fast times - Lance's run from Cripple > Ruby = 8:43 - about 45 mins faster than Brent and Thomas! He says he's going to stay "a little bit".

Wade looks a bit down coming in.

Richie - it's a lot of fun with his dogs - eating well, so enthusiastic - we're having a good time.

Pete - team now eating well and putting weight back on - been rebuilding since Tak. Still managing some issues, but going in the right direction. Says he's not too far off the front, but wants to put another couple of 100 miles on the team before he evaluates them again. Is down to 11 dogs. Dogs look really good on video coming into Ruby.

So much for Brent staying 8 hours in Ruby after a fast run from Cripple - he just left Ruby, followed quickly by Joar and Richie. Paige is sneaky resting about an hour before Ruby, so I guess she'll blow straight through there.

[mira]

I think bark also is called bark in English?

Go Jessie!

...and go elsietee, you are doing a wonderful job!

[elsietee]

Joar says he likes Richie's dog team.

Richie would like to take his 8 in Kaltag, but he'll see how it goes. He doesn't want to take it in Nulato because you're "on the river", so if he goes past Galena, he's committed to Kaltag. Says being on the river means the teams can get into a good rhythm that they couldn't inland with all the trees and twisty trail. His dogs are used to flat, so they can get out there and do their thing - the windy stuff is not their forte.

[COHusky]

yes elsietee, thanks so much

really enjoying the strategy in this race
jessie is definitely making the others think and react

she made a couple of longer runs, didnt stop where i thought she might, during this years race to the sky
hopeful the hills and snow in that race pay off for her

[mira]

Regarding the dog teams, I think the difference between Jessie's and Thomas' team kind of reflects the mushers personality.

My impression of Thomas is that he is very energetic type of person so I had to laugh when he was talking about his team since I thought it fitted him

Thomas and Aaron will leave Ruby almost four hours after Jessie, but he has done with his mandatories rest. I wonder how the race too Kaltag and then further to the coast will look like. Really interesting!

..and look at Mille Porsild, where did she come from?

[COHusky]

agree with you mira
having been around jessie many years at race to the sky - professional, business like, no wasted emotion
her team is the same, hard working, not a lot of flash (although she has had some superstars - golden harness winner kuling in 2009 and the fluffy one, can't remember her name)

i would trust her to run her race, and not be too distracted or worried by the other teams

[fladogfan]

I think bark also is called bark in English?

Go Jessie!

...and go elsietee, you are doing a wonderful job!

You are correct mira, bark on a tree and bark what a dog says spells and sounds the same in English.