by elsietee » Thu Mar 11, 2021 12:20 am
Brent camped on the trail between McG and Tak:
Trail much better than usual. It had been v hot, but it cooled down on the river and was smooth sailing (other than the holes and the overflow). Says he'll go on to Iditarod if the dogs look good at Ophir. Plans on taking his 8 "on the way home". Only plans to stop in checkpoints for the two mandatory 8 hours - dogs rest better, he rests better - he's not used to being around a lot of people.
Brent going through Ophir:
Says it's beautifully cold. Asks about how the trail is to Iditarod. They tell him there are five trail breakers out there, making trail. Says he plans to 24 in Iditarod. Not worried about the other mushers, but knows he's effectively behind them.
Mille resting on the trail:
Found some water, so she stopped (it was a hot day), and she was able to get the dogs water right from there - much easier that way, you can keep giving the dogs water (instead of having to melt snow). Constantly concerned about keeping the dogs hydrated. Couldn't ask for better from the dogs. Running some dogs from Dean Osmar, Cim Smyth, Dee Dee, [someone I missed] and Jeff King, so very grateful to them.
Ryne resting on the trail:
"Balmy". Letting the dogs nap in the warm sun. Says it's really pretty where she stopped. Has a bunch of ID/YQ veterans, but five dogs who've never done a 1000 mile race before. Trail is smooth and even, good footing, no trenching, not super-hard. Excited to be interviewed on Insider for the first time (so her people at home can see what she's doing).
Jeff Deeter at McGrath:
Ran into some deep overflow that the lead dogs went into, so now they're all wet. Working on Plan B (24 in McG), so he can recharge batteries and dry out his soaked-from-the-knee-down clothes. Happy he's just on Plan B, not Plan E-F-... Shows off one dog who says is a really good leader when it gets more remote, but he's a bit timid when it's busy.
Aaron switching sleds in McG:
Lighter weight sled, so better in deep snow. Looking forward to the colder temps, because his dogs are used to that.
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elsietee AT ponyhill DOT org
Repotted english person in the Sierra foothills, CA
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