In addition to chronic fatigue, mushers have to endure interruptions from the occasional moose, and, even worse, the occasional pack of wolves. I just watched a video of a wandering wolf pack out on the trail (wish I could transfer it to this post). Lance Mackey does not appear at all fazed by the moose getting in his way in the above photo. Mackey is now leading Jeff King by 24 miles, and is still the only musher in Anvik, where he just a little while ago finished his nine course dinner and collected his $3,500 prize for being the first musher to reach that location.
Again tonight we have changes in the Top 10 plus.
1. Lance Mackey (going for #3 in a row), arrived Anvik at 4:12 PM, EDT, with 16 dogs
2. Jeff King (finished 2nd last year), departed Shageluk at 7:55 PM, EDT, with 15 dogs
3. Sebastian Schnuelle (moved from Germany to Yukon in 1997), departed Shageluk at 8:02 PM, EDT, with 15 dogs
4. Aaron Burmeister (running out of dogs), departed Shageluk at 8:03 PM, EDT, with 12 dogs
5. Mitch Seavey (last year earned more prize money in a single season than any racer in Alaska mushing history), still in Shageluk
6. Hugh Neff (finished 2nd in this year's Yukon Quest), still in Shageluk
7. John Baker (7 consecutive Top 10 finishes), still in Shageluk
8. Hans Gatt (three time Yukon Quest champ), still in Shageluk
9. Paul Gebhardt (stopped drinking 19 months ago; finished 2nd in 2000 and 2007), still in Shageluk
10. Dallas Seavey (state champion wrestler in high school), still in Shageluk
12. Aliy Zirkle (Yukon Quest Champ in 2000; works as a carpenter), departed Iditarod at 12:41 PM, with 14 dogs
19. DeeDee Jonrowe (breast cancer survivor; has 14 Top 10 finishes), departed Iditarod at 4:35 PM, with 14 dogs
36. Karin Hendrickson (rookie; has been described as a Fox), left Ophir at 12:45 AM, on 3/12, with 15 dogs
I found the following information about checkpoint Iditarod on the Insider:
Iditarod
Course Distance 405 Mi
Latitude N 62°32.675'
Longitude W 158°5.901'
This ghost town, once a bustling community of over 10,000, was the heart of the Iditarod Mining District, from whence the trail got its name. Dog teams hauled supplies and mail into this area and were then laden with gold for their return trip out. Between 1908 and 1925, about $35 million in gold was taken from this area. At that time, gold was worth around $20 an ounce. Iditarod marks the official half-way point in the race on the southern trail, signified by GCI.s presentation of the half-way award.
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That half-way award went this year to Lance Mackey, who appears to be on a roll.
Scratches:
The following mushers have scratched and left the Trail:
Nancy Yoshida, Bib #3
Bjornar Andersen, Bib #18
Bob Hickel, Bib #38
Note: The time of each Post is the time it was first saved, not the time it was finalized. Thus is explained how mushers can be shown as leaving checkpoints well after the time of the posting.
