Summon The Heroes

It's time to summon the heroes, and if Sebastian Schnuelle or John Baker are thinking along those lines, they better get out of Elim right now because Lance Mackey is only seven miles from White Mountain, which is 42 miles northwest of Elim. With only about 77 miles to go for Lance, catching him now would seem impossible, but the weather can change everything (see the last post). Here's the information on White Mountain from the GPS Tracker:

White Mountain
Course Distance 869 Mi
Latitude N 64°40.786'
Longitude W 163°24.413'
Population 209 -- Just 77 miles from Nome, this village is located on the banks of the Fish River. It takes its name from that of a picturesque nearby mountain. The checkpoint is located in the community hall building up the hill from the store.

There are six mushers currently living at the Koyuk checkpoint (783 miles from the start): Aaron Burmeister, Cim Smyth and his brother Ramey Smyth, Jessie Royer (the leading lady), and Mitch Seavey and his son, Dallas Seavey. Must be a good place for a family reunion ( but poor Jen Seavey got left behind - 278 miles behind at the moment - by her husband and father-in-law).

Talk about bunching up, there are no fewer than 11 mushers camped out at Shaktoolik (128 miles behind Mackey) at the moment. Recognizable names in that group are: Paul Gebhardt (who quit drinking 19 months ago), Ken Anderson, Hugh Neff, Hans Gatt, Jeff King, Martin Buser, DeeDee Jonrowe, Aliy Zirkle (who now leads her husband, Allen Moore, by 75 miles), and Ray Reddington, Jr.

Barring a catastrophe, Lance Mackey is headed for a threepeat, and should have it wrapped up by tomorrow afternoon.

T. S. Eliot must have foreseen men and women like these mushers when he said: "Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far they can go."