Phone Call from Allen
We talked to Allen last night, Wednesday, at about 10:30 PM AST. He had settled into Takotna for his 24 hour rest. The warmer than normal temps are definitely effecting mushers’ strategies in this race. Allen reported a tough run from Nikolai to McGrath due to temperatures in the 30’s and very soft and rutted trails. He tried to push through McGrath at about noon yesterday (Wed) but decided that the temps were too high for the safety of his team. He returned to McGrath for a 6 hour rest, before heading to Takotna in cooler evening weather. He dropped Spicy in McGrath. The heat was effecting her performance.
Now Allen will sit and rest in Takotna during the hottest part of the day. There he will minister to his dogs and get some well deserved rest. When he departs tonight at about 8:30 PM AST, the temps should be cooler and the trails should be hardening up.
Doug (Aliy’s dad) will be heading out to the checkpoint at Ruby on Friday. His hopes are to catch up with Aliy there on Friday night and Allen on Saturday.
News flash: The National Weather Service continues to forecast warmer than usual temperatures along the Iditarod trail for the remainder of the race. These conditions will continue to color the character of this race.
This weather is hard on my recreational team as well. I’ve been running them slower and much shorter than usual.
Tell Allen and Aliy that Swanny and the Stardancers are rootin’ for ’em. And let’s all pray for one of those sneaky cold fronts to come blowing through.
Swanny