Aliy just called in from Nikolai and reported as follows:
She and the team are all doing well, resting comfortably for a few hours. Her main leaders right now are ChaCha and Stormy, with JJ and Rose looking solid in “reserve” for lead. The “big boys” — Biscuit and Tatfish — are both strong and doing well. The rest of the team is also in good shape. She dropped Tony back in Rohn because he seemed to be cramping up a bit. She didn’t feel like he was too bad — and didn’t feel like she had to drop him — but she didn’t want to take a chance of him getting hurt.
The trail has mostly been lots of deep, soft snow. She feels like she has had slow going, but was encouraged to find out about the company she has been keeping: “I guess it’s slow for everybody… That’s okay!”
Her only concern is that it is warm — 33 degrees at the moment — and the dogs aren’t eating as much as she would like them to. This is typical for the first few days of the Iditarod, and she thinks they’ll perk up pretty soon. She has eaten something for a change, so that’s really good news!
As she was signing off, you could hear the unmistakeable “voice” of Manny in the background. Aliy said, “You can hear him from clear across the river! He has been going non-stop, making his noise at everybody. We’re all used to it and it’s gotten annoying… I can only imagine the effect he’s having on the other teams!”
Go, Manny, go! You’re our secret weapon!
(Note: For those of you who don’t know about Manny, I recommend a visit to “Doggie Duet” and “The Mannyac”)
