Aliy’s Red Team is in Takotna where they will almost certainly take their mandatory 24-hour rest. We hope to hear from her sometime during the day and I will relay any information I get.
Allen’s Black Team is on the trail between McGrath and Takotna, so the teams will be there together again this year. Allen dropped another dog in Nikolai, but we have no word yet about who or why.
Keep in mind that the “standings” will be very confusing for a while as teams take their long mandatory rests. Some teams will seem to “surge ahead” while others will appear to be “stuck” in place. This will all sort out over the next day or so, then we’ll have a better idea of what’s what.
I’m going to spend one more day here in Anchorage, partly because the weather is still not very good for my drive north, but mostly because I’m hoping the rest of our dropped dogs will be flown back here today and I can gather them all up and return them to the Kennel with me. That’s my “plan” at least! Stay tuned!
Thanks for the update! I have been checking every hour to see what's going on! Have a safe travels and I look forward to hearing from you soon! Hope you get to see the pups soon and drive them home!
Generally speaking (I'm SO not trying to ask about either team's plans for this year's race), how flexible are mushers' rest stop plans? Do most teams go into the race set on their 24 at X and their 8 at Y, or does weather and overall performance play a big role in determining where/when they'll stop for the long rests?
Thanks!
I can't speak for "most teams" but I can tell you a little about SP Kennel Teams' "strategy plans"… They start with a basic "plan" for which checkpoints they intend to take various length rests at… This is actually needed in order to put together the supplies in the "drop bags" they send out on the trail weeks before the race…
Much like Patton's famous quote about war plans being worthless once the shooting starts, the Teams' plans become very "dynamic" once they are out on the trail… Not necessarily "worthless" but the "reality" trumps the "plan" every time…
I'm about to post a link to an interview with Aliy in which she talks about this very issue… Stay tuned!
what a great description about SP kennel's planning.
this might be even a great plan to deal with other dreams.
ah: the SP blog gets philosophical :o)
thanks Mac!