As expected, Allen arrived in Eagle with the front of the pack. He arrived at 2:40 pm AST about 30 minutes behind Lance Mackey and Hugh Neff. There is a mandatory 4 hour rest stop at the Eagle Checkpoint and Allen stayed just 5 minutes passed that time. Both Lance and Hugh stayed a total of 4 hours 30 minutes. The top 3 mushers then left in the order they arrived at 4:35, 4:37 & 4:45 pm respectively. Allen pulled the hook in 3rd position with all 13 dogs still running in the Black Team.
The trail now leaves the Yukon River, goes up over American Summit and crosses the border into Canada. This section stretches 147 miles into the old Mining town of Dawson City, Yukon Territory. Last year, Allen tackled American Summit during a blizzard. Even in perfect weather this is a difficult part of the race where the teams push hard into the mandatory 36 hour layover in Dawson.
The old mining town of 40 Mile offers great hospitality and a place to get out of the weather should there be a need. It is 99 miles from Eagle. It is a dog drop so we should get information about the teams from there. However, in 2000, Aliy was there with several mushers when a report came in that a fellow musher was missing. They all laughed and woke him up to tell him that he was “lost”. Not all information is accurate!
Allen’s Spot Tracker is back up and working. Hopefully it stays that way!
Thanks for the great reports! So excited to see Allen left Eagle only 10 short minutes after Lance!!
Thank you for the pictures of Dawson City and the tidbit about the ice bridge. I didn't know they did that. It has been exciting to follow Allen's "dog" on the Spot Tracker and to see him at the front of the pack.
I just saw the newest pictures of Allen and the dogs on the Yukon Quest Facebook.
Thanks again for keeping us up to date on the blog.
Go Allen!!! What a great race so far.
Thanks for all your updates.They make the race come alive for us.
Looking really good !
foto's of Allen arriving in Eagle,
http://www.facebook.com/YukonQuest#!/photo.php?fbid=10150591004034490&set=a.10150590998084490.406118.49609734489&type=1&theater
Edwin.