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Today the front runners left Grayling and Eagle Island and continued
navigating northward back up the Yukon, retracing their steps and
meeting other mushers head-on. This was expected to play a part
in the mental game of some of the mushers as they wondered what
their teams would think of the situation. Robert Sorlie finally
saw other mushers on the trail by having to backtrack, as he has
been in solitary lead for most of the race. He has been seen taking
extreme care with his dogs feet and I noticed that too while we
were in Ruby. He salves and reboots religiously, knowing that without
good feet, the dogs can't perform well.
Martin Buser, well known for his superb dog care, feeds his canines
dry kibble on entering checkpoints to quickly satiate their hunger
and knowing that they would instinctively search for a drink after
eating. (Hydration is always one of the key concerns for long distance
racing.) Once the team has had their initial needs attended to,
Martin then starts the cooker for their full meal. I noticed other
mushers feeding the dry kibble as a first course as well while we
were on the trail. Martin's streamlined checkpoint routine then
includes checking each foot, ankle, wrist and toe pad of each dog
and supplementing the exam with massage and lineament, using wraps
if required, while the cooker heats. Meanwhile the dogs are  resting
on straw and get to take a good nap while dinner is prepared. Martin
is a multiple winner of the Leonhard Seppala Award for his dog care.
One can only wonder if Martin can shoot past Robert Sorlie in the
standings this year.
Keith Aili scratched today. "Veteran musher, Keith Aili, Ray
Minnesota, made the decision to scratch today in Grayling, 604 miles
into the race. Aili arrived in Grayling at 7:30 this morning and
after resting throughout the day, made the decision to scratch this
evening at 5:00. Aili stated that he hadn't had suffiencient training
because of lack of snow in Minnesota and said he felt that continuing
in the race would cause more injuries to his dogs."
Charlie Boulding also scratched because he did not have enough
dogs to continue. According to the Iditarod Trail Committee Press
Release, "Veteran musher, Charlie Boulding, Tanana, Alaska,
made the decision to scratch today in Anvik, 622 miles into the
race. Boulding arrived in Anvik at 11:01 this morning and made the
decision to  scratch
this evening at 6:40. Boulding stated that he was down to nine dogs
in his team and he felt it was in the best interest of those dogs
that he not continue beyond Anvik." Other sources said the
Charlie felt he had nothing to prove by continuing.
The following story is in Joe Runyan's excellent coverage on www.cabelasiditarod.com
- "Driving 16 dogs out of Nenana, Bruce [Lee] stopped for a
break early in the race. Successfully camped in a cove of trees,
he noticed that his female wheel dog had chewed the tug lines of
the other wheel dog. His wheel dog now wandering free, Bruce immediately
panicked, knowing the dog was liable to retreat back to Nenana.
That's bad, because Iditarod rules require that the musher travel
with the full complement of dogs or face disqualification. Running
to get back his puller, he glanced back, and noticed that his female
had now chewed the tug lines of the next dogs and was working on
the main towline. Instantly thinking that the cable would hold the
dogs, he kept after his loose dog. The ultimate nightmare happened,
10 seconds later. He had one loose dog, and 14 dogs in harness going
down the trail without a sled. His only dog was the female. Incredibly,
Bruce recovered all the dogs, then tied them individually to trees
while he reconstructed the tow line." Sort of reminds us of
Bill's story last year when 14 of his dogs headed up the other side
of Happy River Gorge toward Rainy Pass leaving him with only his
two wheel dogs, Lookout and Smoke, to pull a heavily loaded sled
uphill. Twelve miles later, Bill too caught up with the 14, who
were said to be running in perfect stride, only without a sled behind
them. At least this year's trail did not include the Steps, the
Gorge, the Burn or the Pass!!
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