Day 2
DAY 2......By HARRIETT HAMILTON FENERTY
10:57 start line to MCG run for Team 29.....Father/Daughter, Larry & Dani Lavine......relatively quiet night, Team 20 was in McG by 1:15 AMTeams 39 and 25 got off LO in Rohn and are headed to McG....Team 39 on the 52 mile stretch between NIK and McG while Team 25 is almost to NIK.....Team 31 reported needing some parts as they arrived in NIK last night......
Teams 16 is the sole scratch on day 1, Team 8 has some work to do on sleds if they are going to stay on the board.....Cloudy day predicted from McGrath to Ruby..Sunrise is 9:04 AMTemperature in MCG is 29, slight wind, feels like 19Temperature in Ruby is 12, feels like 0Sunset if 6:07 PMwe have 1/2 moon light.......Teams depart out of McG around 10 AM this morning......the next layover block is considered the Yukon LO and is 8 hours --- it can be taken in Ruby, GAL or KALTrail Class teams are in KOY and the second group is in GAL.This part of the trail is sometimes the part that most racers dread......the trail from Ophir to Poorman is typically light on snow, rutted out and the creek crossings are sometimes like the swamps of Louisiana.....to get enough speed to jump them with confidence and if missed,,,,,,wet, turns to cold, turns to complete and total frustration.Trail Class teams that went through yesterday said it was full of fresh snow......lots of technical riding and a long day of protecting body and fuel conservation......the roadbed from Poorman to Ruby is not really a roadbed at all in February!!!!Once racers his the Mighty Yukon.....there will be MORE snow.....150 miles to Kaltag and a single file path......for if you fall of the carved ribbon......there will be some deep powder boondoggle....and snow drifts that are not considered a powder puff......The time last year Team 10 covered the distance from MCG to KAL in just under 7 hours.....385 miles.......look for much of that kind of action again today......we thought the race would have been slower----not so, even with the blizzard, flat light, and many other obstacles.Many more days of racing.....The board will shake up a bit as Team 8 figures their game plan today......and I wonder if the kids from Nulato will be out there on the river banks listening for the BRAAAAP of Iron Dog 2019?Have fun today, enjoy the show......THANK YOU SOOOOOOOO much to Chris Graeber for filling in the blanks yesterday!!!! There are more than racers that are considered "the moving parts" of Iron Dog....behind the scenes there are hundreds of folks, making magic happen for Iron Dog.....Stay tuned to YOUR GROUP PAGE.....Join here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/irondograce/