Two more scratches in the World's Longest, Toughest Snowmobile Race
Team 9, Eric Wellman and Gregg Deacon, pass through Galena on Day 1. The pair scratched just outside of Kaltag after Deacon’s sled went into overflow.
Two more teams — and two out-of-state racers – are out of the Iron Dog race after mishaps on the trail on Monday.
Team 9, Eric Wellman of Wasilla and Gregg Deacon, of Reno, Texas, scratched at Kaltag, after Deacon’s sled went into a creek outside of the village. According to the Team’s Facebook page, Wellman said Deacon was soaked through and put into an emergency bag to warm up, while Wellman went back to Kaltag for help. Deacon will be OK, according to the team’s report, but they decided to scratch at that point.
Meanwhile Team 11, Roger Brown of North Pole and David Wagner of Arnold, Calif., had their own troubles. For the second time in just 24 hours, another sled caught fire. Team 3 scratched yesterday after one of their Arctic Cats succumbed to flames at the Kokrine Hill Bible Camp outpost. Then today, Iron Dog veteran Brown’s sled burst into flames just beyond Kaltag. That meant the end of the trail for these two racers, too.
Team 11, Roger Brown’s sled goes up in flames right outside the Kaltag portage. That put an end to the race for he and teammate David Wagner.
With the two most recent scratches, the Iron Dog is left with 22 teams still in the race. Wagner and Deacon were two of just five non-Alaskan racers in the team. One has already scratched. That leaves Team 37, Canadians Mark Fosty and Ben Hildebrand from Manitoba, in the race. As of 9:30 p.m. Monday, they were sitting in 17th place.