DEE DEE JENROWE SCRATCHES!
I just spent an hour providing my usual insightful and witty commentary on the Iditarod only to have the whole thing lost in the strange and mysterious world of the internet!
So, I am out of time. I will quickly update some of the big stuff and provide some links...things are happening fast on the trail!
Dee Dee Jenrowe scratched at Rainy Pass after breaking a finger and injuring her hand. This is a big shock as she is a favorite among fans and a top contender. With the loss of Dee Dee and Swingley, the top ten positions are open to anyone (of course, aren't they always!).
Last night Jeff Holt scratched at Finger Lake...he was nearing the checkpoint when he "experienced a sharp pain, extreme discomfort and passed out." He is being evaluated in Anchorage.
From the time I lost my blog until I checked the sites to rewrite this one two more mushers have scratched!! They are being blasted with 80 mph winds with wind chills at minus 55!
Lance Mackey, my pick, is in the lead at Nikolai one but he has broken a sled runner so things are dicey! Lance has an interesting story which I will update you on, along with information on the checkpoints, later.
Check the list of top ten mushers on the official site: Conventional wisdom has it that the winner is among the first ten to check in at Rhome (rome).
Our mushers are hanging in there: Cindy is at 42 and Carl has fallen back to 69. But, they are still in the race and they are winners no matter where they finish! There are no losers in the Iditarod-in fact, the last musher to drive under the burl arch at Nome gets an award. It is called the Golden Lantern.
Gotta go to work....and it is my late night. I'll be watching the race and our mushers from work. If you want to keep up you can go to the official Iditarod site or to the Alaska Daily News (which updated it's coverage while I was losing my witty, insightful blog). I actually think the ADN has better coverage unless you pay to be an "insider" on the official site...which I haven't done yet by may before Nome. The photo gallery is good and if you look under day one photos there is a picture of our musher, Cindy, driving her dogs down the starting shoot at Willow.