Takotna, and some rest....maybe?

Looks like Ailey made it into Takotna first...Baker and her are already sitting there, but the stats have not yet been updated. As I sit here, Takotna is about to get a whole lot smaller with the rest of the lead pack filing in.....King and the Seaveys are just a mile outta town. Redington, Gebhardt, Neff and Burmiester will be there soon, now trailing 8 to 12 miles behind. I wish I didn't have to run off to work...because a huge strategy play is about to unfold....the 24 hour mandatory rest. Takotna has some nice things about it for a musher to sit back and rest the team, AND themselves...literally an army of volunteers have descended upon the small village and has been cooking up a storm in preparation for the layovers. Can you say Roast Beast and all the fixings? Anyhow, if that doesn't get a musher to stop for a 24 hour rest, maybe the fact the trail heading out of Takotna and into the heart of the race has a a bit of new snowfall....and by a bit I mean 2 feet of fresh white stuff. Now remember, if a Team rests for just a bit in Takatna, not declaring their 24, they could venture out onto the trail while everyone who did claim their 24 can only wave goodbye to them! Hey...a couple of roast beast samiches in the ole sled is good...right? And besides, there is a halfway prize at Cripple only 100 miles out...PLUS, the Iditarod Trail Committee will break a trail for you, and they only do that for the first Team. So when all the other mushers are sleeping, someone, I don't know who, could conceivably slip away from the pack. Of course they eventually will have to take their 24 hour rest somewhere down the trail, maybe at Cripple itself, or Ruby, where a 7 course meal waits the first musher! Many mushers have done this.....namely Mackey and Gebhardt, who went on to win the race. If the trail snows in behind the leader, that will only put more distance in between the rabbit and the hounds. Now...Mackey.....whats up with him? He is still in McGrath.....possibly taking his 24? Many mushers do that as well, which I think may be happening because his GPS is zero mph in McGrath. If he is taking his 24, he will slip on past the other mushers in Takotna as they finish their 24. But remember, a Team coming off their 24 is usually pretty fast....they could take Mackey pretty quick, this is far from over. And there is one more huge wild card, and not a really good one...this year there is a group of snowmobilers on vacation following the race. They have been approached and asked if they are going to break trail for the following pack, thus possibly changing the outcome (its been the custom that the Iditarod Sled Dog Committee breaks the trail for the lead team only). They say they won't, and everyone is hoping they stay true to their word. Because if they did decide to break the trail for the chasing teams, it would give an unfair advantage to the following pack, and totally mess with a bold move for any musher to take the lead out of Takotna. I sure hope they don't interfere with the race....let the Teams do the strategizing and may the best Team make it to Nome 1st! I got to head to work...ugggh!