Hustle and Bustle in Huslia!

Huslia, population of about 275 is getting a lot of visitors right about now!  As you know Mitch got there first last night (aka "Dog Hauling Daddy", as Mitch has also rebuilt a sled to haul dogs on the race just like his son "Dog Hauling Dallas"), but there has been a steady stream of Mushers making their way into the Checkpoint.  No one has yet left Huslia, and its unclear at this juncture which of the chasers will also take their 24 hour rest here.  Nonetheless.....its important to remember Mitch is the only one in Huslia right now who still needs to take his 8 hour rest in addition to the 24 hour rest he is now serving.

SO.....who is there with Mitch?  We got Petit of course, who made the 82 mile run to Huslia a full hour and 20 minutes FASTER than Mitch.  Then Jessie Royer, who did the run 4 and a half hours SLOWER than Petit....and Michelle Phillips who did the run with a lot of rest built in along the way taking nearly 6 hours longer to cover the 82 miles .

I would venture to guess none of the above mentioned chase Teams will do 24 hours in Huslia since it will put them back on the trail too close to day break tomorrow, when its predicted to be even warmer than the high of 18 degrees today.  Petit may however do this since he did the haul to Huslia in one big push, so perhaps he will stay for 24 hours in Huslia...he came in at 2 am so a 24 hour rest will still allow him to leave in the cool of the night.  The most efficient in regards to warm temps of course is to pull the hook right when the sun is setting to take advantage of the 24 hour rest your dogs have to run them through a long cold night as happy huskies!  Mitch however is doing his 24 hour rest in Huslia and will leave shortly after 10 pm Alaskan Time.  That's a fairly good set up for Mitch. 

As they head south to Koyukuk the temperatures only get warmer....into the 20s today!  With warmer temps on tap for the rest of the race, weather will play into the race strategies more and more.  King has already noted his change in run/rest to assure he doesn't overheat his team.  I suspect others, to stay competitive with happy healthy teams, will be forced to do the same.

Wade Marrs and "Dog Hauling Dallas" are both off of their 24 hour rest....Wade stopped to rest in Galena, while Dallas opted to blow threw and camp along the trail.  Wade set out after him shortly thereafter, and the GPS tracker shows Wade now within 4 miles of the resting Team of Dallas.