Mitch First into Huslia (halfway) as Wade Marrs comes off his 24 hour rest 132 miles behind him!

Mitch Seavey claims the halfway prize as he slips into Huslia....meanwhile, 132 miles behind him Wade Marrs hits the trail after serving his mandatory 24 hour rest.  Dallas will soon leave right behind Wade after his 24 hour rest is completed.  In a suprise move, Martin Buser pulled over in Ruby to also serve out his 24 hours.  Martin will be the only Musher that will have both mandatory rests behind him as he heads down the trail.  Jason Mackey is 50 miles ahead of Marrs at this point, resting in Galena.  So that is the drama unfolding down the Yukon at this time. 

There are a number of Mushers that have chased Mitch into Huslia, and are still heading his way as he shuts his Team down for 24 hours rest.  This chase pack has already served out their 8 hour break and will slingshot past the resting front runner in Huslia (mile 478) to claim the "physical" lead.  These mushers include Petit at mile 436, Jessie Royer at mile 428, Michelle Philips at mile 425, Johannessen at mile 422, Jason Mackey at mile 419, John Baker at mile 417 and Burmiester at mile 416.  Remember, Mitch has yet to serve his 8 hour rest as well.  He will quite likely do that at the last checkpoint on the Yukon River in Kaltag, just about 150 miles down the trail from Huslia.

What about "Dog Hauling" Dallas?  He will be hot on Marrs trail after serving out his 24 hour break plus start time differential.  There was a video posted that showed Dallas has a swollen arm that he says is from fatigue of the trail on the river.  In the interview he mentions "vibrations" of the handlebar that may have contributed to the fatigue.  Hmmm....that new sled of his does vibrate....you can hear it on the videos and he has mentioned it makes a drumming noise.  That may need to be fixed in the next iteration of this sled, along with fixing the built in cooker, which he says is melting apart from the intense heat.  He has another sled at the next checkpoint, so he will quite likely be glad to see a new sled.  I would be willing to bet his new sled is actually his old sled and not another new fangled dog hauling sled made of carbon fiber and kevlar.  But I could be wrong at that....time will tell.

Temperatures are rising.  Many Mushers are pulled over in Galena to serve out some mandatory rest during the heat of the day.....like Kaiser and Ulsom.  They will quite likely do their 24 hour rest and serve their eight in Kaltag.

Its always interesting to watch the strategies unfold....but its really hard to tell who is in front until everyone is done with their mandatory rests.   I will be watching Buser as he finishes ALL of his mandatory rests...he will be the Team with the most flexibilty going forward.