It's been a wet, soggy, gray day here at the Aerie. A few snow flurries last night quickly turned to rain and it's been rain ever since. Initial forecasts said we might get 2-3 inches of rain but there seems to have been a split in the clouds. It's pouring to the east of us in the Pocono/Catskill regions and pouring to the west of us in the Allegheny area. But here we are in a slot between the two heavy boys. Sort of in the DMZ between rain systems.
We're still getting rain, but it's mostly the slow, steady soaking kind that a farmer would love--if it happened son after planting. Instead, it's happening on top of the 15-18 inches of snow that fell last Sunday night. And, with temperatures in the mid 40s that spells flooding and road washouts.
******
So, I'm sitting here with no desire to go out. Just following the Iditarod on the web. Several of the leaders have reached the half way point in the race, with Trent Herbst being the first to arrive at the ghost town of Iditarod to claim the purse of gold nuggets awarded at this point each year. Not bad for a school teacher driving a sled built by his students--in fourth grade. But he's still got a mandatory 24-hr rest to make and that will quickly put him--and several others--back in the pack as the real leaders move on.
The front runners area also in Iditarod and will probably be moving out as things cool down and the trail firms up. They include four time winner Martin Buser, Hugh Neff, and defending champion and winner of The Race four consecutive years--Lance Mackey whose team is down to just 10 dogs with half the race to go.
Things are about to get real interesting.
1 comment:
It's the first time I can recall Mackey talking about his team's troubles this early in a race. Although many things can happen, it's not looking particularly promising for him.
He does, however, have a history of pulling out astonishing wins that leave the other mushers' jaws dropping.
This is going to be fun.
Post a Comment