By: Jerry Bath
Last nights supper with the towns of Big Piney/Marbleton was fantastic as usual! A superb Dutch oven desert bar is always the highlight of the banquet.
Yesterday’s Kemmerer stage saw a bit of the sun as the races crossed the finish line. I would imagine today to see a bit more and this could really make a difference to the dog teams. The thin spots in the trail could become bigger and turn to patches of dirt. Unfortunately, we might see this in the first few miles stripping the wax off the runners and again on the other side of the first big climb. So the mushers leaving first may have an advantage.
Will Bruce continue to roll?… or will Lina come back making a statement? Alix and Dave are not far behind so 1st through 4th could go either way.
Jeff sits a solid 5th. While Austin and JR are really close with rookie Greta on their heels. Dennis made a good showing yesterday so I expect him to turn it up a notch. Jerry, Laura, and Jeff still have time for advancement.
The next two days should form some races within the race. With so many days of racing along with the uncertainty of trail conditions and swiftly changing weather, we have a RACE!
Big Piney (*reverse) starting times:
Chris A. 9:00 am
Jerry S. 9:03 am
Laura D. 9:06 am
JR A. 9:09 am
Dave T. 9:12 am
Austin F. 9:15 am
Greta T. 9:17 am
Lina S. 9:21 am
Dennis L. 9:24 am
Alix C. 9:27 am
Jeff C. 9:30 am
Bruce M. 9:33 am
*The slowest racer yesterday goes out first today
Split times:
Our trail crew and race judges make these times happen, how I don’t know as they were very busy out here on the trail yesterday and every day.
Split times are great!…It allows what I call the ‘Armchair musher’ to take all the data, process it in their own way and chat with other mushers from around the world. Making their own decisions as to what is really happening out there on the trail.
