While I wait and watch the seconds tick away on the GPS timer intermittently bringing up the Current Standings to see if Jeff is going through Ophir yet, I drink my morning lemon-water in a very silent house. Ah… he’s there! His time to that checkpoint is comparable to Lance’s which is 45 minutes faster than Martin’s time going in. Of course, coming off a break and just starting a break will describe away the difference. The teams are still moving well, convincing me that the trail is really pretty good. I heard someone say in one of the Insider Videos that the trail into Iditarod is much better than expected. Now that the teams are coming off their 24-hour breaks, it will be easier to see how they all stack up.

I’m glad to see that Jeff left Takotna this morning with 15 dogs. That means that Call’s feet took advantage of the long rest. I spoke with Jeff very briefly last night and he said that Call was feeling tons better, eating and drinking lots, and that his feet had improved dramatically. Jeff sounded very chipper and rested.

And we can always play the “If Only” game…. if only the temperatures would drop just 10 degrees, I believe the trail would set up and provide a faster surface. It is warm-ish but overcast and not much wind yet, so, by Iditarod standards, pretty darn good weather. So far, the teams are running on schedule with previous years. The Yukon could bog them down a bit but that’s nothing unusual. So, at this point we are still looking at a Tuesday finish in Nome.

Stay tuned!