Ellen and team arrived into Kiana this afternoon at 14:04 and stayed for 5 hours 16 minutes before hitting the trail and heading to Noorvik. She dropped 4 dogs in Kiana, but we haven’t heard whether or not there were any issues, or perhaps it was in an effort to make less work for herself as she makes her way to the finish in Kotzebue. Five is the minimum number of dogs that you can finish with, and currently the two leading teams of Nic Petit and Tony Browning are also running teams of seven.
Ever wonder how drop dogs make it places? Here’s one way!
Dropped dog transportation – Kobuk style. (Photo courtesy Kobuk 440)
Once Ellen arrives in Noorvik she will have six minutes of rest that she needs to take to fulfill her mandatory 20 hours. This 6 minutes can easily be taken as she checks in – and then it’s on to Kotzebue for the finish!!
We don’t anticipate any live coverage of the finish, but we will definitely keep an eye on that tracker during the middle of the night – at least one dog has to go out to pee in the wee hours! We also have no doubt that one of Ellen’s biggest fans, handler Jeff/Dad, will be there to greet her with a BIG hug and a VERY well done!
Go, Ellen go!
Top three teams of Nic Petit, Tony Browning and Ellen King resting in Kiana. Ellen is in the foreground with her team. (Photo credit Tara Cicatello)