Trouble at the back of the pack

Iditarod rookies Lou Packer, Blake Matray, and Kim Darst were the last teams to leave the Iditarod checkpoint halfway through this 2009 edition of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Conditions were not good as a ground blizzard swirled around them, and the little used trail to Shageluk was blown over. The 45 miles to Shageluk usually takes less then 12 hours to traverse, but the GPS units showed these mushers making very little progress, and when Packer had not reached Shageluk within 24 hours, his wife called the Iditarod Trail Committee voicing her concerns. AT 2 pm, race officials sent out an aircraft from the volunteer Iditarod Air Force to check on the 3. They found Packer hunkered down about halfway between the checkpoints, and he signaled for help. He had 2 deceased dogs. He and the remainder of his team are in the process of being flown out. Darst and Matray were found a bit further down the trail, but were not in as serious a condition. They are waiting for a snowmobile convoy sent out from Shageluk to escort them back over the trail that is currently non-existent. Both have decided to scratch.