Mackey restores K300 lead

Lance Mackey who has never won the Kuskowim 300 dog sled race leapfrogged past race leader Pete Kaiser in Aniak to regain his lead 130 miles into this year's frigid icy K300 race. Kaiser had left the previous checkpoint in Kalskag first while Mackey and several others were taking their 6 hour layover. Kaiser appears to be taking his layover now in Aniak. 2 time K300 winner Martin Buser left Aniak 26 minutes after Mackey to claim the second spot with Kotzebue race John Baker following 14 minutes later.

Conditions for the race are being described as brutal. With lack of snow, frigid temps, and a strong head wind, dogs and racers are testing their limits. Reining K300 winner Mitch Seavey scratched at Kalskag after being lost early in the race and losing up to 2 hours on the leaders. For a race that mostly follows the second largest river in Alaska, it might seem odd that someone could get lost, but there is plenty of opportunity for that. Initial sections of the trail actually take an overland route, so that is one possibility. Also with little snow, sometimes trail markers don't stick and trails of previous teams are hard to find. I got lost on the a snowmobile trip once in the middle of some bends and islands on the Kuskokwim river at night when the visibility was bad enough that I couldn't make out the land features and I wasn't sure if I was headed downstream or upstream.

With lack of snow, the dogs get very little water via a technique known as "dipping". That is grabbing some snow with their tongues as they are running through it. As Because of that, it is very important to keep the dogs hydrated in other ways. Mushers have been taking coolers of water with them from checkpoints, and stopping along the trail to hydrate. While the dogs run faster on hard trail, these additional stops will slow down the overall time. With the course about 25 miles longer this year, we don't expect any race records.

Still within striking distance of the leaders is a closely packed group of 3 teams including Dallas Seavey, Ramey Smyth and Paul F. Gebhardt. Current temperature in Aniak is minus 15 with winds out of the north at 13 mph. From here the trail goes 30 miles to the native Village of Napaimute where our friend Mark Leary is waiting with a fresh pot of coffee. Mark drove the trail from Aniak to Napaimute yesterday, and we were hoping to get a trail report from him, but that hasn't happened yet, so stay tuned.