Abel has a decent case of pneumonia but is really doing well. He ate like a champ and did his best imitation of a lapdog when I saw him. I will take him home to the kennel in a day or two, which is great!
Clint is somewhere between Cripple and Ruby, the first checkpoint on the Yukon. We've heard there is some open water on the river this year so it will be interesting to hear what it's like. This is a long run, over 100 miles, so he will likely rest somewhere along the way. The top 20 teams are cruising up that with very fast times, I think the trail improved after the first couple teams went through. Looks like Lance and Jeff will duke it out, but there are certainly people right behind them to take any advantage that may come their way.
Special thanks to Annie and Mike and
The Lodge at Black Rapids. They helped me immensely in getting down to see Abel and are truly wonderful people.
This is a picture of Onion in McGrath or Takotna, an awesome dog, taken by Jeff Schultz, an awesome photographer. She is very laid back and very affectionate, but gets down to work when the work needs to be done.
photo by Jeff Schultz