Leaving Ophir for Cripple

So Hugh and the team came off of their 24 hr layover early this morning and went quickly through the checkpoints of Takotna and Ophir. They're now on their way to Cripple. It looks like Hugh dropped his first dog before leaving. I'm not sure who it was yet but I think it might be Darkie. Hugh mentioned that Darkie had a sore wrist in McGrath that he was treating. He's now with 15 dogs - one of the largest teams at the front. Speaking of front, Hugh is officially in 12th, however some ahead of him will likely not come off of thier 24's until Hugh has past by. Part of Hugh's decision to 24 at McGrath was to avoid the congested checkpoint of Takotna and to be on a slightly different schedule to everyone else to avoid other teams as far as possible. It looks like his plan to start slow is paying off. He has a good strong team coming into the halfway point. This evening should shuffle out the teams as they start coming off their 24's with the order out of Cripple being a good indicator of position. Here's a couple of shots from the ceremonial and real start in Willow:

Hugh leading the team to the start line of the ceremonial start (his first time ever doing this). You can't see but I get to ride the sled this time!

This is taken during the ceremonial start. I'm riding second sled and took the photo while we're on the x-country ski trails in Anchorage. That's Martin Buser and his son in front.

This is with the team all hooked up and waiting for the time to leave the real start in Willow. There's about 10 handlers to make sure the team makes it safely to the start line. Our good friend Bruce Hagstom is there is front leading the team.