Kobuk 440

Well the Kobuk 440 just got underway a couple of hours ago in Kotzebue, AK. 19 teams all started together in a mass start. Hugh decided last week to do the long race instead of the sprint race - better training for the dogs and the trail looks good this year. Some great competition this year. Notable names entered are Jeff King, Mitch Seavey, Martin Buser, Paul Gebhardt, John Baker, Ed Iten, Lance Mackey, Aaron Burmeister, Ken Anderson, Darrin Nelson, and Gerry Sousa. Hugh has a good looking team and hopes to be competitive. The 12 dogs starting the race are: Titan, Nova, Blaze, Colby, Maestro, Blondie, Piccalo, Dozer, Darkie, Mahoosic, Sampson and Sally. Updates should be at www.kotzdogmushers.org throughout the weekend with finishers arriving on Sunday.

In other news it appears spring is starting to appear here in Whitehorse. We have a combination of ice and mud going on. The days are getting longer but the ice on the lake looks like it could be there until June.

--Tamra