Most of the leading mushers have taken a mandatory 24-hour layover at Cripple. The layover is mandatory; the location is not.
The first-place musher, Jessie Royer, took only 11 minutes and is well on his way to the next checkpoint. However, he'll have to take that 24-hour rest stop at some point, soon.
The rest of the pack, resting in Cripple:
2. Brent Sass
3. Michelle Phillips
4. Lance Mackey
5. Paige Drobny
6. Mitch Seavey
7. Kelly Maixner
8. Aliy Zirkle
9. Thomas Wairner
10. Richie Diehl, out of Ophir and still heading toward Cripple.
For those unfamiliar with the lay of the land, here's the northern route:
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| Click to enlarge |
Just remember the sheer size of Alaska, at 587,000 square miles. This route is real close to 1,000 miles in length.
3 comments:
So not quite half way. But the dogs are appreciating the down time, I'm sure!
Thanks Reverend. I wonder what strategies mushers use on their mandatory layovers.
NFO, it's been traditionally considered to be the half-way point; more properly, the checkpoint closest to the half-way mark. But it's apparently so situated geographically that the local acoustics make it quieter than normal along the trail, and the sleeping is good. :)
TB, they consider whether taking the rest sooner or later will give them some advantage over other, more fatigued mushers/teams. It's a roll of the dice, to be honest. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn't.
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