Mitch Seavey was first into White Mountain this morning at 5:11. Aliy Zirkle (go Aliy!) was right behind him coming in at 5:24. They have a mandatory 8 hour layover here, then can make that last 77 mile run to Nome. I think the race will be decided early tomorrow morning. They can't leave until 1:00 this afternoon and then will have another 10-12 hours running to Nome, depending on trail conditions and their dogs.
Watching the video from of the leaders coming in to the White Mountain checkpoint, the Seavey team looked really tired. Aliy's team looked tired but much more chipper, with tails up and some pep in their step. Eight hours of rest will do both teams and mushers a lot of good. Both came in with 10 dogs in their harnesses. Word is the trail has been difficult, with "sugar snow" slowing things down.
The next mushers in line are as follows:
Jeff King
Ray Redington, Jr.
Dallas Seavey
Joar Leifseth Ulsom
Nicholas Petit
Aaron Burmeister
Jake Berkowitz
Sonny Lindner
DeeDee Jonrowe
Ken Anderson
The rest of the pack is spread out pretty well between Graying, Eagle Island, Kaltag, Unalakleet, Koyuk and Elim. Cindy Abbot is still our Red Lantern carrier, but she's moving right along. She's in Grayling, which is about 550 miles from Anchorage, so just over halfway to Nome.
All the articles I have read this morning are saying this is still anyone's race. I wouldn't count anyone out in the top ten at this point, despite the armchair musher's predictions. Dallas Seavey moved up from 10th to 5th overnight proving that you just can't believe everything you read.
Stay tuned! I'll have more updates as the day goes on. Remember you can check the current standings at any time on the Iditarod website: http://iditarod.com/race/2013/standings/.
P.S. I have a Insider subscription and will be watching the GPS tracker all day. Come up and see me if you want to take a peek.
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