Update from McGrath
Half the pack have passed through the first hub of the Iditarod, McGrath. This years race has been tough on the mushers. With minimal snow in some places the dogs have had all the traction and the mushers none. This is a suboptimal situation as it means that the mushers are essentially riding without any brakes. This has taken its toll on the mushers with many of them arriving in Nikolai with an assortment of injuries ranging frome mere flesh wounds to more serious injuries resulting in teams scratching or being withdrawn.
Here is Sebastian ‘s insight on the race thus far:
http://iditarod.com/musher/martin-buser-into-mc-grath/
No northern lights yet (well, that we have seen below the snow clouds). I managed some long exposure of the constellation Orion earlier in the week while at Yetna Station (first checkpoint) but that will have to be converted from the current RAW format into something smaller and upload-able once I get home. In the mean time here is some iPhone-ography.
The first checkpoint of the race.
How to rest a dog on the race.
Team ready to blast through a checkpoint.
Flying between McGrath and Nikolai to look at the walking wounded.