Part of my plan was to rotate leaders for each run this year. So for the night run I switched to Rowdy and Urchin. My plan was to use conservative Legolas for the first leg, since he knows the trail so well, and then get some speed for the cool night run. It worked as planned.
Everything is in the dark, so there's not much to do but relax and enjoy the ride. This year I was well equipped with coffee and food, so although I was tired I felt great!
I'm always relieved when I drop my tag at the half-way turn around and start down the mountain. Somehow I always worry I'll forget to drop my tag or it'll get lost.
It's also fun to high-five the other mushers and see where everyone is at as we head-on pass. It seemed a pretty tight field on the second run and I tried not to let it worry me. After all, we had the same tough trail to do the next day - in the heat.
Although I'd tried to work out a schedule to keep me out of the heat of the day, there's no way to avoid it. We came into Ollokot for the mandatory 6 hour rest and I knew it'd be hot later when we left. But we were into the checkpoint for the dogs to rest in the cool morning and they ate like champions. I was very happy to see no injuries at the vet check and everyone ate and drank well. I think I might've gotten an hour of sleep - but I'm always afraid of oversleeping (even though I set an alarm). Either way, the teams were still bunched pretty close.
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