by elsietee » Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:20 am
Interview with Thomas at Shak:
It was really warm to start with - dogs have a lot of fur, so we just go slowly. Interviewer comments that his dogs are a little larger. He says he likes larger dogs - says the trend for Iditarod is for smaller dogs for good trails, but his dogs are used to pulling. Wanted to do Norton Sound during the cool night, but then will have to go out in the "heat" again. The heat is a problem, but it's the same for everybody. His strategy is to use his lead to keep his dogs resting. He says he didn't plan to lead this much - that's a good thing. Rest on the dogs will always help - plus more food.
Then footage of the dogs coming into Koyuk - they look "trotty" - more like Jessie and Aaron's teams. They don't look bad - but don't have the same ridiculous energy we've seen at other checkpoints.
He says he had to break trail the whole way. Heavy going and you just go slow. Said he feels confident with his position, the other teams have to go slowly also.
And then it shows them trying to park the team and the dogs are back to high energy barking and wagging and lunging.
Bruce says it's foggy out on Norton Sound - he could only see two markers ahead. As Thomas was being parked, there was a pet dog in town and his leaders wanted to chase that dog instead of listening to Thomas' commands. Bruce says they picked up the pace once they got past the village store - he imagines they were just really bored out there in that white environment. For the first time, Thomas seems a little frazzled [not really, from the short footage, but maybe if you saw him for longer?] and the dogs had a little bit more distraction on them - not paying quite as much attention as previously.
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elsietee AT ponyhill DOT org
Repotted english person in the Sierra foothills, CA
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