Hugh and Tamra: I hope you BOTH are feeling better now. Sounds like you guys had a doozy of a cold or something worse!
Three questions:
1. I know when I don't feel well, there really is "No place like home". So, Hugh, was there a time on the trail or in a checkpoint where you so desperately wanted to throw in the towel and go home?
2. Mother Nature really smacked down hard on the race this year. Though it's Alaska and weather is always an issue, this is the first year since I've been following the race online that weather was such a hugely significant factor. It sounds like some folks were in serious, possibly critical situations and, without an official word, I've read that at least one driver feels the weather may have been contributory in the death of two of his dogs. This isn't another serum run where lives are at stake; it's a race. Races have been called for any number of reasons, not the least of which is weather. I love this race and the dogs that run it, and yeah some of the mushers, too.
So my question is really one from the perspective of devil's advocate: Is there a point, should there be a point, where race officials wave the red flag and bring the race to a halt, even temporarily?
3. Lastly, I came across the comment somewhere that "there's always trail for the leader, but the rest of the field is on their own", or words to that effect. In a race like this one, with the weather of this one, is there a benefit to being out front on "freshly-broken" trail?
Thanks, Hugh. Having you and the other mushers visit with us means a lot. We fans are starved for every tidbit of info we can pull in. What the ITC provides just leaves us craving for more. Thanks, Tamra, for your updates and stories.
Happy trails to both of you!