The dog teams were not able to make as far as they would have liked today. When the race officials stopped to make tea at the Tasialurjuaq North Lake, some 25 kilometres from their last checkpoint at Niarunguutik, and about 95 kilometres northwest of Kangiqsujuaq, from where they left yesterday, they also took that opportunity to check the trail ahead, at the other end of the lake. Leading up in a mountain range, the trail was hardly visible, the wind raising up a storm up there. Since there was plenty of cabins where they were, instead of risking getting caught in another blizzard, the race officials hence decided to stop there for the day and wait for the dog teams to arrive. They didn’t have to wait long. Sometime before 11:00 AM, Peter Kiatainaq, who’s very familiar with the area, showed up, followed very closely by Tamusi Sivuaraapik and not far behind by Novalinga Novalinga. Most dog teams were in within the next half hour, except for Johnny “Aqutaq” Angnatuk, who showed up a little late for lunch. But although he was trailing behind a bit, he seemed to be enjoying himself, just being out with his son and their dogs. Although the wind chill made it very cold, the guys still spent some time out ice fishing, catching some fresh Arctic char for supper. But as the wind grew stronger, everybody was happy to retire in the warmth of a cabin for the night. If the weather up in the valley clears up by tomorrow, the dog teams should be on their way again, this time heading towards Deception Bay. From there, they will then head towards Salluit, where they should arrive sometime Monday, if all goes well.

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Stay tuned for more news tomorrow…