After spending the Sunday in Puvirnituq, giving both men and dogs a break, the dog teams set out again today, this time heading towards Akulivik. Due to local blowing snow and strong winds, the dog teams’ departure, scheduled for morning, was delayed until noon, as the weather seemed to improve. The dog teams were able to cover 65 kilometres (40 miles) in soft snow and make it to some cabins up ahead on the trail, at Niarunguq, where they were to spend the night, before it started snowing again. The four-time Ivakkak champion, Peter Kiatainaq, and Ivakkak 2002 champion, Junior May, having both decided to resign from the race (see details in the full story below), it is now a totally different game for the remaining 11 dog teams taking part in this year’s edition of the Ivakkak dog team race (see today’s results below). Even Simeonie Elijassiapik, who is in last position, managed to pick up some speed today, and could very well catch up to the teams ahead if he makes good time again tomorrow, when the dog teams continue on to Akulivik. But with the snow falling and the wind picking up overnight, the race officials will have to assess the weather in the morning, to decide whether or not they leave their campsite and push on to Akulivik, now only a little over 45 kilometres (30 miles) away.

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Following their arrival in Puvirnituq on Satruday afternoon, the race officials held a meeting with the mushers, their partners and the support crew on snowmobile, to discuss the day’s incidents and to go over the rules once more, to make sure everybody was on the same page.

On Sunday, the participants in Ivakkak 2009 were treated to a feast of country foods (caribou, goose, ptarmigan, walrus, etc.) organized by the community of Puvirnituq for lunch and during which they had the chance to win various camping gear as prizes. In the afternoon, the local Co-op also opened their doors just for them, so that they could go shop for the supplies necessary for the next leg of the race, between Puvirnituq and Akulivik. At the end of the day, a few of them followed Johnny Sivuaraapik to his father’s grave, to pay their respect to a fellow musher, the late Tamusi Sivuraapik, who was Ivakkak’s first champion in 2001, and passed away this past fall, at 67 years old, following a stroke.

On Monday morning, all participating teams were ready to get going again, except four-time Ivakkak champion, Peter Kiatainaq, and Ivakkak 2002 champion, Junior May, who both had been having problems with their dogs since the start of the race, decided to resign from the race after careful consideration. Both mushers had some dogs suffer injuries in fights over females in heat, and decided to withdraw their dogs from the race, to spare them further harm. It was especially important for Peter Kiatainaq, who needs his dogs to stay in good shape for trips planned with tourists later this spring. Junior May also had other reasons to walk out with his team, as he is scheduled to participate in an important hockey tournament, the Ungava Cup, which is starting later this week in his hometown of Kuujjuaq, which he would have missed with all the delays due to bad weather during this first leg of the race.

Harry Okpik’s day didn’t go without an incident again today, as his young team-mate started to suffer from muscular chest pain, half way down the trail. One of the youngest taking part in the race, at 16, Junior Tukkiapik, is also one that works the hardest, helping the one-legged musher. Wearing warm clothing such as his beautiful qullitaq (caribou parka), running all day alongside the dogs, stirring them in the right direction, perhaps it was a little too much to handle with today’s warmer weather and soft snow on the trail. Fortunately, at the time, Peter Boy Ittukallak wasn’t far behind Harry’s team and tried to call for help with satellite phone. Meanwhile, the snowmobile safety patrol, who was doing its rounds, happened to pass by, just in time to take the young apprentice to the campsite, where he could get some rest and take pain killers to alleviate his ache. Since Harry had to continue on, without the extra weight of a partner, he ended up passing Peter Boy’s team, but agreed for his time to be fixed only a minute ahead of Peter Boy’s, as he would have probably arrived about a minute ahead of him, had he continued with his partner.

Some lucky passengers, who were on a Twin Otter flight from Puvirnituq to Akulivik this afternoon had the chance to fly over the dog teams. The pilots of this Air Inuit flight, working for the official airline of the Ivakkak dog team race, treated their passengers to a special flight, flying a little lower than usual, for them to be able to see the dog teams, who waved to the plane one after another as it passed them by.