When the dog teams took off from Kangirsuk this morning after a two day hiatus, one can see how the huskies could not wait to hit the trails to do what they were born to do: pull sleds. The mushers woke up to clear blue skies and were ready to take on a day of racing, with the first team departing at 9 AM. It wasn’t long until some teams experienced slight set backs. Some dogs obtained minor injuries while crossing the extremely rough ice covering Kangirsuk River, while others were detached from the sleds and their masters. Willie Kulula’s qamutik (sled) broke while crossing the uneven frozen river and had to quickly fix it on the spot. Aqikki Kooktook, Junior May’s partner, had to be transported to Aupaluk in order to get stitches on his hand due to handling tangled sled ropes during the bumpy navigation. Despite all the minor mishaps everyone was in good spirits and reached very flat barren lands.
Today’s checkpoint, 60 kilometers south of Kangirsuk, is Nulartalik (which means where there are nets). Upon arrival mushers met fisherman from Aupaluk who were tending to their nets and were lucky enough to enjoy some fresh fish. Teams and officials will camp here over night.
The teams are scheduled to leave Nuluartalik tomorrow at 10 AM and should arrive in Aupaluk in the middle of the afternoon, all depending on Mother Nature of course!
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RESULTS AS OF: March 28, 2010 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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