After a late arrival in Akulivik yesterday, followed by a community gathering organized to honour their participation in the Ivakkak 209 dog team race, the racers were up late last night shopping for supplies at the local Co-op and packing their sled, getting ready to leave in the morning. Needless to say that after their longest day out on the trail, due to soft snow conditions, the mushers were relieved to hear the race officials’ decision on a 10:30 AM departure for a shorter distance to cover today. Opting for the inland trail rather than its alternative on the Hudson Bay sea ice, where open water loomed in the distance, the dog teams traveled a mere 50 kilometres (30 miles) today. With much better snow conditions than yesterday, perhaps thanks to a chilly northeast wind, making for a harder trail, it didn’t take much time for the dog teams to make it to Iyaituit, where the snowmobile support crew had set camp for the night. By 2:30 PM, the first teams had already pulled in, and within an hour With the sun shining high and bright, the mushers and their racing partners were finally able to just enjoy the ride. While it was somewhat warm for the men, it wasn’t too warm for the dogs to work well, thanks again to a light breeze coming from the northeast. Harry Okpik, who is in fourth place overall, sure had a good time today, as he tagged along with the two leaders, tailing Willie Cain Jr.’s and Novalinga Novalinga’s teams. The one-legged musher is now only 5 minutes behind Juusipi Qisiiq, who’s third place could soon be in jeopardy, if Harry keeps this up. Johnny Sivuaraapik also picked up some speed today. It seems as if everybody is getting closer to one another, so it will be interesting to see what happens during the next 3 days, as the dog teams are expected to cross the Ivakkak 2009 finish line on Sunday around lunchtime, weather permits of course.