Day 9 - Iditarod 2012 - Approaching White Mountain

This is Aliy's mom, Mickey, doing the local color commentary for the evening.

There is not much I can say about Aliy's current position and running times that isn't on the Iditarod website, Anchorage Daily News website or myriad other blogs and news outlets.

I can tell you that as of this writing Dallas and Aliy are about 2 hours out of the White Mountain checkpoint, where an 8 hour rest is mandatory. Over the years I have devised an easy formula for estimating the expected finish time of a team. Simply add 18 to 20 hours to the White Mountain arrival time. This means the first teams should reach Front Street in Nome sometime tomorrow (Tuesday) night. A Tuesday night finish will likely break Iditarod speed records. We'll see. Weather conditions can always surprise us on this last stretch.

SP Kennel family and supporters have been streaming into Nome for the finish. Allen and Doug, along with Scotty, Bridgett and Timber, flew back there from Unalakleet yesterday. Derrick flew his own plane in from Two Rivers yesterday. Today Wes, all of Ryne's family and a gang of folks from Horizon Lines flew in. Tomorrow Kaz, Ray and Sammy fly to Nome. Wendy and I are on a flight that arrives at 8pm tomorrow. I fear we may not make Aliy's finish!!!

My job for the past few days has been to retrieve dropped dogs flown into Anchorage by the Iditarod. Tonight we got Bonita and Scooter, both bropped in Kaltag. Scooter had a sore wrist but is fine now and simply wants to eat and play. Bonita was dropped because she wasn't eating well on the trail. Her appetite and attitude are great now. They go to our friend Margie's kennel in Wasilla tomorrow morning. Aliy dropped two dogs today in Elim but we expect them to be flown directly to Nome to be reunited with their team.

Ryne is cruising along the Bering Sea coast now. What an experience that must be! She departed Unalakleet at 8:59 PM, after resting there for 5 hours. And she still has 13 dogs. Ryne is currently in 33rd place and she is 5th in a field of 14 rookies, some of whom have years of experience.

Thanks for joining us on this wild ride. Now let's see what tomorrow brings.