Yukon Two Step

There are all kinds of talking heads out there. But the best one I think in terms of the Iditarod is Joe Runyan. The Alaska Dispatch is doing nice job I think this year

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From Alaska Dispatch– Most lead mushers like to extend their runs to about 10 hours on the river, so they can do the Yukon in two big hops. Neff and Baker, for example, rested in Anvik and will probably stop again in Eagle Island on their way to Kaltag and the turn overland to the west.

The benefits of two long runs are obvious. Mushers only have to change booties on the dogs twice, and the labor of breaking camp and loading the sled again is reduced. As a practical matter, too, there are no good camping spots on the Yukon River. You have to camp in the wind. That’s a very vulnerable position. No one I know considers it a very good idea to take a rest in the middle of the Yukon. Most mushers prefer to rest their dogs in a village or out of the wind in a slough at Eagle Island.

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