If one had to generalize about Iditarod 2014 thus far, it’d probably be safe to say this: the dogs are generally doing well, but their mushers are pretty tired.
That’s definitely the picture painted by many mushers and race observers in Takotna: among them, competitor Michelle Phillips, who talked with KNOM’s Laureli Kinneen on Wednesday afternoon.
Her dogs “look better than I look,” the Canadian musher said (she’s from Whitehorse, Yukon Territory). After the rough trail through Rohn that she described as a “survival shuffle to Nikolai,” she’s happy to see snow and happy to be taking her 24-hour layover in Takotna.
Accounting for her starting differential – the specific time she began the race on Sunday at the Iditarod re-start – Michelle Phillips will be eligible to depart her 24-hour layover at 4:02am, early Thursday morning.
