Good morning to you all, Five teams are now back here at Troll. Word from the trail is that it was raining hard earlier today,which is why they were concerned about the condition of the trai. As there had been not that much snow on some portions they were worried that there would be nothing left. As they were having their planning meeting at Danny and Lorraine's it started to snow. They all decided to stick with the original trail. We went from not enough snow to quite a bit in a very short time. It is a wet snow and most of themushers are coming in pretty drenched. Dog teams are looking good and everone is resting well now. Mushers have hung their wet clothes all around the fire and are getting some sleep. Three of the five mushers in, Warren, Jerry, and Craig have finished their mandatory additional 6 hours of rest, Kim still has one hour and one minute left and Randy has 39 minutes. We do not have any indication of mushers departure times as yet. Ross and Abram left the 2nd checkpoint shortly after 8 pm so we are expecting them around 3-4 am. No new dropped dogs as yet. Our dropped dog turned out to be Vixen, one of the 6 yearlings Warren is running. I just checked on her, she has a sore tricpes but is in great spirits and ate well. This is very much a training run for the yearlings in Warren's team. So far they are all doing well. I haven't had much detail on the journey yet from W but will let you know after the race who the stars were. They all looked strong coming in to this checkpoint. Warren is in good spirits as well. He has an amazing ability to handle sleep deprivation. I, not quite so much so I think I am going to try and close my eyes for abit before we head back out to meet Ross and Abram. Here are arrival times for teams in: Warren at 11:18:57 with 11 dogs Jerry in at 10:50 with 11 dogs Randy in at 11:33:07 with 10 dogs Kim in at 12:11:54 with 11 dogs, 1 in the bag Craig in at 11:01 with 9 dogs At this point, the teams are moving at about the same speeds so we predict that whomever gets themselves out on the trail first has the best chance of winning, but we don't have any indication as yet as to who that will be. Later K

As mentioned before, five teams have left Checkpoint #2. In order of bib number here are the times for the teams Bib#1 Warren Palfrey In at 10:02 with 12 dogs, out at 4:21:28 with 11 dogs Bib#2 Jerry Joinson in at 9:26 with 12 dogs, out at 3:58:06 with 11 dogs Bin# 3 Randy Mackenzie in at 10:38 with 12 dogs, out at 3:59:40 with 10 dogs Bib #4 Ross Adam in at 1:46:10 with 12 dogs, still at checkpoint Bib#5 Abram Perry in at 1:46:46 with 12 dogs, still at checkpoint Bib#6 Kim Verge in at 10:59 with 12 dogs, out at 4:00:37 with 11 dogs Bib#7 Craig Houghton in at 9:27 with 12 dogs, out at 3:58:30 with 9 dogs Most of the teams took about 7 hours for the run to Danny and Lorraine's and based on that we do not expect any of the teams in at Troll until 11pm at the earliest. It has been snowing steadily out in Wells since 2 pm so the teams will have a lot of snow to run through. The dropped dogs are on their way back to Troll thanks to volunteers. I will let you know who is coming in from our team when I get to Troll. Off to catch a few zzzs before heading back to the resort. I imagine it will be another all nighter. Cheers, Kate

The newest update... unfortunately without any details on the trail or decision making process is that the teams are planning to run the original route. Five teams have already left the checkpoint, though I do not know the exact times. Only Ross and Abram are still at the checkpoint planning an 8 or 9pm departure. I imagine the first teams will be arriving around or after ten pm tonight so it looks to be another all nighter. I managed to get a few hours sleep today so am feeling better. After I go feed the dogs, a quick dinner for the kids and I we are back off to Troll. Kate

Good afternoon all, We have had word that all of the teams have arrived now at Checkpoint #2. Apparently there are concerns over the trail conditions, not sure of specifics but have heard about rain and about gravel concerns. We believe the mushers are currently having a meeting to talk about shortening the trail back to Troll. I will keep you posted as I find out more and when I have specific times for the mushers arrival at checkpoint #2. It has been snowing steadily here at the kennel since the kids and I got back late this morning. We have about 3 cm of accumulation thus far. More info as I find it out. K

I have been informed that the link to Rob's spot is not working so I am trying again. Please let me know if this connects this time.

http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0taNrVaiXJMNNvjvkbluC0I3HKvv6hv6i

K

One of the many things going on in our world of late is our participation in the Olympic Torch Relay yesterday in downtown Quesnel. There is a good article in today's Globe and Mail, here is the link. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/a-town-thats-proud-of-going-to-the-dogs/article1450377/ Post race I will post the few pictures I managed to take. Enjoy the arcticle! K

They are all out on the trail!! Ross left at 6:40:00 followed closely by Abrah at 6:40:22. Their dogs were really ready to go and all looked great going out.The snow began falling just before six and it is now a steady soft snow. Hoping that it continues throughout the day. We are expecting that the teams may be arriving at Checkpoint #2 in the near future. I am going to remain here at Troll until I hear of the successful arrival of all the teams. Then Peter, Jesse and I will return to the kennel to feed the dogs at home and check on things. I am also looking forward to a few hours of sleep as I am running on 53 minutes at the moment. We will be returning here to Troll later in the day to see the teams and then eventually to the finish line. Off for a cup of coffee. Kate

So far five teams have hit the trail again. All five teams have left with all twelve dogs in harness. The most animated teams were Randy's and Craig's - who even took the sled on a small journey of its own without him, caught by volunteers with no damage to dogs or sled though I imagine Craig's heart was beating hard. Warren's team was heard from afar with Dobie doing his usual cheerleading commentary -though this year he will have some competition from Hurricane and Vixen. In order of departure the teams have been Randy at 2:52:56, Jerry at 2:58:48,Craig at 3:10:17, Warren at 3:25:00,and Kim at 3:49:25. Ross and Abram are planning on a 6am departure. Abram is out with the dogs at the moment and both teams were resting comfortably. I am off for an hour nap and then out to see the last two teams off. The trail to Checkpoint #2, graciously hosted by our friends Danny and Lorraine, is about 45 miles in length. We expect all the teams to be there by noon. There, the teams can choose their rest times. The teams must take another six hours of mandatory rest taken at either checkpoint #2 or#3. More later, Kate