Greetings race fans,
Well, the team is on the trail!! All went well today at the restart. We started the day with a gourmet breakfast here by Mari and headed over to the staging area around ten. We were met with a small alarm when the parking people told us there was a problem with the ice...the entire staging area is on a lake...any problem with the ice is a not what we would consider a "small" problem. Happily, there was not a problem with the ice and no one went through it. The problem was with overflow on the edges yesterday but talk about a way to get your heart pumping on a day where there is already enough adrenaline in the air. Ahhhh.
So, that problem solved we went about the business of getting things out of the trailer and the various packing totes we keep all the supplies in and getting the sled packed. We were lucky to have of course Annie's help, also Doug and joined as well by our friend Jamie Adams and her friend Zoe , a new convert to the Iditarod and one I heard exclaiming throughout the day" this is getting funner every minute" - another dog junkie is born right in front of our eyes! So things went smoothly throughout. Warren was very relaxed and got his things together as he bantered with friends, fans and media alike. Once he made his final decisions on the team Annie and I got to work on the collars. Every collar must have the mushers name,  the dogs name and of course their Iditarod tag to identify them to the vets and officials. Then it was the last feeding, more of a heavy baited water a few hours before they left. All the dogs have been eating well and are in great spirits. The final roster is ... Caper and Widgi leading the team out on their great adventure and then (not in the order they left in in the team) Blueberry, Hulk, Redneck, Hazer, Black Dog, Frank, Dobie, Hurricane, Cyclone, Mogur, Hena, Cash, Naboo and Onyx. Warren has already gone through Yentna Station, only staying 9 minutes to turn his bib in and pick up supplies. He will be going a few hours further and then resting the team for a few hours before continuing onto Finger Lake where he plans to stay for 51/2 hours. Predictions are for a fast trail. Luckily there was some snow here last night so hopefully the trail will be abit better than expected. I don't expect him into Finger until the early morning hours so I am off for a shower and then some sleep.  For the handlers/spouses of the race, our sleep deprivation is mostly the last few nights before the race as we do all the dog care and race preparations so our mushers get some needed sleep.  Then of course we are as glued to the internet as the rest of you as we try to follow along with the excitement.

Happy trails, Kate

PS There is a great photo of Warren from the ceremonial start on the Iditarod website, go tot Images from the trail for March 6:):)