Takotna Welcomes Mackey and Steer

Lance Mackey continues to travel the Iditarod Trail with a full complement of 16 dogs and arrives first into Takotna at 22:52, Tuesday night. Our helicopter crew followed Lance out of Nikolai earlier this afternoon and watched his magical ride. He has the team into a smooth efficient trot. We interviewed him in Takotna after he fed his dogs a five gallon ration of kibble and meat, and he admitted this was the first time he had arrived in Takotna with a large team, not to mention sixteen dogs. Sirens sounded and the community hall emptied to watch Mackey arrive first to this interior mining town. After a six hour rest, he planned to continue with the same sixteen, a fortunate development. He will need the power when ascends a steep road out of Takotna and travels rolling hills to the next checkpoint of Ophir.

Buser is running a different strategy than leader Mackey and has his team bedded down in McGrath. Inside fans are unanimous in identifying Mackey and Buser has race leaders, even though we find them leapfrogging checkpoints. Sometime around 5AM their two strategies should merge into a race to the 24 hour mandatory checkpoint when Buser will probably blow through Takotna. This will be pivotal. Will Mackey be able to continue to challenge Buser’s team speed. Though neither Mackey or Buser will identify a final destination for the 24 hour, it appears they are headed to the front of the race—-maybe Iditarod.

Meanwhile, the front of the pack has a legitimate new visitor. Emerging from a pack of pursuers, Zack Steer arrives second in Takotna about midnight (time not posted when we watched him arrive.) A mathematically inclined fan pointed out that he and team roasted the trail from Nikolai to McGrath–maybe tonight’s fastest. In a race that has included many unexpected twists—-Jeff King and John Baker lose the trail to Rohn and sacrifice two hours, Dee Jonrowe and Doug Swingley scratch due to accidents on the trail—–Steer has quietly emerged as a real deal competitor with his team of 15 dogs.

Zack Steer has positioned himself in the top three—-to include Mackey and Buser. Team speed is very difficult to guage, often changing from run to run, but it seems that Steer and Mackey teams have the steam to travel with the Buser speedsters.