Lance Mackey and team steamed into White Mountain at the head of the Iditarod pack this early morning at about 1:30 AM to the applause of a late night crowd assembled on river ice. A church bell rang, the traditional signal that a team has crossed the ice from Golovin and ready to arrive in White Mountain. Lance, always a man who enjoys the emotional moment as much as the physical experience, stood by his sled and savored the sound. Optimistic and exuberant, his enthusiasm touches everyone around him including Larry, a serious canine personality who Lance calls the “brains of the team” and Fudge, his black hardworking leader that often runs in partnership with Larry, and his crowd of fans.
AT 9:30 AM the checker here at White Mountain reminded Lance that he had another five minutes or so to complete his chores before his mandatory 8 hour would be completed and the team would be free to hit the 70 mile trail to Nome. Lance hustled, putting boots on two remaining dogs in the low light of a long arctic sun rise. At the scheduled moment, Art Church, the race judge in White Mountain, led Larry to open space in the crowd. Lance indicated he was good to go, and Larry and team trotted out of White Mountain, a few cameramen running alongside the team, trying to set for an exit shot. In fifty yards, the team easy trot had outdistanced the camera tricksters, and the Mackey entourage disappeared around the bend. Later, away from the confusion of the crowd, he told me he would put other leaders beside the very serious Larry, play with the configuration of his nine dog team, until they were traveling in an effortless unit, the tow line moving rhythmically with the steps of the dogs.
Mechanically, the last seventy seven miles to the Nome finish should be easy for Lance and team. The dogs are so trail hardened, after winning the 1000 mile Yukon Quest, and now after 9 days on the Iditarod, that the last section of trail should be the victory lap for Lance. His good friend and traveling colleague, Paul Gebhardt, is about two and a half hours behind.
Paul is just behind me putting on gear, preparing to go outside to feed his dogs one last time. “We are travelling at identical speeds. IT would be really hard to catch him.”
As a matter of form, the dogs will go through a sort of evolution on the trail to Nome. Lances dogs waddled out of the checkpoint, heavy with food. After forty-five minutes, the canine engine will gradually fine tune itself, and the dogs will be trotting briskly. Lance told me he expected to be in Nome in nine hours—in time for a sunset finish at 6;30 PM.
Check out some great interviews with Lance at the Insider.