The PenAir Spirit of Alaska Award is given to the first musher into McGrath. The 2009 winner is Aaron Burmeister! Last night Burmeister’s headlamp could be seen flashing through the trees as he came down the Kuskokwim River. It was a beautiful evening with the snow lightly falling. The children were playing while the adults chatted at the McGrath checkpoint. All of the fans, young and old, had been waiting for hours and began to cheer as soon as Aaron came down the street. It was so exciting!

Presenting the award was CEO of PenAir, Danny Seybert. Burmeister gratefully accepted the award and signed autographs for the children. After having his dogs checked by chief vet Stuart Nelson he moved on to Takotna for his 24-hour layover. It seemed to be the trend for the night. Shortly after Burmeister left McGrath Hugh Neff came off the river followed by Sebastian Schnuelle. They breezed through town on to the next checkpoint with their headlamps glowing. It will be interesting to see who leaves Takotna first. Whoever leaves first will be breaking trail through the new fallen snow for those that follow.