Team 33 the first to McGrath as Iron Dog enters home stretch
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Just under a week ago, the town of McGrath represented the first stopping point for many of this year’s Iron Dog teams as they progressed along the 2500-mile course.
On Friday, the small city now represents the last major checkpoint before the Big Lake finish line.
“The top five are separated by about an hour and 40 minutes, [an hour and] 30 minutes — give or take,” Iron Dog Executive Director Mike Vasser said early Friday. “So, it’s going to make an interesting day today going southbound, finding what I hear is some new snow along the way to probably McGrath tonight for most of those teams.”
That snow was the talk of the town as teams began pulling in around 6 p.m., with George Lambert and Skyler Wells of Team 33 the first to reach Innoko Lodge.
“Lots of trail breaking, lots of deep snow,” Lambert said.
Tim Gossett and Joseph Gugel of Team 26 followed closely behind Lambert and Wells and echoed the duo’s remarks.
“It was great until probably 20 or 30 miles from Ophir, we took the overland [route] to be safe,” Gossett said. “The river’s got tons of fresh snow and overflow.”
Both Team 33 and 26 are rookie teams.
By 8:30 p.m., all but one team had arrived at McGrath.
A full look at the updated tracker can be found here.
Stay tuned to Alaska’s Sports Source for race updates.
Copyright 2024 KTUU. All rights reserved.
