Good morning Ryno Kennel fans! After a nice 24 hour rest, Ryne and team are on the trail once again! From the GPS tracking info, it looks like the dogs must have been all fired up after leaving Takotna as their run into Ophir had them travelling at almost 10 mph. That’s cruisin’ for a dog team!

Ryne opted to run straight through Ophir and camp along the trail, and she is currently in the middle of a camp out as I write this. My guess is she’ll stay at her camp out for about four or five hours, so she should be taking off again at 11:30 AM or 12:30 PM. Not ideal to be taking off during the heat of the day, but it looks like it shouldn’t get too hot out there, with temperatures right now in the teens.

We’ve also finally had some contact from the musher herself! I got a call from Katy Olson (Ryne’s mama) last night and she heard from Ryne while she was on her 24 in Takotna. Ryne had a good story to tell about her encounter with a bison herd. Apparently they ran into one along the trail, and the dogs spooked them, much to the delight of the team. Ryne, on the other hand, had to hang on for dear life, since she was right in the middle of the Farewell Burn with limited braking ability! The dogs had a great time chasing the herd down the trail, and Ryne and her sled made it through without too much wear and tear. Included in this post at the bottom you'll find a link to an interview with Ryne about this story from KNOM, sent in by one of our wonderful readers.

For those of you dog sponsors who are following our blog, we’ve got some dog news as well. Fenton, who started out a little on the slow side has turned into a bulldozer of a dog, getting stronger and stronger as he pounds out those miles. Katy, Cartel, Niagra, Jana and Goblin have been her main leaders during this race, helping to guide our younger two year olds down the trail. And all in all, it sounds like both Ryne and the Ryno Kennel athletes are in great spirits.

That’s all for your morning update, check back this evening for more news on Ryne and her happy huskies!

http://www.knom.org/wp/blog/2016/03/10/iditarods-middle-and-back-of-the-pack-find-camaraderie-amid-offbeat-surprises/