Ruby - Galena
Start/Finish
Checkpoint
Dogdrop
This leg is all on the Yukon River and is generally easy running. The trail follows the main snowmachine route from Ruby to Galena. The mushers plan on five to eight hours, depending on how long they want to rest their dogs, or if they do it during the heat of the day. Their biggest problem may be getting their dogs to go on the huge expanse of the mighty Yukon, which is a mile wide at Ruby and up to two miles wide downstream. More than a few teams have balked at starting down the river.
It is absolutely critical that they do not get off the marked trail on the Yukon. Like most big rivers in Alaska in the winter, the Yukon has spots and stretches of open water, some no more than a narrow leads a few feet long, some big enough to float a good-sized boat. There can also be overflow on a massive scale just under unbroken snow. When snowmachines pack down the snow and expose the overflow, it freezes quickly into a hard surface, while just off the trail they can go in up to their waist. Needless to say, the threat of thin ice is always present if they go exploring.
