02/20/2023
What to say, where to start, or how to say it... months of preparation going into the Iron Dog and it ended with a blown engine (crank bearing most likely based on the prior symptoms). Leah and Jacob had a great run going over day 1 and 2 with no damage, clean sleds, healthy spirits, and no injuries ---- one of the few teams that had a clean run going. Coming into Ruby though Jacob's sled developed a knock. In Ruby he put octane booster in but the knock got progressively worse. On the Yukon the knock got unbearable and the sled lost power several times to the point it died. On the Yukon, they swapped pipe sensors, spark plugs, coils, etc. Nothing worked. They limped Jacob's sled into Galena where it died trying to get into the fuel stop. After hours of looking into it and deliberation they made the tough call to scratch.
Jacob and Leah apologize to our family, friends, the hard work of our sponsors, and everyone who put so much physical, mental, and financial support into our team to make this happen. We really appreciate everyone and we are extremely bummed out to be taken out a second year in a row by mechanical issue out of our control. Just bad luck.
