Dems is the pink thing lying on his side in the front row, middle of the picture.
I think the ride actually sounds fun. If you're prepared...fun. 200mi on soft terrain is brutal though. Wow. How hard pack is the road, or are you bushwacking/breaking trail the entire way? Is it cold enough to be reasonably crusty on top?
I remember doing some glacier mountaineering and the days it was COLD were better as the top crust of the snow would be hard enough to support your weight, but when it warmed up a bit, brutal, as you spent HOURS punching through the crust and wading through waist deep snow.