"A drizzle fell Wednesday morning in Takotna, where more than a dozen Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race teams were bedded down for their 24-hour rests. In McGrath, 18 miles farther back on the trail, there was freezing rain and fuzzy cloud cover obscuring the nearby mountains and grounding planes.
Warm weather is proving a persistent variable for mushers to contend with as they strategize on where to rest their dog teams. Sunny skies and temperatures cracking the 40s at the Rainy Pass checkpoint on Monday blasted teams as they crossed the Alaska Range. The warmth has not abated, hovering just above freezing at two of the most popular checkpoints for mushers to take their mandatory 24-hour rest.
“Well, with the heat, I’ve been kinda adapting as I go,” Fairbanks musher Riley Dyche told Iditarod Insider in McGrath on Wednesday, where he declared he’d be taking his 24."
Zachariah Hughes reports for Anchorage Daily News March 8, 2023.
SEE ALSO:
"The Saga of the World’s Greatest Dogsledder—and the Fight Over the Future of the Iditarod" (GQ)
"Five Indigenous Mushers Set To Compete In 2023 Iditarod Despite Rising Costs" (Alaska Public Media)
