On the Iditarod trail, DeeDee Jonrowe was the first into the Cripple checkpoint at 6:22 a.m. She was followed in rapid succession by Paul Gebhardt, 6:30 a.m.; Zack Steer, 6:36 a.m.; and Martin Buser, 6:40 a.m. along with Ed Iten at 7:20 a.m. and Ken Anderson at 7:42 a.m. As of late afternoon, the Iditarod report showed 10 mushers in Cripple. All appear to be taking their mandatory 24-hour layovers, perhaps reflecting a difficult trail between Ophir and Cripple.
Len Anderson, KSKA - Anchorage and Libby Casey, KUAC - Cripple
We see that Ed Iten is down to 15 dogs. We are wondering what happened to one of the dogs? My son ,William, is tracking the ididarod race for class. thank you kpetty
Ms. Petty — Mushers routinely drop dogs throughout the race for a variety of reasons. Could be a minor injury, could be exhaustion, could be the dog’s behavior just wasn’t helping the team. Veterinarians along the trail periodically look over all the dogs and consult with the mushers on the health of the team, and they may recommend (or even require) a dog be dropped.