“It feels good,” Braxton Peterson says, to be in Unalakleet: not least because he shared time in the checkpoint with four-time Iditarod champion Lance Mackey.
Peterson – a rookie of the Last Great Race and a protégé of the Mackey kennel – talked with KNOM trail reporter Laureli Kinneen in Unalakleet, where he said that his race is going well overall. Peterson said he had some difficulty on the trail from Kaltag, during which he had to “coach” his dogs along.
Peterson also shared his thoughts on the makeup of his dog team, his hopes for the remainder of the 2012 race (he’s hoping for a finish in the top 30), and his plans for dog mushing beyond 2012. After the grueling effort of the Iditarod, he said he was in need of a break: “I’m not done (mushing), but I’m done for a couple of months, for sure.”
Braxton Peterson arrived into Unalakleet at 3:56am Monday morning with 11 dogs. As of 7pm Monday night, he is not yet reported out of the checkpoint.
