text by David Dodman; photos by Ben Matheson; audio by Laureli Kinneen
Note: Melissa Owens, one of the mushers mentioned in this story, has just scratched from Iditarod as of early Tuesday morning. More on that shortly.
Western Alaska has a number of local mushers to follow in the 39th Iditarod. From the Kuskokwim Delta to the Arctic Circle, our region is relatively well represented in this year’s competitors. All of them are race veterans, and of course, they’re all eager to improve on their previous performance on the trail.
Trail reporter Laureli Kinneen caught up with a few Western Alaskans late last week:
Below you’ll find photos of all of the Western Alaskans mentioned in the story; these were taken at the ceremonial start in Anchorage on Saturday.