Nome’s Aaron Burmeister received a warm welcome from a crowd of fans as he arrived into Huslia last night, the first Iditarod musher to do so, pulling in at 9:47pm. He said, “I felt like I was finishing the Iditarod in first place…It was amazing.”
And Huslia didn’t stop there. The village rolled out the red carpet for the Iditarod mushers, making amenities readily available: food, hot water for feeding the dogs, and even a bed to sleep on at the church. Burmeister says, “This is the first sleep I’ve gotten the whole race. It’s been really, really wonderful to be here.”
It wouldn’t be Iditarod without challenges, and for Burmeister so far it’s been the health of his team. He’s been dealing with sick dogs as far back as Nenana, “babying” them, packing on rest, trying to get them healthy. With his focus 100% set on his team and nursing them into better shape, Aaron says, he was “shocked” to find that he was leading the race into Huslia.
Finally in Huslia, all of his dogs are eating and drinking well. Looking up the trail, Burmeister is excited to remain in a competitive position, and is anxious to see how his team handles putting on some speed up the coast. And he’s “really looking forward to getting home to the finish line.”
