"Nicolas Petit"

Hundreds of sled dogs and 46 mushers left the Iditarod starting line at the Deshka Landing boat launch on a sunny and clear afternoon.

Bethel musher Pete Kaiser’s team of eight dogs crossed under the Burled Arch in Nome at 3:39 a.m. Wednesday. Kaiser is the first Iditarod champion with Yupik roots.

Teams have continued pouring into Nome, filling out the upper ranks of the 2017 Iditarod Sled Dog Race. Champion Mitch Seavey won his third title Tuesday in a record time of eight days, three hours, and 40 minutes, slashing more than seven hours off the previous record.

Iditarod mushers reached the Yukon River at Tanana on Tuesday night. Teams are ready to launch their race plans as the eight-hour and 24-hour rest periods come into view. But first, they must run the longest stretch of the race between checkpoints and make it through the early race with their teams intact.

During the first night of this year’s Iditarod, teams endured frigid temperatures on the Tanana River to reach the second checkpoint of Manley Hot Springs. Teams are adjusting to the deep cold and preparing to push to the Yukon River, where the race will unfold.