Coloradan still mushing; one dog dies

An early evening Iditarod update: Lance Mackey is still in the lead, having raced out of Koyuk with 13 dogs running. The race profile says this next leg can be a windy and lonely stretch of trail. The following leg around White Mountain sounds grim for a feature so late in the race.

Glenwood Springs resident Bill Pinkham is in 32nd place, having checked in and out of Kaltag.

Mackey and his team left Koyuk after a three-hour rest. Paul Gebhardt arrived a few minutes later, then headed out again in less than 10 minutes. Martin Buser and Zack Steer also arrived today in Koyuk, 171 miles from the race’s end in Nome.

Also today, Canadian musher Karen Ramstead scratched from the race at the Grayling checkpoint after one of her dogs died. Race officials said she wanted to be with her family to grieve the loss of Snickers, (what a beauty) a 6 ½-year-old female. The dog died Sunday night, about seven hours after Ramstead and her 14 dogs pulled into the Grayling checkpoint. A necropsy will beconducted in an attempt to determine the cause of the dog’s death, officials said.