Willow musher Nicolas Petit was the first musher in to the Nikolai –checking in at 8:41 Tuesday morning.
Reigning Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey trailed Petit into the checkpoint less than 25 minutes later.
Dallas’s father – and 2-time Iditarod winner – Mitch Seavey is in third place, checking into Nikolai at 9:23 a.m.
Three musher have scratched, so far.
Delta Junction’s Zoya DeNure scratched in Rainy Pass this morning at 9:50 a.m.
According to an Iditarod press release, DeNure made the decision due to concerns for her team. She had 11 dogs left at the time.
In six attempts, DeNure has finished the race once, in her 2008 rookie year. This is the fifth Iditarod in which she scratched.
Martin Koenig, of Montana, and Jan Steves of Willow both called it quits in Skwentna on Monday.
