LOREN HOLMES photographer

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One of Aliy Zirkle's dogs at the Rainy Pass checkpoint. The Iditarod is a roughly 1,000-mile long dog sled race that pits a musher and 16 dogs against other teams and the Alaskan wilderness. Mar 3, 2014 2014 champion Dallas Seavey mushing into the Rainy Pass checkpoint on Puntilla Lake. Mar 3, 2014 DeeDee Jonrowe's team pulls a driverless sled through the Dalzell Gorge. She lost her team three times in this dangerous part of the trail, and scratched shortly afterwards. Mar 3, 2014 DeeDee Jonrowe walks after her team, which got away in the treacherous Dalzell Gorge. Jonrowe is one of the Iditarod's most experienced mushers, with 29 finishes and 16 top-ten finishes, but couldn't control her team through the barren gorge. Without snow with which to dig a brake into, mushers have few options for how to slow down a dog team. Mar 3, 2014 Hans Gatt negotiates a tight turn in the Dalzell Gorge, past DeeDee Jonrowe's team. Jonrowe lost her team three times in the Dalzell Gorge and scratched at Rohn, the next checkpoint. Mar 3, 2014 A dog team mushes on the frozen Tatina River before Rohn. Mar 3, 2014 Joar Liefseth Ulsom walks to the South Fork of the Kuskokwim River for water, outside the Rohn checkpoint. There is no snow or water at the checkpoint, so mushers have to walk half a mile for water. Mar 3, 2014 Musher Jake Berkowitz, in red, is stopped in the Farewell Burn between Rohn and Nikolai. He was forced out of the race after his sled disenegrated beyond repair on the barren, snowless trail. Mar 4, 2014 Dogs in Cim Smyth's team nap in the Nikolai checkpoint. Mar 4, 2014 Cim Smyth's team howls as they get ready to leave Nikolai. Mar 4, 2014 Defending Iditarod champion Mitch Seavey arriving in Cripple. He placed third this year. Mar 6, 2014 Dropped dogs get loaded into an airplane in Cripple. Dogs can be dropped for any reason by a musher at any checkpoint, and they will be cared for and transported back home by volunteer pilots. Mar 6, 2014 Jeff King leaves Ruby after his 24-hour rest stop. King was poised to win a fifth title, but a storm forced him to scratch less than 30 miles from the finish line in Nome. Mar 7, 2014 A musher on the Yukon River between Ruby and Galena. Mar 7, 2014 Dallas Seavey mushing on the Yukon River between Ruby and Galena. Seavey won the race for a second time this year, charging through a storm near the finish that forced leader Jeff King out of the race. Mar 7, 2014 Dallas Seavey chose to do his mandatory 8-hour rest stop in the Yukon River village of Kaltag. At this point in the race, he did not think he had a chance at winning, but a late-race storm forced the leader, Jeff King, out of the race and gave Seavey a chance to pass runner-up Aliy Zirkle at the last checkpoint. Mar 8, 2014 Aliy Zirkle mushing into Unalakleet. She was the first musher to reach the coast, an important milestone in the race. Mar 8, 2014 Quito and Waylon, Aliy Zirkle's lead dogs, in Unalakleet. Mar 8, 2014 Jeff King leaving Unalakleet, chasing leader Aliy Zirkle. Mar 8, 2014 A musher travels over bare ground between Unalakleet and Shaktoolik. Weather defined this year's race, with bare ground forcing many experienced mushers to scratch as their sleds and bodies took a brutal beating. Mar 9, 2014 A musher nearing Shaktoolik. Norton Sound, behind, is usually frozen this time of year, and a lack of sea ice compelled race organizers to re-route part of the trail, adding 15 miles. Mar 9, 2014 Martin Buser navigates a strong side wind on the sea ice before Koyuk. The wind was blowing teams sideways at times. Mar 9, 2014 Jeff King, right, leads Aliy Zirkle out of Koyuk by less than a minute. Mar 9, 2014 Jeff King arrived first into White Mountain, an hour ahead of second place Aliy Zirkle. At this point in the race, King was all but assured a historic fifth win, but a ground blizzard less than 30 miles from the finish forced him to scratch. Mar 10, 2014 Aliy Zirkle beds her dogs in White Mountain. Mar 10, 2014 Aliy Zirkle arrived second into White Mountain, an hour after leader Jeff King. Mar 10, 2014 Dallas Seavey raced through a blizzard to win his second Iditarod championship. He didn't even know that he had won until after he passed under the burled arch. He thought that he was racing his father, 2013 winner Mitch Seavey, for third place. Mar 11, 2014 Aliy Zirkle becomes emotional after coming in second for the third time in as many years in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Mar 11, 2014