Iditarod, Day 8: Update #3

ANCHORAGE (KTUU) - 4:15 p.m. Update:

The dynamic nature of mushing on the Bering Sea coast was on display Monday morning as Nicolas Petit traveled off-course and was leapfrogged by Joar Ulsom.

Mitch Seavey pulled into Koyuk almost three hours behind Ulsom and two hours behind Petit.

A day earlier in Unalakleet, Petit spoke to a Channel 2 crew about the strength of his team. "I already know we have a fast dog team, we don't get passed too much."

At the time, Petit said he had only been passed by Mitch Seavey and Linwood Fiedler who had a "really good looking team."

It's often a practice that mushers fly a lighter sled to the coastal checkpoint for the final stretch to Nome but interestingly Petit did not have another sled to swap out in Unalakleet.

When asked whether he would make an adjustment heading up the coast, Petit reiterated his commitment to not planning ahead. "I am an adjustment, I never do the same thing." "I read the weather, I read the dogs and hope for the best."

Petit told Channel 2 in Unalakleet that snow had improved the trail from Kaltag. A day later, Petit told an Iditarod insider crew that the trail had lots of snow and you need to be "careful what you wish for."

When asked about his confidence heading to Nome, Petit pointedly said that "extra confidence is arrogance" and the teams were still "a long way from Nome."

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