Some mushers worried what the warm weather would mean for the trail ahead.

For safety dogs and mushers will be trucked from Braeburn to Carmacks.

For a March evening in the Interior Alaska village of Nikolai, Tuesday was warm.

The route of the Yukon Quest traverses Lake Laberge for the first time in decades, and that's not the only dog sled race affected by the changing climate.

Major changes with the environment are creating trail hazards, an official said. The ceremonial start for 74 sled-dog teams will remain in Anchorage on March 4.