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Kwethluk musher Lewis Pavila first to Bogus Creek 150 checkpoint

Kwethluk musher Lewis Pavila races in the 2026 Bogus Creek 150 on Feb. 14, 2026.
Josiah Swope
/
KYUK
Kwethluk musher Lewis Pavila races in the 2026 Bogus Creek 150 on Feb. 14, 2026.

Kwethluk musher Lewis Pavila was the first to reach the halfway checkpoint in this year’s Bogus Creek 150 Sled Dog Race.

Pavila and his 10 dogs made the run up to the race’s sole checkpoint in 5 hours and 57 minutes. They arrived at the Bogus Creek checkpoint at 10:57 p.m. on Feb. 14, 2 minutes ahead of 2026 Akiak Dash champion Michael Larson of Kwethluk, who arrived at the Bogus Creek checkpoint at 10:59 p.m.

Defending Bogus Creek 150 champion Mike Williams Jr. of Akiak was third into the Bogus Creek checkpoint at 11:01 p.m. In 2025, Williams Jr. was the first musher into the checkpoint.

All teams will take a required 4 hours of rest at the Bogus Creek checkpoint. They will then race back downriver to Bethel through the early hours, with an expected finish early on the morning of Sunday, Feb. 15.

Corrected: February 15, 2026 at 4:57 PM AKST
A previous version of this story misspelled Lewis Pavila's last name.
Evan Erickson is KYUK's news director. He has previously worked as a copy editor, audio engineer and freelance journalist.
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