My human has taken a lot of trips lately.  I’ve watched as she’s tried to cram clothes, shoes, toiletries, and anything else she may need into a suitcase.  It seems to take her forever to decide what she needs to take and what she doesn’t.  This is for an easy trip.  I can’t imagine what the mushers go through when they need to decide how to pack their sled for a long journey like the Iditarod. 

There are mandatory items that must be with them at all times while on the trail.  These items include:  Proper cold weather sleeping bag, ax, snowshoes, any promotional material provided by the ITC, eight booties for each dog an operational cooker and cooking pot, Veterinarian notebook, to be presented to the veterinarian at each checkpoint, an adequate amount of fuel to bring three gallons of water to a boil, cable gang line or cable tie out capable of securing dog team, a functional non-chafing harness for each dog in team and a functional neckline and adequate emergency dog food must be in the sled when leaving a checkpoint.

Along with the mandatory items, a musher needs to consider clothing, enough food for them and their dogs for 9-15 days, extra booties and dog coats, sled repair supplies, etc.  The sled bag is not that big.  Where do they put all this stuff!  It takes planning and rearranging to make it work. 

A musher needs more items than the mandatory ones but they may not be used during the full race.  Where do those items go? Some of the items like extra food (human and dog), sleds, clothing items, etc. are sent ahead of time to various checkpoints. The mushers use special checkpoint bags to load supplies in.  They take these bags to a warehouse in Anchorage where they are separated by checkpoint and then flown to the checkpoints by the Iditarod Air Force.  A musher can then pick up the supplies when they come into a checkpoint.  They take out what they need and either use it (like food) or pack it and carry it with them (like clothing or snacks).  

Happy packing to all the mushers!

Gypsy