Mother nature has sent the 48th Jr. Iditarod to snow covered trails north and east up near Glennallen. The race started at 10:00 this morning, February 22nd at Tolsona Lake Lodge. Fourteen mushers are on their way to Lake Louise Lodge at mile 71.5 where they will take their mandatory 10 hour break plus differential and then in the wee hours of Sunday morning begin the second leg of their route heading back to the finish line at Tolsona Lake and later in the evening the banquet celebrating the musher’s accomplishments.
Trail crew finished marking and repairing the trail the day before the race. These men and women do an amazing job placing stakes to clearly mark the trail and doing some manual labor where needed in rough spots. Many thanks to these dedicated volunteers. This race will follow some of the Copper Basin 300 trail.
Vet check was held prior to the musher meeting last evening in Glennallen. At the musher meeting, contestants drew bib numbers alphabetically. Upon receiving their bib, each musher also received dog tags and a plethora of useful musher items ranging from socks to gloves and first aid kit to blinking dog collars and so much more.
The fourteen Jr. Iditarod contestants signed bib #1 which was presented to Honorary Musher Barry Munsell. Ten years back, Barry met Jr. Iditarod Trail Boss Richard Plack. Plack invited Munsell to help with the Jr. Iditarod. Barry has worked on the trail for the Jr. Iditarod Knik’s 100 & 200 races as well as the Willow 300. Barry is a valued and respected volunteer who is much appreciated by the Jr. Iditarod organization. Barry says that he loves seeing kids doing things outdoors that are extremely challenging. Their enthusiasm is inspiring. He loves being a part of the trail crew that breaks and marks the trail and keeps track of the young mushers while they are on the trail. Congratulations to Barry and many thanks for your time and effort given in support of the Jr. Iditarod mushers.
Barry Munsell, wearing th signed bib, was at the start banner as the Jr. Mushers headed down the trail. Nelson Wappett led the way followed in two minute intervals by the rest of the field. Leif Anderson was the final musher to depart the Tolsona Lake start. The field is comprised of 11 young women and three young men. Emily Robinson, wearing bib 10, has the opportunity to claim her fourth Jr. iditarod victory. If she is successful, she will be the ONLY musher in history to earn four Jr. Iditarod championships. Currently with three championships, Emily is tied with Tim Osmar who claimed victories in 1982, ’83 and ’84.
The weather for the start at Tolsona was mostly cloudy with a light breeze and about 7 degrees. As the mushers make their way to Lake Louise, the cloud cover will hold, the wind will remain light and temperatures will rise to the upper teens. Overnight out at Lake Lousie Lodge, temperatures will be mild falling back into the single digits. For the return trip to Tolsona Lake mushers will again enjoy light wind, temperatures rising into the teens with the sun peeking out in the afternoon. There is a possibility of light snow Sunday afternoon and evening.
Mushers have two GPS Trackers attached to their sleds for tracking during the race. The tracker fits inside of a dog bootie and is secured to the outside of the sled bag. Use the link below to follow the mushers on the trail, see what mile they have achieved and see the speed they are traveling by using the link directly below.
For those of you following the Jr. Iditarod from a distance, keep an eye on the tracker at jriditarod.org, read Eye on the Trail updates and follow along on the Jr. Iditarod Facebook page. Times, as they are updated, are also available.
