Veteran Iditarod musher Jessie Holmes in bib 7 was the first musher to reach the Cripple checkpoint. At mile 425, Cripple is considered to be the halfway checkpoint on the northern route. Jessie arrived just before 14:00 with 16 dogs in harness.
The first musher into Cripple wins the Dorothy G. Page Halfway Award. Holmes was given the choice of either $3,000 in gold nuggets which represents the area’s mining history or a smartphone of his choosing with a year of free GCI mobile service. Jessie said, “The cell phone would be really great but I’d probably lose it like my other phones so I’ll take the gold and put it toward what I need for the dogs.”
The halfway award honors the late “Mother of the Iditarod,” Dorothy G. Page. While Page wasn’t on the front lines organizing the first Iditarod, she is given credit for the idea of having a race over part of the Iditarod Trail. In helping to organize the Iditarod Trail Centennial Race held in 1967, Page planted the seed for a much grander longer race across Alaska utilizing the Iditarod Trail. By selling this idea to the Centennial Committee, Page played a significant role in mothering the Iditarod we know today.
Yesterday Jason Mackey and Gabe Dunham reported seeing buffalo along the trail in the burn. The large stately animals they were reporting on were actually bison. Many of us use buffalo and bison interchangeably but they are two different animals. The large hairy, ox-like animal that was reintroduced in the Farewell Burn in 1967 is a bison. True buffalo are found in Africa and Asia. Be that as it may, the technicality doesn’t change the intensity of Jody Potts-Joseph’s experience when she faced a bison on the trail a few miles out of Rohn.
While in McGrath, Jody shared her story with Insider. Her team rounded a corner and a bison was coming toward them on the trail. Bison have shorter legs than moose so when there’s a great deal of snow, it’s hard for them to get through the snow. They choose to travel on the hardpacked trails the teams are using. This grumpy bison had no intention of giving the trail to the dog team so it lowered its head and began pawing at the ground and then it charged toward the dog team but stopped short. Not once but several times.
Jody had a pistol and decided to fire warning shots. All she got was a “click.” So reloaded but still just “Click, Click.” Then she tried a different tactic. She moved up to her leaders and took cover behind the trunk of a spruce tree then began hitting the bison with sticks and branches. Still the bison held the trail.
Jody then recalled what her Grandmother had done when an aggressive grizzly bear came near to their cabin when her five little children were playing outside. Grandmother told the children to go inside then she walked with “courage and boldness” up to the bear and began speaking in her native language of Han Gwich”in. Translated she said, “Go away! Have mercy on us. Leave us alone.” The bear calmed, turned and walked away from the cabin. Speaking in Han Gwich”in Jody said the same thing to the bison. Unbelievably, the bison turned and trotted back down the trail. Han Gwich”in elders believe that animals understand their native language. From Jody’s story, it seems they do.
While this was all taking place, Jody was thinking of the unfortunate moose incident Susan Butcher experienced in 1985. An aggressive moose stomped into Susan’s team and critically injured some of her dogs. At least for the time being, none of the dogs or Jody had been harmed.
But it’s not the end of the story. It took Jody quite some time and some help from mushers who caught up with her to untangle her dog team. They took their time to let the bison cool down and hopefully leave the trail. Unfortunately, in less than a mile, they came upon the bison. Before getting too close, she fired several warning shots into the air with a pistol she had borrowed from one of the other mushers and eventually the bison went off into the woods allowing the teams to pass safely on by.
It’s quite thrilling to see eight of those imposing creatures from a distance of 200 yards as Jason did. It’s a bit daunting to see a pair of bison standing next to the trail as Gabe did. Given these creatures stand up to 6 feet tall and can weigh up to 2,000 pounds, having one on the trail charging your dog team would fill anyone with fear. Jody says she can hardly believe that talking to the bison in her native tongue saved them from tragedy. Perhaps her Grandmother’s spirit helped too.
To hear Jody tell the entire story, search featured Insider videos. You won’t be disappointed. Truthfully this one Insider segment would be worth the entire cost of the annual subscription and it’s not too late to sign up.
