Mary Helwig is on her way to Takotna after taking her long rest in McGrath.  Earlier this morning Mary was snacking her dogs with frozen chunks of beef, liver and tripe.  Tripe is a rather interesting substance.  Tripe is the stomach of a grazing animal – cows, buffalo and sheep.  The stomachs of these animals have four chambers which break down grasses with digestive enzymes, juices and amino acids.  Feeding trip helps a dog get the most nutritional value from meals.  Digestive enzymes do a host of other useful things too like cleanse blood, improve metabolism and boost the immune system.  Mary explained most of this but I also found more information on the web.  The down side to tripe is that it smells – perhaps STINKS would be a better description.  That disadvantage for humans makes it very appealing to canines.  What these mushers don’t do for their dogs.

Having spent time working as a youth leader in Unalakleet, Mary is really looking forward to visiting the community.  She has many friends there and is anxious to see the youngsters she worked with as they’ve grown up a bit.  The folks of Unalakleet always come out to welcome their own.  No matter what time of the day or night Mary makes the Gold Coast community, there will be a warm welcome.  

It’s roughly a 400 mile journey from McGrath to Unalakleet.  She’ll pass through Takotna, the former mining town of Ophir, the tent checkpoint of Cripple and the Yukon River villages of Ruby, Nulato and Kaltag.  At Kaltag the trail will come off the Yukon River and run across the 90 mile portage that connected the Bering Sea to the interior for trading purposes.  Some of these miles are forsaken and rather lonely but the company of her dogs and the prospect of old friends in Unalakleet will keep Mary moving.

One wheel dog looks back to check on Mary

Back of the pack mushers found the short trail from the checkpoint down to the Kuskokwim River to be very much like the worn down Happy River Steps.  As each musher runs down the bank or the steps, a little more snow is gouged out by braking.  Finally, there’s a big trench that mushers have to negotiate.  Some do it with grace that really translates into skillful sled driving, making it look easier than it actually is.  Others bounce from side to side and either come out standing or laying on their side when they come to the river.  Mary bounced from side to side and had to right herself on the river.  One wheel dog looked back to check on Mary while the rest of her team trotted happily forward.