March 11, 2014D

Click on thumbnail images to view a larger image.

All photos in this gallery are by Iditarod Trail Committee. Reproduction prohibited without written permission from the photographer.

Hi Boys and Girls,

Well the final preparations are being made for the Last Great Race.  Have you ever wondered how mushers carry enough supplies to last them over a thousand miles?

The simple answer is they can’t.  So what can they do to make sure that there is enough food and supplies for both the dogs and the musher to reach Nome?  They prepare drop bags to be flown to the checkpoints.

The ITC supplies mushers with drop bags to pack up and take to the Airland Transport in Anchorage to be weighed, sorted by checkpoint and then flown to the checkpoint.  Each drop bag must have the mushers name and destination clearly written on it.  Food and supplies are sent to all checkpoints except Yetna and Finger Lake.  Sending food or gear to Safety is optional.  The food drop takes place about 2-3 weeks prior to the start of the race.

So…. What’s in the drop bags?  Dog food, human food, dog supplies such as extra booties are packed in the bags.  All mandatory food must be shipped through the drop bags.  All perishable food (food that could rot or go bad) must be prefrozen. The bags cannot weigh more than 60 pounds each.  Mushers can also send extra sleds and equipment to checkpoints of their choosing.  This extra equipment may include extra dog dishes, buckets, runners for the sled, etc. This extra equipment must go with the sled and not with the food drops.

Now you may be asking how a musher knows what, how much, and where to send various supplies.  All mushers make a race plan.  Before they start the race, they know where they want to take breaks, do their 24 hour rest, and about when they will get to those places. A Musher will look at the plan and decide where would be good places for extra food, a sled, supplies etc.  Once the race starts, the mushers may have to change their plan for various reasons.  When they do that, they may also have to rethink where to pick up their supplies and may have to carry those supplies with them.

Not all supplies are used.  There is always extra. Extra dog food that is left behind may be used at the discretion of the officials.  No food, dog or human, is shipped back in the return bags.  Sleds, return bags, gear etc. may be picked up at ITC headquarters after the race has finished.

Remember a race plan is part of achieving a goal that the mushers have set for themselves.  This is one part of the plan to achieve that goal.

Only a week left before race time.  Hope you’ve picked your musher and are ready to set out on a great adventure.

Happy trails,

Gypsy