9:30 PM Saturday, Unalakleet—The Bering Sea Coast

In late evening we land in Unalakleet, first village on the Bering Sea Coast.  Here it feels like Hercules with yet another challenge.   As we neared the coast on our airplane trip, the thick stands of spruce thinned, and gradually disappeared, revealing low brush tundra, and ice and pans out into the sea.   The constant wind of the coast bites, probably because it carries moisture from the Bering.  As we approached Unalakleet, the clear air of the Yukon Interior changed to a moisture dense haze off the coast.

Unalakleet is rich in culture—an Eskimo village—and abundant in game and fish.  The Unalakleet River is famous as a sports fishing  destination with arctic char, salmon, sheefish, et al.  Caribou migrate through this area in great numbers.

Unalakleet prepares for first musher to the coast

Unalakleet is wonderfully hospitable, allowing mushers to use one of their corporation buildings as a checkpoint and sleeping area.

volunteers from Unalakleet prepare headquarters for meals and the arriving mushers

  Mushers actually have beds, a rare luxury.  In addition, locals prepare food, including native foods of all kinds—salmon prepared in a variety of traditional forms, trout, soups, salmon chowders, pickled muktuk, salmon spreads, in addition to all the accoutrements of western cooking—bacon, eggs, sourdough—a feast to which all are invited.

John Baker and team welcomed by his Alaska Native community 

John Baker, running in the lead pack to Unalakleet, is in effect coming home closer to his Inupiat roots, welcomed by many friends.   As the 2011 Champion, John leveraged his fame to gather support and give back to his community.  He persuaded sponsors, for example, to back his Dream, Try, Win campaign for school kids all across the Alaskan Arctic.

In addition, hearing about funding shortages for a wonderful peer to peer program aimed at teenagers and kids in distress, he once again contacted his major sponsor Teck, to support the Teck John Baker Youth Leadership Program.

This program challenges kids to become leaders, and to be active advocates to help fellow students positively resolve personal problems.  Incredibly, funding to this program has resulted in tangible results.  A large region of the arctic near Kotzebue led the nation in teenage suicides, a tragic social dilemma for the arctic society.  The peer to peer program advocated by John and other members of the community has resulted in a zero incident suicide rate for the last three years.  Credit, in large part, goes to this program which recruits fellow students to be leaders, with a goal to console and guide their friends. Not only does it save lives, train leaders, it also benefits the entire community.  Tom Baker (John’s nephew), a youth leader and organizer, was inspired and influenced by his uncle.  “Even if you come from a small town, you can accomplish big things.”

Final thoughts

Aliy Zirkle, according to my very attentive fans inside the Unk headquarters, continues to lead the race past a traditional hunting cabin at “Old woman.”   Locals say she should arrive about 5AM to the coast.

Jonathon, who comments that he is a big Lance Mackey fan, is my assitant in Unalakleet