Apparently the junior mushers were not the only ones ready to get moving; Mother Nature was too. At 9:59 (AKST), 1 minute before the start of the race a magnitude 5.3 earthquake shook Southcentral Alaska. According to the Alaska Earthquake center, it was an aftershock of the 7.1 earthquake that hit the area on November 30th, 2018. There was no damage reported and the race began without any issues.

Kristal Hanson at the start of the 2021 Junior Iditarod. Photo Credit: Jane Holmes

The junior mushers took off from Knik Lake at 10:00AM (AKST) and began their journey. 

Just like the Iditarod, the 10 junior mushers hit the trail in 2 minute intervals with the last musher (above) leaving at 10:20. They were led by honorary mushers Gary and Carolee Johannes wearing bib #1. To learn more about these two remarkable members of the junior Iditarod community, check out this article from Terrie Hanke. https://jriditarod.com/2021/02/eye-on-the-jr-gary-and-carolee-johannes-honored/

This year, the course will take them to the Eagle Quest checkpoint before heading to the halfway point at Yentna Station Roadhouse where the mushers will take their 10 hour rest. After that, they will begin their journey back to Eagle Quest and end this year at Martin Buser’s Happy Trails Kennel. 

Be sure to follow the GPS tracker to keep up to date where the mushers are on their journey!

Image taken from GPS Tracker page on Jr. Iditarod website.

My “junior” tracking the juniors.

It looks like Mother Nature is really trying to influence the race this year – in addition to the earthquake at the start, the weather service is expecting 6-9 inches of new snow to fall by 6pm AKST tonight in the Susitna Valley. This is turning out to be quite the memorable race already!

Upper Level Science Teachers: Check out this video examining earthquakes in Alaska. It talks about where they happen most often, and gives lots of great information about the tectonic plate activity specifically in the Alaskan region. It will lead to a great discussion about today’s 5.3 earthquake during the start of the Junior Iditarod! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2nMiVd0zo_Y