The mushers fed and bootied their dogs in the dark and departed Yentna long before there was light on the horizon. Not to warm, not to cold (-6 degrees) at Yentna Station Roadhouse on Sunday morning. The time is 03:31 and the first team leaves to cover the 75 miles course to the finish line in Willow. The timer/starter gives the team a 2-minute warning followed by 1 minute then 30 seconds and then the 5 second countdown to GO!

The Sunday telephoto from the Junior Iditarod was taken at the finish line. When 17 year old, Jeremiah Klejka crossed the finish line; nobody was more surprised than he to realize that he’d just won the Junior Iditarod. Seems that the two leaders out of Yentna took a wrong turn off the river adding a few extra miles to their race. Klejka ran a nice steady race thinking he was still behind them. It wasn’t until the finish that he learned of their detour and his victory.  Click to enlarge the photos.

Stay tuned for another telephoto story. Beauty is not in the guidebook and adventure not on the map – seek and you’ll find.

Born to Run,

Sanka