Dear Friends,

How does your school desk look?  Is it stuffed full, or organized with only what you need?  Sometimes mushers’ sleds get messy and full of things they just toss into the sled bag.  They don’t have much time to organize their sleds during the race when they only stay a few minutes in a checkpoint.  Lauro Eklund, a rookie in the Iditarod, talked about going through his sled and maybe purging or decluttering some items he doesn’t need during his 24 hour stop.  This would make his sled lighter.  He mentioned having to keep all his mandatory gear as well as survival gear, however.  He had to carry one of his dogs in the sled for while.  Do you think that would make a mess in the sled, having a wiggling or sleeping dog riding on top of the food and gear?

Jessie Holmes Leaves Rainy With Straw (photo: Siri Raitto)

Mushers have to make decisions on what to keep and what to leave in drop bags at the checkpoints.  Lauro wisely said that he must be ready for the unexpected.  He wants to have what he needs if an emergency comes or bad weather hits. Can you think of items he should keep?  

What are you required to keep in your school desk?  Is there anything you could get rid of to make it more organized like some of the mushers are doing with their sleds?

Until next time,

Gypsy