Dear Friends, The 2024 Iditarod has officially ended with Jeff Reid coming in last, extinguishing the Widow’s Lantern and earning the Red Lantern Award for perseverance. 29 teams finished the grueling race across Alaska. What about the nine teams who scratched, or had to quit, for various reasons? What are Sean Williams, Calvin Daugherty, Aaron …
Dear Friends, If you like math, here is a problem to solve. As of Thursday evening, 24 mushers with an average of 11 dogs each have crossed the finish line in Nome. How many of us sled dogs have come into the town? Nome is not a big city. Where do we sled dogs go? …
Dear Friends, It has been so exciting seeing the mushers arriving in Nome, tired but happy and triumphant! Little by little more teams are arriving. The mushers have given credit to their sled dogs for working as a team to get across Alaska. If you are able to see the GPS tracker, you see two …
Dear Friends, Throughout the history of the Iditarod, there have been family connections between mushers. In 2017, Dallas Seavey and his dad ended up finishing second and first, with Dallas coming into Nome about 2 1/2 hours after his father, Mitch. Brothers have raced together; husbands and wives have been competitors. This year, for the …
Dear Friends, There are wonderful schools in each of the populated checkpoints. I say populated, because some checkpoints are either ghost towns (abandoned) or just places for mushers to stop, get their supplies, and have vets available. Yentna Station is a roadhouse, population 8, where the family hosts people who want to visit interior …
Dear Friends, What do pure gold nuggets, salmon fish, beaver fur mittens and hats, and a gourmet dinner have in common? These are all specially awarded prizes along the Iditarod Trail! At certain checkpoints, the first musher to reach certain checkpoints wins a prize donated by an Iditarod sponsor. For example: Mille Porsild won handmade …
Dear Friends, Have you been noticing the race standings? Of the 16 rookies, or first timers on the Iditarod, 14 are running in a row toward the back of the pack today. Even though they are not in the lead, we need to cheer them on! It is an accomplishment to even enter the Iditarod, …
Dear Friends, You may have noticed that we sled dogs do not mind the snow getting onto our fur. We are well adapted for cold conditions because of our two layers of hair. The soft, blanket-like hair that is next to our skin keeps us warm. This is called the undercoat. Our coarser hair that …
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 …
Dear Friends, Some people think that sled dog teams and their drivers, or “mushers,” just pay $4000 and sign up to race in the Iditarod across Alaska. That isn’t true. There is a rule that says: ROOKIES: report card/assessment forms and rookie reference must be included in order to enter the race. What? Mushers need …
