Hello friends, On each Thursday before the Iditarod, the mushers all …
Hello friends, My K-9 friends who are running in this year’s Iditarod have been busy preparing for the race, and one of the things they have to do is a Vet Check. There are about 50 Veterinarians who volunteer their time to take care of the K-9 athletes during the Iditarod. The dogs need an EKG, …
Hello friends, Whether you are at home or in school, my guess is that you are learning. While you’re doing that where you are, there is a group of teachers here in Anchorage from Alaska and the lower 48 states. There is even a teacher here from Hawaii! They are all a part of the Iditarod Teaching …
Hello Friends, There are a lot of activities around the Anchorage area leading up to the Last Great Race. One event is the Junior Iditarod. This is a 150 mile race for young people 14 – 17 years of age. The race begins on Knik Lake and ends at the Willow Community Center. The halfway …
Hello friends, In the last post my paws pounded out information about the Drop Bags. Lot’s of food and gear is sent in Drop Bags, but what about the sled? Rule 16 gives a list of mandatory items each musher must carry in their sleds. The list includes: sleeping bag, ax, snowshoes with bindings, promotional material …
Hello friends, While the ITC (Iditarod Trail Committee) provides the straw and fuel for the Iditarod, our mushers are responsible for everything else we need during our time on the trail. Since the sleds would be way too heavy for us to pull for 1,049 miles with ALL the food and gear we need, our …
Hello friends, Putting on a big race like the Iditarod takes a lot of “behind the scenes” work. Our human friends have been putting in many hours trying to make the 2017 Iditarod another successful race. I recently stopped in at the Airland Transport Warehouse in Anchorage, AK where people were pitching in to prepare …
Hello friends, It’s official! The 2017 Iditarod will begin in Fairbanks. How does this work? On the first Saturday in March there is something called the Ceremonial Start. This takes place on 4th Avenue in downtown Anchorage. It’s howling fun. People called “Iditariders” get to have the ride of a lifetime in sleds with dogs …
Hello Friends, Dog paws are pretty important for the K9 athlete as noted in the last post. With thousands of steps a day during the race (my musher friend, Pat Moon recently said we take about 180,000 steps a day during the race!) and many miles, our mushers take special care of the pads on …
Hello Friends, In my last post, I mentioned how 2017 Iditarod Teacher on the Trail Annie Kelley needs special boots to keep her paws – oops – feet warm as she follows teams along the Iditarod Trail. While my friends and I don’t need boots and wool socks to keep our paws warm, we do …
