Behind the Scenes!
It’s clear, frosty and minus 18 degrees in McGrath. The final mushers, six of them, departed the checkpoint in the wee hours of the morning. Monica Zappa hitched up her team of dogs that were definitely ready to be on the trail and departed McGrath around 03:00 this morning. At that hour, she had plenty …
Walk into the race logistics room on any given day of the race and you’ll see a white board filled with destinations – YTN, SKW, FL, RP, McG, etc. as well as tail numbers and the names of hopeful volunteers awaiting distribution along the trail. In the midst of the room with her finger on …
Thank you Brent Sass! Sounds strange to say thanks to a guy who wisely withdrew from the Iditarod after sustaining a head injury during the Yukon Quest. Sass and Allen Moore were on track for an exciting finish. Prior to the finial checkpoint of the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest, Sass and Moore were playing leapfrog on …
It was a bright sunny fleece and light jacket sort of day in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan when I had the good fortune of walking through the dog yard at Nature’s Kennel. Ed and Tasha Stielstra host an annual Musher Symposium and Teacher’s Conference late in September and this was the Sunday morning …
[wpvideo KivsaNI9] My year as 2013 Teacher on the Trail™ is coming to a close and I have yet to wrap my brain around the fact that it actually happened. I can’t finish this adventure without a few thank yous. Thank you Andrea Aufder Heyde (Finney) for having the tenacity to pursue bringing the Iditarod …
Sunday March 3rd and one might think all the action is taking place on Willow Lake in preparation for the restart at 14:00. True, there’s been plenty going on there since well before sunrise but there’s plenty of action in every checkpoint on this side of the Alaska Range. Being part of the communications team …
Libby here! Do you ever wonder what goes on at the Vet Check that is held right before the race? View this video for a glimpse of vets, mushers, and dogs of the Iditarod! What goes on at Vet Check? Click to view the video. Video By Sally Simon, Finalist for 2011 Iditarod Teacher on …
The final Saturday of June marks the beginning of the upcoming Last Great Race. It’s the Volunteer Picnic and Musher Sign-up at Iditarod Headquarters in Wasilla. The festivities began at 9:00 under cloudy skies with a forecast of rain. Luckily for the hundreds of folks in attendance, possibly 1049, the precipitation held off and …
Libby Here! Dropped dogs are dogs that mushers or veterinarians decide have to leave the race. Some dogs have a minor injury or an attitude is often the reason a dog gets dropped from the musher’s team and are out of the race. Dogs that leave the race, stay in a checkpoint until a small …
There’s one checkpoint that both the Junior and Iditarod share – Yentna Station Roadhouse. The name is a bit strange in that the nearest road is more that 40 miles away! The only way to travel to Yentna in the winter is by plane, snowmachine or dog team. In summer you can add boat because …
