Paws Along the Trail with some Math

A gorgeous day on Willow Lake

Try to solve the math questions throughout this article!

The Iditarod Restart began on Willow Lake which is frozen over.  Denali, the tallest mountain in North America, rose in splendor to the clear, blue sky.  Musher trucks and trailors drove onto the ice, parking parallel to one another.  I noticed that the younger mushers were serious today, working to make sure everything was packed and ready.  If anyone was relaxing or goofing around, it was the veterans of the race.  

DeeDee Jonrowe laughs with Jeff King, preparing for her final Iditarod.

Each musher had some of their dog handlers helping.  If every musher had at least four handlers, how many people were preparing for the race today?

The announcers gave brief biographies on each musher, telling about their home city/state/country, jobs, and how long they’ve been mushing.  At two minute intervals, the teams left.  If the first team left at 2 PM, when did the last team leave?

It’s finally race day!

Anyone who left before the 67th and final musher will have to wait even longer at their 24 hour mandatory rest at a checkpoint.  The  66th musher will have an additional 2 minutes added to his 24 hour stop, and the 65th will have 4 minutes added.  This makes it turn out fair no matter in which place you left the starting line. If a musher was the 24th to leave, how much longer will he or she need to stay for the 24 hour mandatory stop at a checkpoint?  How about the musher who was 4th?  How much extra time will she spend for her 24 hour stop at a checkpoint?

Happy dogs, happy faces

A beautiful start to the 2018 Iditarod

The mushers are now on their way to Yentna, Skwentna, Finger Lake,  and then Rainy Pass.  Watch the Race Center Standings for their progress!