We woke up to a few inches of snow in Ruby, which was a pleasant surprise! The town is situated on a hillside along the Yukon River. The volunteers at the checkpoint get to stay in the local K-12 school, which is at the top of a very steep hill and the snow was falling as I walked down to the checkpoint. But first, I got to sit in with the students and their teachers in the gym for the morning meeting, The Pledge of Allegiance, and a fun game of dodge ball. I also got to talk with all students about the Iditarod, sled dogs, the 1925 Serum Run, and the Junior Iditarod. It was incredible talking with the students about the 1925 Serum Run with descendants of Bill McCarty sitting in the same room. Bill was the musher who transported the serum from Ruby to Whiskey Creek, a distance of 28 miles.
Early in the afternoon I arrived in Kaltag, another small town along the Yukon River. Jessie Holmes and Nic Petit were already here resting, but I got to watch Emily Ford come through and park her team. When a musher comes into a checkpoint, they are asked if they are staying or passing through. Each time I’ve watched a team come in to a checkpoint, the musher has chosen to stay, until tonight when Paige Drobny checked in and passed through Kaltag.
Emily Robinson (4 time Junior Iditarod Champion) talks about how she won her first Junior Iditarod by a mere six seconds. SIX SECONDS! If she did not win that race, then she never would have made history as the first musher to win the Junior Iditarod all four years. This stresses that efficiency is key when not resting and Paige Drobny showed that tonight as she quickly checked in, strapped straw (covered in blue plastic) to her sled, gathered things she needed from her drop bags, then left for the next checkpoint of Eagle Island. While doing this, she gave her dogs a frozen treat, but as soon as she asked them if they were ready, the dogs instinctively started pulling with excitement. She was at the checkpoint for less than 10 minutes. Use this as an example when talking to your students about time management!
I love hearing from so many teachers every day! Send a message my way: emailtheteacher@iditarod.com
