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Virtual Trail Journey: Checkpoint -Trail Information
BOO! Being that the next two checkpoints on the trail are located in GHOST TOWNS, my story should begin with a ghostly greeting! So, what’s a ghost town? It’s a deserted town. The residents have left usually because their jobs no longer exist or because of natural disasters, fires or wars. That’s exactly the case …
Did you know that Iditarod dogs train for about 3,000 miles before they do the 1049 miles of Iditarod? My handler has decided to experience this distance on her bike! Yup, since the snow melted, right here on the rural roads of Wisconsin, she has ridden her bike 3000 miles – that’s a lot of …
BOO! Being that the next two checkpoints on the trail are located in GHOST TOWNS, my story should begin with a ghostly greeting! So, what’s a ghost town? It’s a deserted town. The residents have left usually because their jobs no longer exist or because of natural disasters, fires or wars. That’s exactly the case …
BOO again! Another ghostly greeting from ghost town and checkpoint, Iditarod. Have you ever wondered where the word or name Iditarod came from? I’ve heard 3 explanations so I’ll share them with you. First, Iditarod was a word used by Athabascans that meant FAR DISTANT PLACE. Second, Iditarod was a word used by other Native …
It’s been many miles since the mushers and their teams have come to a populated place. Unlike Ophir and Iditarod, Shageluk is populated with people and not ghosts! Handler didn’t actually visit Shageluk as the 2006 Teacher on the Trail because ’06 was an even year so the teams followed the northern route. It wasn’t …
Leaving Shageluk and mushing on toward Anvik, the teams will have fewer miles to go than they have covered. No one would be so bold as to say that it’s downhill to Nome from Shageluk because the Yukon River and the Bering Sea Coast present many challenges for the mushers and dogs. Anvik (AN-vik) is …
Upon reaching Grayling, mushers and dogs have covered 18 miles of the 148 mile leg of the Iditarod Trail that runs up the frozen Yukon River. The village to village snowmachine trail is easy to follow but that doesn’t mean it’s an easy run. The Yukon River is famous for its blustery conditions. The winds …
When teams reach Eagle Island, they have covered about half of the miles they will be traveling on the Yukon River. In his Trail Notes, Don Bowers, Jr. calls this section of trail that runs upstream and into the wind on the Yukon long and boring. He says, “There is nothing but wide-open river and …
On the even years, the race will take the northern route to Nome. When the drivers and teams reach Ophir, they’ll take a right and head north to Cripple. The distance from Ophir to Cripple is 59 miles. The total distance from Ophir to Kaltag, where the two trails rejoin on the northern route is …
The village of Ruby is the first checkpoint of the northern route that’s situated on the mighty Yukon River. In the past, the Millennium Hotel, race headquarters in Anchorage, honors the first musher arriving with a delicious seven-course meal prepared by the Millennium’s Executive Chef. In the corner of the rustic checkpoint upon a little …