Stories from the Trail

Tales from the Trail: Monica Update!

We checked in with Monica a few weeks ago, and her busy training schedule finally gave her a chance to get back to us! She and Tim have been training up in the Fairbanks area and last week they competed in the Denali Doubles. The Denali Doubles is a unique race that runs 265 miles …

International Sled Dog Race

The formal name of the race we all know as the Iditarod is the Iditarod Trail International Sled Dog Race.  And it truly is an international pool of mushers this year.  A quick look at the musher list shows seven different countries (US, Norway, Jamaica, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Sweden) and seven different states (Alaska, …

Animal Heroes Everywhere

Alaska races sled dogs. In Maryland we race horses. Alaska has stories about heroic dogs. We have stories about heroic horses. My school and I wanted to send greetings to the schools along the trail as a way to kind of let our schools meet each other and to show a connection between schools that …

Tales from the Trail: The Weather Strikes Again!

I have made it to Anchorage!  I’m happy to report it is snowing!  I’m watching the Iron Dog start on TV, while updating the blog and preparing to go exploring.  The Iron Dog is the longest snowmobile race in the world. It travels 2,031 miles and will feature 38 two person teams this year. It …

Tales from the Trail: Nicole Update!

Our favorite junior musher, Nicole Forto, is just about a week away from her Junior Iditarod run!  She took some time out of her busy schedule to give us a quick update!  February Interview with Nicole Forto We wish her and all the junior mushers a safe journey!  You can follow along with their adventures …

Tales from the Trail: Signing at the Start

We have been learning about the many, many volunteers who help the Iditarod run like a well-oiled machine – or should I say sled?  Volunteer responsibilities range from making foot ointment for the dogs, to selling merchandise, to loading and unloading trucks, to working with communications, to being out on the trail, to just about …

The Sleeping Bag Patch

One thing that each Iditarod Teacher on the Trail™ is required to do is to create a patch for inclusion on the official Teacher on the Trail sleeping bag. You can learn more about this tradition and the sleeping bag here: LINK I decided a long time ago, that this was going to be a …

Tales from the Trail: Monica’s on the Road Again!

With all this crazy warm weather in Alaska, Monica, and many other mushers are traveling the state in search of snow.  Maybe they should think about turning their trucks south and heading in this direction!  Several races have been cancelled, including the T200 which Monica was planning to run.  It has really put a damper …

Tales from the Trail: The Job of a Race Marshall

As you can imagine, it takes many, many people to plan, organize, support, and oversee a sled dog race.  One of the most important jobs is that of the Race Marshall.  We wanted to get a sense of what that means and what is entailed, so we went straight to the source and interviewed Lacey …

Tales from the Trail: Nicole Forto Update!

How will you be spending your Winter Break from school? Well, if you were training for the Junior Iditarod, you would be spending it on the runners of a dog sled!  Having lots of free time from school means having lots of time for extra training runs! There are now seven junior mushers signed up …