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Teacher on the Trail™
Engaging lessons based on Insider video clips.
Our four-legged correspondents write for all ages..
Collection of all things Iditarod.
Latest Teacher on the Trail™ Posts
The second question people ask me about my time on the Iditarod Trail, after “did you survive the cold?” is usually, “Did you see northern lights?” My answer is, yes, sort of. On the second night in Galena, a checkpoint along the Yukon river, a faint swirl of northern lights appeared in the sky. It …
This year’s Iditarod has come and gone, with lots of great stories, memories, and lessons. One of the things that stood out to me after watching mushers come into checkpoints was how they carried and located their mandatory gear. What is mandatory gear? Rule 16 of the 2024 Iditarod Race Rules states: Rule …
Have you seen Dallas Seavey’s video about the boots he created for the Iditarod Trail this year? The six-time champion shared his new footwear system shortly after the race concluded. In the video, he talked about the types of problems he hoped to solve by rethinking the entire concept of footwear on the trail. Seavey …
Join the Iditarod Education Department in welcoming our 2025 Iditarod Teacher on the TrailTM, Maggie Hamilton, to the elite group of educators to earn this honor. After completing an involved and thorough application, and the selection process as a finalist in Alaska prior to this year’s race, Maggie accepted this year-long job. All finalists have …
My experience with the Iditarod as Teacher on the Trail has put me up close and personal with a facet of the race that people might not think about much: the Iditarod Air Force (IAF). This is why I wanted to highlight the IAF in my March lesson. The race would not be possible without …
Iditarod 2024 is a wrap. I’m seated on the late evening “banquet flight” with volunteers, mushers, their families, and the Nome-Beltz High School boys basketball team on their way to the state tournament. It’s a 737 packed to the wingtips with stories, memories, tears, laughter, triumph, new friendships and quite a few Iditarod trophies and …
Why is the Red Lantern so important? The Lynden “Committed Through the Last Mile” Red Lantern Award recognizes the musher to make the last run from Safety to Nome. It symbolizes perseverance and commitment to finishing, even though there are challenges. This morning at 2:22 am, I greeted Jeff Reid as he and his dogs …
Imagine a thick quilt, covered in many squares, patches and fabrics, with layers of warm fiber nestled through, sewn together with thread. On this trip I’ve met so many people who are the threads holding the history of a place together. Their stories weave in and out of the fabric of time. Change happens, and …
Happy Pi Day! It was another beautiful day in Nome Alaska, and I am celebrating Pi Day by sharing all the ways that Iditarod is associated with pie. I mean pi. Well, actually, I mean both! Pi is the ratio of the circumference of any circle divided by the diameter of that circle. Pi is …
The Iditarod is an amazing role model for building relationships. It’s one of the few cultures I’ve been in where friendships form instantly, dogs melt your heart on an hourly basis, and the wide open landscapes of ice, snow, and mountains take your breath away and make you want to linger for a day or …