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Zuma's Paw Prints
The village of Shaktoolik (shak-TOO-lick) is located on a little spit of land that juts out into the Norton Sound. There is one road that runs through town out to the air strip with houses, two stores, two churches, the school, the power plant, the city well, the clinic and the Armory spread along its …
The trail from Kaltag to Unalakleet (YOU-na-la-Kleet) follows a portage trail used by the Athabascans of the interior to travel to the Bering Coast to trade with the Inupiaq Eskimos. Russians also used the trail in their exploration and trading activities. Just 15 miles out of Kaltag, the mushers climb to 800 feet above sea level …
The village of Kaltag is perched high on the west bank of the Yukon River. Teams will make a short steep climb up the river bank and run down main street to the octagonal log community center in the middle of town. After sledding for many miles on the Yukon, mushers are happy to depart …
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 …
Upon reaching Grayling, mushers and dogs have just 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 …
Leaving Shageluk and mushing on toward Anvik, the teams will have fewer miles to go than they have covered. Anvik (AN-vik) is the first checkpoint of the southern route on the famous Yukon River. No one would be so bold as to say that it’s downhill to Nome from Shageluk because the Yukon River and …
Shageluk is almost 160 miles from Takotna, the last village populated with humans. Since departing Takotna, the teams have traveled through the ghost towns of Ophir and Iditarod. 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 was …
BOO again! Sending a 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 in another …
The village of Nulato (nu-LAU-toe) is situated on the mighty Yukon 52 miles down river from Galena. Well before the town was incorporated in 1963, Athabascans from the interior and Eskimos from the coast met at Nulato for trading. After the Russian explorer Malakov arrived in the 1830, an actual trading post was built. The …
Leaving Ruby, Mushers travel 50 miles down the frozen Yukon River to the village of Galena. The first town site of Galena was established in 1918 near a native fish camp called Henry’s Point. It was one of many fish camps located on the Yukon River. Athabascans in the area were nomadic. The location of …