Sign Marking the Iditarod Trail From Finger Lake (Photo: Terrie Hanke)
Finger Lake got its name because of its shape – long and narrow with a slight bend just like a finger – very much like your pointer finger. At one time, the checkpoint was across the lake from where it’s located today. Now the checkpoint is located right beneath Winter Lake Lodge. Back a few years when Kirsten and Carl Dixon bought the hunting lodge, they suggested the checkpoint move to near their lodge. That made good sense as the lodge is near the trail that heads to Puntilla Lake.
Gene Leonard, a trapper and hunter in the area, had a cabin adjacent to the old hunting lodge. The Leonard cabin is still a part of the Winter Lake Lodge. The trail follows some of his old trap line. Gene finished Iditarod in 1979 and ’81. He made two more attempts but scratched in ’83 and ’84. On his rookie run, he completed the race in 24 day, 9 hours and 2 minutes. How times have changed!
In recent years Winter Lake Lodge hosted Iditarod spectators, giving them a front row seat for the action at the checkpoint. This year, under new ownership, the lodge is closed, undergoing some renovation. The checkpoint, as always is a tent city, still close to the lodge. Mushers will miss the delicious high protein meal offered by the Dixons in the lodge kitchen.
Earlier this morning, musher Jessie Holmes and Dallas Seavey both encountered a moose on the trail outside of Skwentna. The moose was lying in a very winding section of the trial. Holmes reported at Finger Lake that he had “punched a moose in the nose” as it reared up at him and his team. Seavey deemed his encounter with the moose to be dangerous to himself and his dogs. His Facebook post and the Iditarod Press Release indicate that Seavey made the difficult decision to dispatch the animal. Following Iditarod rules, Seavey field dressed the moose and notified authorities so that the edible meat might be utilized by local families.
Dallas mushed a bit further down the trail where he stopped to re-group and feed his team. Later at Finger Lake he conferred with Veterinarians and sent a dog that was injured by the moose home. The dog was flown from Finger Lake to Anchorage to be evaluated by veterinarians.
This incident has taken Seavey a bit off his schedule but Insider Bruce Lee said, “Dallas is a guy who will re-evaluate and make the best out of the situation to get himself back on track.” Currently Seavey is one of twelve mushers who’ve departed Rainy Pass for the climb to the highest point of the trail (3,200 ft.) and the technical descent through the Dalzell Gorge and on to Rohn.
At the Back of the Pack, six rookies are resting in Finger Lake – Severin Cathry of Switzerland and Alaskans Calvin Daugherty, Joshua Robbins, Jeff Reid, Lara Kittleson and Benjamin Good. They all arrived within 45 minutes of each other.
Lara Kittelson came up to Alaska from Battle Ground, Washington. She’d never done any mushing but applied for a job a Seavey’s Iditaride Kennel in Seward. She liked dogs and she liked hard work. The thought of running Iditarod never really entered her mind. It was a way out-there adventure until she saw some drone footage of a dog team on a trail weaving through a frozen swamp. She told Iditarod Insider that was her epiphany. She talked to Mitch Seavey and her focus changed from training pups to doing qualifiers and preparing for long distance mushing.
Joshua Robbins, a veteran, is running and racing dogs is to inspire others, veterans included, to try new things and not be afraid of failure. Robbins struggled in transitioning from military to civilian life and sought help. He was inspired to create Outreach22 to provide emotional support and hope to other veterans with mental health struggles. Robbins’ parka is blue with red, white and blue stars rimming the hem. He’s proud to wear the patriotic parka to honor the veteran community and encourage veterans to seek help rather than become one of the 22 veterans who take their lives daily.
Jeff Reid, another veteran, has been working for 6 plus years toward an Iditarod. He and his wife decided to come to Alaska to bring Jeff’s dream of building a bond with a team of dogs to fruition. At one time Jeff read Winterdance by Gary Paulson. Jeff had just lost a magnificent canine companion and was longing for a time and place to re-establish the bond between human and canine. It seemed that mushing would be the answer. Reid Worked for Aliy Zirkle and Allen Moore at SP Kennel and purchased dogs when they decided to retire from mushing. He also bought dogs and property from Sebastian Schneulle to further establish his kennel. He’s now living his dream.
God speed to these six rookies as they tackle the most technical parts of the trail. BTW, Mille Porsild up in the front of the race reported to Insider that the Happy River Steps were in good condition. There are two exit routes and her dogs took the one less travelled so the exit was a little rough.
