The Late Emmitt Peters, AKA Yukon Fox, 1975 Iditarod Champion (Photo Credit Insider)

The race cannot pass through Ruby without remembering the late Emmitt Peters, AKA Yukon Fox.  Peters of Athabascan descent was a life-long Ruby resident who distinguished himself as a very savvy dog man.  He was a hunter, fisher and trapper and maintained a dog team to accomplish those subsistence tasks.

Back in the early days of the race, there really wasn’t much racing going on as we know it today.  The teams in the Iditarod were teams used for freight and trapping.  The dogs were big and strong, nothing like the marathon athletes we see in harness today.

The times for the race in ’73 and ’74 were just over 20 days.  But then along came Emmitt Peters in 1975.  He shattered the previous times by nearly six full days.  His run was the turning point between camping and racing.  Peters is the last rookie to win Iditarod and one of the few Alaska Natives to earn Iditarod Gold.

His fellow competitors began to call him the Yukon Fox because he routinely slipped away from the other racers.  One minute he’d be there and the next minute they’d be chasing after him. 

All told, he finished thirteen Iditarod runs, placing in the top 10 seven times. His personal best time came in the year 2,000 when Peters, at the age of 59, made Nome in 12 days, 2 hours and 42 minutes.  His fellow mushers recognized him with the Most Inspirational Musher Award.  By that time, Peters no longer had a dog team but rented one from Rick Swenson.

When he wasn’t racing, Emmitt served as the Ruby checker.  After he retired from the official checker’s position, he visited the checkpoint often to greet his friends and former competitors.   Emmitt passed in April of 2020.  This is the first year since his death that the Iditarod has gone through Ruby.  This parade of mushers and dog teams is for you Emmitt!

At one end of the race we’ve got Brent Sass blasting through Galena.  Dallas Seavey did the same at Ruby claiming that his dogs were eating like monsters, a good thing because earlier he said they were a little finicky.  The next eleven mushers are taking a break in Ruby.  Hugh Neff recently scratched in Ruby.

At the other end of the race, the hub of McGrath is empty except for Julie Ahnen who recently scratched, returned dogs, the people who care for them, IAF pilots and the logistics coordinators.  Apayauq Reitan has Ophir all to herself.  Eight rookie teams are making their way to Cripple.  Noticeably absent from that pack of rookies is Amanda Otto and her King dogs who is sitting in Cripple, Canadian musher, Martin Massicotte who is out of Cripple heading to Ruby and Norwegian musher Hanna Lyrek who is also heading to Ruby. 

For her young age, 22, Hanna is a very accomplished dog musher.  Having passed the half-way point of the race she’s holding 22nd position.  Martin Massicotte is a second year rookie so not eligible for the rookie honor.  Amanda Otto is currently running in 33rd place.

The Berington twins, Anna and Kristy are running smack dab in the middle of the pack as they head to Ruby. The twins along with Kristy’s husband, Andy Pohl operate Seeing Double Kennel.  They’ve come a long way from the days of growing up in Wisconsin when they cobbled together a sled with skies and a milk crate then harnessed the family dogs to take them around the yard.  When not training dogs and racing, they enjoy endurance events – half marathons, ultra-distances and triathlons.  Their skills in carpentry and landscaping pay the kennel bills.  They have risen in the ranks from finishing at 40th place to finishing in the top twenty.  That’s what they have their sights set on for 2022, the top 20.

The 2020 Champion, Thomas Waerner of Norway has done several interviews with Bruce Lee and Greg Heister for Insider.  Thomas is a master strategist and owns trophies from not only Iditarod but also the grueling races of northern Europe.  One of the aspects he stressed today was how important it is for the musher to be positive and upbeat.  Dogs are very intuitive and will assume the attitude of the musher.  Thomas would say, focus on your dogs and your race!    

As the teams hit the Yukon, they are required to take an 8 hour rest.  The weather is turning cooler, the trail is getting better and Brent and Dallas are extending their lead over the rest of the pack.  This is going to be a barn burner!  Stay tuned.