Dear Friends,

Have you ever seen a sign that says, “In a world where you can be anything, be kind?”  It is so important on the Iditarod Trail as well!  In the night, kindness showed up.  Michelle Phillips said she was racing on a river where there was overflow up to her ankles.  Overflow is when the ice is so heavy it sinks, and the water rises up above the ice.  Michelle’s team veered to avoid a tree and her sled caught and ripped.  When she found the break in Nikolai, she was worried and talked to a couple mushers about it.  Ryan Redington, grandson of the man who started the race in 1973, offered her his extra sled!  Even though they are competitors in the race, mushers often help each other. 

There have been stories all through the 50 years of mushers helping each other make it to Nome…catching runaway dog teams (if the musher falls asleep and falls off), loaning supplies, and more.  In 2018, Scott Janssen stopped to help a friend who was too cold and whose dogs were tangled; the friend was too cold to push his distress button.  If you have to call for help using your signal, you are automatically out of the race.  Scott pushed his distress button to get help for his friend and probably saved his life.   It’s a race, yes, but the Iditarod is also more than that.  There is kindness and camaraderie.  

Until next time,

Gypsy