Consider the dichotomy – following the mushers by Ion Earth GPS Tracker, assuming arrival is imminent then heading outside to greet a human traveling by dog team. On one hand it’s the newest and greatest technology on the other it’s a form of travel dating further back than the beginning of time in Alaska.

Last night it was musher #40, Angie Taggart. Tracker said she was within a mile or two. For those standing outside, her headlamp suddenly appeared out on the Kuskokwim River moving steadily along the trail toward the edge of town. The sky is star studded. For a while the light disappears as the musher and dogs climb the riverbank to the snow-covered road that runs along the edge of the river. Suddenly the light is coming straight toward the checkpoint. The team begins to emerge from out of the beam of the musher’s headlamp. Soon they’re close enough to see the vapor from their breath. Everything is quiet except for the nearly inaudible jingle of the dog’s tags and the footfall of bootied paws. The team has arrived and the silence breaks when the musher calls, “WHOA.”