The Iditarod Trail

Iditarod Trail Race Headquarters in Wasilla, AK.

Parts of the Iditarod Trail go back thousands of years to trade routes used by Alaska Natives.  At the turn of the 20th century transportion between boom towns like Nome, Fairbanks and Valdez relied on river and ocean steamers in the summer and sled dog teams in the winter.  In 1908 the Alaska Road Commission surveyed a trail from Seward to Nome to replace the route from Valdez. Colonel Walter Goodwin and his team measured the distance from Seward to Nome by attaching a cyclometer to his dogsled! This trail was 400 miles shorter than the trail starting at Valdez.

The Iditarod National Historic Trail from Seward to Nome.

After the discovery of gold in the Iditarod country on Christmas Day in 1908, the trail was cleared and from then to the middle 1920's thousands of people and tons of mail, equipment, supplies and gold went over the trail between Seward and Nome.

The goldfields around Iditarod became the fourth most productive district in all of Alaska.  By the winter of 1911, "gold-train" sleddog teams packed with a half ton of gold would make the 3-week run from Iditarod to Seward. It is reported that Wells Fargo dog teams carried over 1,000 pounds of gold to Seward in 37 days. Over 65 tons of gold, or $1.77 billion dollars at today's value, was taken out of the Iditarod district ....  and most of it was taken out by dogsled! 

Joe Redington, Sr., "Father of the Iditarod".

Most of the Trail fell into disuse in the late 1920's as air traffic increased and gold mining decreased. Forest and tundra reclaimed the Iditarod Trail for almost a half a century. Then in 1973 some Alaskans, led by Joe Redington, Sr., reopened the routes and there was renewed interest in the old trail. In order to draw attention to the role dogs played in Alaska's history, Joe and his friends created an epic sled dog race from Anchorage to Nome following the route of the historic Iditarod Trail. This race ultimately revived dog mushing in Alaska, and it is now recognized as Alaska's official sport.

A sled dog "van".

This guy is missing out on the fun.

Twenty-two mushers successfully completed the first race in 1973, with the winner traveling the 1,000-mile distance in just over 20 days. The video explained that the first races had only 3-4 tough competitors, but there are 20-30 these days, and over 70 teams competing. The first race took over 20 days, and last year Lance Macky won The Iditarod for the fourth year in a row with a time of less ten hours! That finishing time was reduced by the advent carbon framed sleds and the advanced breeding of race dogs.

I was interested in the fact that Libby Riddles was the first woman to win the race, in 1985, and for the next three years the title was taken by another woman, Susan Butcher Manley. 

After David and I had toured the Race Headquarters and seen the memorabilia displays and photographs dating back to the first run, we couldn't resist giving it a try. 

This is part of the trail around the Headquarters.

We were seated in a "wheeled sled" with a team of eight sled dogs and our "musher" behind us.  They took us for a little ride through the surrounding woods for a fee of $10.00 each. We figured we were paying by the yard rather than by the mile, but where else could we get an experience like this?!

"HAW GEE!"

We were surprised that "our" dog team looked rather small and a little skinny. However, today's long-distance racing sled dogs are relatively small and sleek compared to the earlier breeds.  Because the racing loads are minimal, the smaller dogs have gotten more popular.

This fella is waiting for his turn to run.

From Alaska Geographic's publication of Iditarod, I learned that "the demand for dogs and sleds skyrocketed with the gold rushes to Alaska....  During one of the big rushes it was said that no stray dogs could be found on the streets of Seattle, having all been rounded up and shipped to Alaska.  Malemutes, huskies, and other breeds were mixed to haul freight and passengers."

While traveling in Alaska I have noticed signs for trailheads and seen trails along the side of the road that could be dog sled trails. There are networks of trails on the outskirts of many communities. In Soldotna I saw a sign for Peninsula Sled Dog and Racing and I hiked to the trail head just to check it out.  I found a kiosk there, with a map showing the various trail options ranging from 3-14 miles, and I got to see how the trail looks as it leads into the woods. Many of these trails are multi-use trails and shared with bikers in the summer and snowmobilers in the winter.

Trail head sign.

Kiosk showing the trail options from here.

The trail leading out into the woods.

We have heard stories of dog kennel owners feeding their dogs dried salmon.  That was even mentioned in James A. Michener's Alaska. Recently I read a bit of trivia on a restaurant menu that claimed that beaver is a favorite food mushers feed sled dogs during long distance races because it contains 34.9 grams of protien in 100 grams of meat. Maybe dogsledding saves gas.... but it is not free.

Our fee for the ride paid for some of the dog food.

In the Headquarters, David and I watched a very interesting and beautiful video of the 2009 Iditarod Race. It gave us a good idea of the challenges of the race.  The trail goes through forests, over rivers, across mountain passes and along the windy coast of the Bering Sea.  There are strict rules and check-in points that help keep it safe for the mushers and their dogs.  The video stressed the bond that is created between the owner and the dogs, and how crucial that is during a long distance race.  Also, it stressed the importance of the breeding of the dogs and how each kennel keeps accurate breeding records to improve their future racing dogs.  

A Siberian Husky.

Racing dogs of the future.

Here's to the future of dog sled racing! This is a unique sport that definitely caught my interest. I just bought a copy of "Race Across Alaska ... First woman to win the Iditarod tells her story" written by Libby Riddles and Tim Jones.

I agree with Joe Redington, Sr., The Iditarod helps to keep alive the history of Alaska and I am eager to relive Libby's experience on the trail in 1985!