DoryJM Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 I love the Iditarod!! Do you get to see any portion of it?? I have a friend that has followed it religiously for the last 15 years and she's always sending me updates and pictures. Other than constantly being cold, it might be fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Primitive1 Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 Hi Dory, We got to see the start of the Iditarod once back in the 80's or early 90's when Susan Butcher was in it.. It was very impressive and I could not believe how small those sleds are for how far they go! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoryJM Posted March 11, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 One of these days I hope to see it. I'd love to go to Alaska and this would be a great time of year to go to be able to watch it. A tad cold, but as long as I'm not on a sled, I'd be happy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted March 11, 2010 Report Share Posted March 11, 2010 Hi Dory! Oh I love the Iditarod, and the Yukon Quest (which is 1000 miles long) is a great race, too. The Quest goes from Fairbanks (my town) to Whitehorse; start and end of race switches each year, so sometimes we see the start, sometimes we see the end. And the Iditarod is so cool. Sandy Darlington comes to Alaska sometimes to see the race start in Anchorage. Many of the mushers live in my town or nearby area in interior Alaska, but there are mushers from all over the world that participate in this race. Yes, it is so exciting to watch and see. And yes, the dogs are very small. They are called Alaskan Huskies. They might be 50 pounds max. They are bred and built for long endurance and speed. Lance Mackey's and Susan Butcher's homes are right here down the road from me. Now that she has passed away from cancer, her husband and her daughters still live here, and mush dogs. It's kind of a unique sport and a unique lifestyle. When I lived in Anchorage I would go watch the start of the race. I work with a few people here who have dog teams but mush more for the fun, not serious racers like these guys. One of my coworkers is married to the Redington family. Her husband is in this race every year. The Iditarod web site is something I would call VERY WELL DONE! so if anyone is interested in checking out the web site, they have put a lot of effort in building a quality site. I am super impressed. Anyway, they started the race last Saturday and are probably half way to Nome by now. Usually the race is finished within 9-10 days, depending on weather and trail conditions. Here's the link and the blog, too! (See? We Alaskan's are right up there with technology...hehehe) http://www.iditarod.com/ http://www.iditarod.com/insider/ http://iditarodblogs.com/news/newsletters/ Have fun learning about this awesome sport and the beautiful Alaska that I love so much!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoryJM Posted March 12, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 Shana, what a treat to be right in the thick of it!! I read a book a long time ago (it was a true story) about a guy that wanted to learn to mush and had purchased a team of dogs. His learning curve had me in tears, laughing so hard I could not see to read! Maybe I'll be knocking on your door one of these days with a sleeping bag so that I can stay and watch the start/finish. How cool!! They're website is phenomenal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted March 12, 2010 Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 Oh gosh, I apologize if I misled,,, the Iditarod trail does not go near my house... it's far away from me. It starts in Anchorage and goes through the wilderness and along rivers, through a big mountain range, and through some small Athabascan and Inupiat Eskimo villages but there are no roads... trust me you are in the middle of no where on that trail! But you can see it start in Anchorage, and restart is in Willow. There are roads there. And of course, you could fly to Nome and see the end of it. Or you could just mush yourself on down that trail yourself and see the whole thing! Come on up and visit me some time. I would love it! PS: On the map below (which is just a small chunk of the state) I live way far off to the right past the compass and it does not show on the map. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted March 12, 2010 Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 Shana, I'd not heard about Susans death... Roughly when did she die.. she was so cute showing us a several week old litter, and talked quite a bit when we were on the boat tour.. Beautiful house!! Log of course. RitaR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted March 12, 2010 Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 Yes, I have been on that river boat many a time! Even though it's a touristy thing, I try to go on it every summer. It's a lovely boat ride on the river. And yes, her family still lives in that beautiful log home! And Dave (her husband) and daughters still do the dog breeding and stuff. And they still are part of the boat tour and the boat stops in front of the house and Dave talks about the pups and then you meet him again with the dogs where the Chena meets the Tanana river. Susan died a few years ago after battling leukemia at age 51. Much too young. Plus she had two young daughters. So sad. They spread her ashes on the trail in a special place, as I am sure she would have wanted that. And they gave her a "day" Susan Butcher Day is the 1st Saturday in March; usually this is the first day of the Iditarod race each year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted March 12, 2010 Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 The year Susan Butcher passed away, Alaska Airlines was giving out commemorative book marks to all its passengers with Susan's picture and a brief bio. I thought that was a lovely tribute to her. Yep, Shana is right, that I've come up to Anchorage to watch the start of the Iditarod many times. I like to spend the week before hand there because they have something called the Fur Rondy (Rondezvous) there which has dog sled races (shorter sprints), lots of silly stuff like outhouse races, or running with the reindeer (like running with the bulls), etc, and you also get to see lots of the mushers. Two or three years ago I attended a reception for Jeff King the night before the Ceremonial start. It is such a fun week that I really love going. I've also been on three, week long dog mushing trips where you camp at night and continue traveling during the day. Let me tell you...IT IS A LOT OF HARD WORK!!! I am so impressed with the ladies and men who qualify to be in the race, let alone the ones who are able to get to Nome. It is an incredible test of skill, endurance, good sense, hard training and just damn luck in some cases. In addition to watching the start in Anchorage and Willow, or seeing the finish in Nome, you can join a tour that flys you to some of the check points. I have a friend from Australia, who I met in the Nome airport and we flew together to the island of St Michael - a Yupik village, and spent about 6 days on a dog mushing trip together. That particular trip did a loop in and out of St. Michael, across the frozen sea ice to the mainland, through 2 villages and up to Unalakleet which you can see on Shana's Iditarod map. Anyway, that trip was just before the Iditarod start, and Holly then joined one of the tours and flew to the check points. She said it was expensive, but so worth it to her. That trip joined us together for life! We spent 24 hours a day together helping one another out...a lot of bonding occured. Holly is 30 this year and I am 60, so it was like a Mother and Daughter act, but it worked; that's what counted. Oh, and the morning we started across he sea ice, it was minus 35 with winds at 65 miles an hour. My coldest trip was in the Boundary Waters in the Minnesota/Canada border area and it was minus 53..and yes, we were camping outside in little tents. And, yes, I froze my ass off! And, came very close to frost bite, to a point I went to a doctor as soon as I got back into town. It took about 3 months for my fingers and toes to stop hurting and get back to normal. I was lucky! So, if you have the chance, go see the start and catch Iditarod fevor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted March 12, 2010 Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 OMG Sandy, you told me about your mushing trip but just reading it in print... WOW!!! Girl you are awesome and so adventurous!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted March 12, 2010 Report Share Posted March 12, 2010 Yep...those were the days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RitaR Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 Thanks Shana for the info on Susan.. we don't hear about the Iditerod out here in NC.., so guess they don't really have an idea of what it took for susan to make that run, more than once. Prayers for her family, wish I could see and hug them in person. ritar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnnHenry Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 Well, I think the whole race thing is impossible, like the kind of stuff they do in the Olympics, both winter and summer. I would think the state of Alaska would be filled with lost, dead dogs and lost, dead mushers. How do they do it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quiltmonkey Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 Ann, this is highly organized; has a big purse; been an established race for nearly 50 years. Lots of big name sponsors. There are vets at every checkpoint and they look at the dogs. I promise you that these dogs are looked at head to toe with a microscope. The mushers train year round. They know how to pace their dogs. Helicopters and airplanes are overhead watching the mushers below. If anyone gets in trouble between checkpoints they are sure to be found and help by either a fellow musher or an authority. All racers are required to take one 24-hour rest at a checkpoint. There are a lot of rules the mushers must follow or they are disqualified. Some mushers scratch from the race for one reason or another. It really is fascinating. i don't know how the humans do it; they must have something deep inside that drives them; it's some kind of desire. The dogs?? Heck I don't worry about them... they could run and run and run and run and run and run and run.................... I don't worry much about those dogs. They are born to run! No dead dogs. No dead mushers. They have had a few incidents with moose. In any race, the risks are there that something can go wrong; that's part of the excitement; out in the trail poses many opportunities and challenges. And of course, there is that off chance that a dog dies but I will say that this is a very rare ocurrence. Extremely rare. So, if you are interested in learning more check out the links above. There are documentaries shown on TV (DISCOVERYCHANNEL?) you can check out too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandra Darlington Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 I totally agree with Shana. The mushers love their dogs and are totally bonded with each and every one of them. They take much better care of their team than most people take care of their house pet dogs. Plus, these dogs are carefully bred and are "born to run." You won't find a healthier, happier bunch of dogs on the face of the earth, than sled dogs. Sometimes you have to see it and experience it to understand that point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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