By Terrie Hanke

Trent Herbst of Sun Valley, Idaho left Yentna Station at 2012 Sunday evening and rolled into Skwentna at 0525 Monday morning. The distance is 34 miles between the two checkpoints – seems like a pretty slow run. In talking with Trent, he explained his carefully planned strategy of resting between checkpoints and was pleased with his run and the condition of his dogs. The team was ready to continue to Finger Lake and Trent planned to again camp between checkpoints. Why rest between checkpoints? It’s quiet and might fit with the team’s run rest schedule while considering time and distance.

In his fourth Iditarod, Trent is again running young dogs from Ed Stielstra’s Kennel in the upper peninsula of Michigan. These young dogs are on the trail to have fun and experience Iditarod. The general wisdom for puppy teams (18 months) is to rest 1 ½ times the length of the run. When running a puppy team, it’s common to have leaders that are 3 or 4 years old. We all know how important good leaders are, especially when training young aspiring Iditarod dogs.

When Trent cruised into Skwentna, there was an Athabascan style snowshoe strapped to the top of his sled bag. His 4th grade students made snowshoes and the pair Trent was carrying were going to Ruby as a gift to George Alberts, famous for his skill in constructing Athabascan snow shoes. That’s not the only thing the students in Mr. Herbst’s class constructed. They also built his sled! Yes, the one and only sled Trent would depend on to travel more than one thousand miles to Nome was built by 4th graders out of broken hockey sticks. The students had a very active roll in getting Trent to the trail – they measured dog food, made Trent’s food, sorted gloves & socks, counted booties, packed all the drop bags and handled dogs for the starts..

What an incredible hands on, real life learning experience Trent has brought to his students through Iditarod. Don’t look for Trent to finish in the top 20 this year but be assured that the experience of Iditarod 2010 will benefit students, teacher and dogs alike. This early in the race, Trent was very pleased with the performance of his team and the speed of the trail. Being three hours ahead of schedule coming into the second checkpoint is a great start.