By Joe Runyan
Although the portage to the mining community of Takotna is a simple 22 miles, this stretch is very important strategically. Takotna is the overwhelming choice to take the mandatory 23 hour break because it is situated perfectly for the big run to Ruby, across 180 miles of uninhabited wilderness. This is the last place that the musher can rest easily inside a warm building, dry out wet gear, and gather information about trail conditions and weather. The 24 hour stay in Takotna also gives the mushers time to make decisions about the dogs and the composition of the team. Mushers like Takotna because of the quiet, and the easygoing hospitality of the locals. The press stays in McGrath, because there are no accommodations in Takotna. This means the mushers can spend their time between naps and chores talking with other mushers about their favorite subject, the dogs, without the intrusive presence of the press and their ridiculous questions.
As I’ve mentioned, the press is considered to be a necessary and tolerated nuisance. The run from McGrath to Takotna is not without hazard. In 1990, a very heavy snowfall made life difficult for the moose. They congregated in herds and started using the trail to Takotna, rather than breaking their own trail. Rick Swenson left first that year, crossed the Kuskowkwim River, drove a short way through some willow swamps and got tangled up with a belligerent moose. Several of the dogs were stomped, so Swenson returned to McGrath to wait for daylight and also to have the veterinarians check his dogs. I had rested my dogs in McGrath and was preparing to leave second, shortly after Rick arrived back in McGrath. It was about two in the morning and I was thinking about staying until daylight, but I had a discussion with a couple of local trappers in which we concluded that the moose would be through feeding, and lying down for the night. I knew from my own trapping experiences that moose will never bed down in a dog trail, so I took a chance and left. Luckily, I missed all the moose that had complicated Rick’s life earlier in the evening.
Occasionally, a musher will break convention, leave Takotna, and push on to the next checkpoint. Doug Swingley put race strategy in disarray in 1995 when he left Takotna alone and mushed all the way to the Iditarod checkpoint and spent 24 hours with his dogs and a couple of checkpoint officials for company. He went on to win the race. This has planted some rebellious ideas, and I would not be surprised to see a musher try to go all the way to the Yukon River and finally take a 24-hour break at Ruby. The 50 people of Takotna are incredible, and work at the checkpoint in shifts day and night. Every musher is given a sack lunch on departure which includes all the basic food groups - sandwich, chips, apple or orange, candy bar, and soft-drink. It’s like having your mother there saying, “Now, be a good little musher and have fun on the trail.”