by Kim Slade

Out on the Trail:

Rohn Buser was the first to pull into Yentna Station and the team looked strong. First-time Jr. Iditarod musher, Megan Hedgecoke arrived shortly after, followed by Jessica Klejka and Ava Lindner. Checkers, runners, and race volunteers jumped into action checking required musher gear, providing straw and Heet, and then helping park teams throughout the small wooded trails at Yentna. For the rest of the afternoon and into the evening, teams continued to file into the checkpoint.

The Jr. Iditarod is in essence a training ground for young mushers providing them with the experience in trail reading, decision making, and it helps them establish a rhythm when working with their teams. The joy of working with their dogs was evident as the mushers set out to bed down, feed, and check their teams. They worked diligently attending to the needs of each and every dog. After the dogs were attended, some mushers rested for a bit then moved to the bonfire, which seemed to be the hot spot for catching up with fellow comrades.

The halfway point at Yentna is a mandatory 10-hour stop, so mushers were off in the early hours of the morning after the time expired and their start differential was calculated (because mushers leave every 2 minutes at the start, that time difference is figured with their arrival and departure time at the stop). Still dark, mushers were led to the main trail where they set off on their 75-mile journey to Willow Lake.

Rohn Buser maintained his lead and finished first, coming under the finish line in just over 11 hours. Megan Hedgcoke came in second for her first finish in the Jr. Iditarod, followed by Jessica Klejka, Melissa Owens, and Ellen King. Although temperatures were below freezing, it didn’t seem to bother the mushers or the dogs.

The Jr. Iditarod banquet, at Willow Community Center, brought the weekend race to an end. Mushers were high spirited and joking with each other as they shared the spotlight at tonight’s event. Many family members, friends, and volunteers were in attendance as Master of Ceremonies Chas St. George, of ITC, and Ellie Claus, Race Marshall, directed the evening. Guess speaker, Ramy Brooks spoke about making choices in life and on the trail. Special awards, voted on by their peers, went to Quinn Iten who received the Sportsmanship Award, Chrystiene Salesky won this year’s Red Lantern Award, and Megan Hedgecoke cleaned up by receiving the Rookie of the Year, the Blue Harness Lead Dog Award, as well as the Humanitarian Award – which is voted on by race veterinarians. The top five place finishers received trophies, prizes, and scholarship awards ranging from $500 to $5000.

Congratulations to all of the mushers who started the 2007 Jr. Iditarod – Way to go!