Libby Here!
Listen to this great question! “Do they ever get lost?”
The Iditarod Trail is a marked trail. People on snowmobiles— or snowmachines which is what they are called in Alaska, travel the race trail before the mushers and make sure that the trail markers are in place. The markers are sticks with a florescent paint, often orange, on the tip of the markers so that at night, the musher can see them when the musher’s headlight flashes on the trail marker.
I hope you can watch some Iditarod Insider video clips because they often show what the markers look like. There is also an interesting clip in the 2006 archived videos called: Behind the Scenes - Trail Stakes, which is in the behind the scenes part of the videos. (02/24/2006)
No one wants to get lost, but sometimes the wind and snow can hide markers or hide the trail. Sometimes in the dark, a musher misses a trail marker. Most of the time, the musher and the team find their way back to the trail because they notice they aren’t seeing any trail markers.
Anyone can get lost. It is something that can happen.
I hope you never get lost, but I am guessing a couple of you have gotten lost before so you know the feeling! I have even gotten lost before, mostly because I wasn’t listening to my human or paying attention. In the real world, anyone can get lost! If you move to a brand new school, you might get lost at school. Maybe you’ve been on a car ride with a family member and the driver has gotten on the wrong road and gotten lost. Getting lost happens.
My best advice is if you get lost, stay calm and think carefully using your common sense.
Because getting lost happens, take a few minutes today and talk about plans that you can make if you are ever lost. Think about what you should do to stay safe. Make a plan and talk about your plan with your family.
Getting lost happens, so let’s try to figure out ways to not get lost, but if we do, to stay safe.
Just spinning some de’tails’!
Libby
9 Comments
Hi I am Shyam. I wanted to let you guys know good luck and stay safe.
Thanks, Shyan1
Libby
Dear libby
how do you like being a K-9 reporter. Where do you live. I live in Illinos the snow is melting and spring is comingYA. My mom is happy and so am I
Love maddie
I live in the Dakotas. Thanks for your comment.
Libby
Hi zuma its alexis. I go to ritche scool. My frind wrot to you. I like the ididarod its fun. we made dog sleds . Your friend Alexi henry, MY TEACHER IS MR. FDORSO
Dear Zuma or other k9 freinds
What is the name of the musher you like most.
sincerly,
Autumn
Hello Autumn,
We all like to cheer on every musher and every fur friend. It would be too hard to pick a favorite musher.
The K-9 Reporters
if a musher got lost,how long would it take to find them?
Great question! No one has asked me that before and it is something I am sure is on a lot of minds. How long someone gets lost depends on the situation. Sometimes it is a short time and sometimes it is a longer time. One reason to keep track of times when a musher leaves a checkpoint, is to get a guess at what time they’ll arrive in the next checkpoint. If they seem to take too long, the volunteers at the checkpoint might think someone is lost. It doesn’t mean someone will go and look for the musher, though. Usually a musher figures out that he/she is on the wrong trail and turns around and finds the right trail before too long. With the new GPS trackers that were tried out this year, it was fun try and see where the mushers were. Mushers will still sometimes get lost, but the race fans will have a better idea of where the mushers are along the trail. Lots of Tail Wags, Zuma
Hi Zuma what happens to the dogs that get left behind?
Dogs that are left behind at checkpoints are left in the care of the veterinarians who are stationed in the checkpoints. The vets take good care of them, seeing to all of their needs. They have comfortable straw sleeping spots, lots of food and water, and lots of pets and maybe even a few belly rubs. When the small planes arrive at the checkpoints, the dogs get to fly homeward bound. Depending on where they are left, they fly eventually reaching Nome or Anchorage. Lots of Tail Wags, Zuma
If you are already done with the iditarod don`t you get something.Like if your in last place. By,Priyal Patel from Alcott Elementry.
You can read about the prizes in the media guide. The Media Guide is found at the Press and Media section of the website. Click the words Press and Media when you are at http://www.iditarod.com.
The K-9 Reporters
hey.zuma
our class has been watching the ididarod was it awsome
to see Lanse Makey win the ididarod again! Our class has been waiting to send a letter to you.
love
Mrs.fox”s class
Thanks for your comments. I really enjoy reading the comments and I am glad you’ve enjoyed following the race. I know you learned a lot!
Lots of Tail Wags,
Zuma
Hi Libby - My name is Gus. I am a 7 month old puppy. My two brothers and I just finished watching the Iditarod with our human. I want to be a sled dog when I grow up but my brothers laughed and said I couldn’t because I have short hair. Can you tell me how old the puppies are when they start training and what kind of training they do?
Gus