Nulato on the Yukon River

The village of Nulato (nu-LAU-toe) is situated on the mighty Yukon 52 miles down river from Galena. Well before the town was incorporated in 1963, Athabascans from the interior and Eskimos from the coast met at Nulato for trading. After the Russian explorer Malakov arrived in the 1830, an actual trading post was built. Because of trade disputes disgruntled natives, not once but twice burned the post to the ground. As contact with the outside world increased through missionaries, explorers and gold prospectors so did disease. Smallpox in 1839 was the first epidemic to wipe out large numbers of the native population followed later by food shortages and measles. Our Lady of Snows, a Roman Catholic school and mission was completed in 1887 and many of the area natives moved into the village. The influence of the mission continues today as most Nulato residents call themselves Roman Catholics. The post office opened in 1897. At the peak of the gold rush, there were 46 steamers that navigated the Yukon. When the river was ice free, a couple of ships each day would stop at Nulato to purchase wood to fire their boilers. The gold was depleted by 1906 and the miners moved on but the Athabascans and missionaries who called Nulato “home” stayed.

Target Teacher on the Trail at Nulato Checkpoint

Currently there are two Nulato town sites that nearly 300 residents call home. Those living at the old town site haul water from the village well or the church and use honey buckets and outhouses. Houses located in the new town site have piped water and sewer so the residents enjoy bathroom and kitchen plumbing. Nulato has a school, a store and a clinic. They have diesel-generated electricity and like most bush villages, they are connected to the outside world by telephone, television and Internet. Most people living in Nulato are of Athabascan descent and live a subsistence lifestyle. Food sources include salmon, moose, bear, small game and berries. Many families still travel to fish camps during the summer.   Trapping in the winter provides some extra income for some families. Some residents have year around jobs with the city, tribe, school, clinic and store. During the summer, some folks work at construction, fish processing and fire fighting. The village has a newly renovated airport otherwise the river is the number one mode of local travel.  Boats, skiffs and barges are common between May and October when it’s ice free then snowmachines, ATVs and other vehicles take over when it becomes an ice road.

The best way to describe the weather at Nulato is to copy and past from Ruby and Galena. Average highs in the summer are in the lower 70’s and average lows in the winter are below zero. Extreme cold often settles in the area for days on end. The hottest temperature ever recorded in Nulato is 90 and the lowest is a frigid 55 below and that doesn’t include wind chill. Average precipitation of nearly 16 inches includes over 6 feet of snow.

Icy Yukon Highway complete with wind, drifts, overflow, rough ice and open water

From Galena to Nulato and then to Kaltag, teams continue on down the icy Yukon. The run can be frigid and windy and will include the usual river hazards – overflow, rough ice, drifts and open water. It’s best not to venture off the trail. About halfway to Nulato, mushers and dogs welcome a change in scenery as the Nulato Hills, a mountain range to the west, rise to 1,000 feet in elevation on the right shore of the river.

Well there you have it, information about the village and people of Nulato and the trail between Galena and Kaltag. This completes the Virtual Trail Journey series that began last year. Now you can find detailed information about ALL the checkpoints from Anchorage to Nome – southern and northern routes. All of the Virtual Trail Journey stories are in Zuma’s blog under “Sanka’s Posts.” The villages and villagers along the trail are far more than just Iditarod checkpoints and fans. Folks living in the checkpoint villages are historically unique; their ancestors have survived famines, disease, violence and other hard times. Looking forward to the future, the villagers will adapt to an ever-changing lifestyle by combining wisdom and practical advice from their elders with the skills and knowledge obtained through education.

Stay tuned for my next story about Nome’s mushing phenom, Scotty Allen whose lead dog was Baldy of Nome.

Born to Run,
Sanka

Moose forage along the Yukon near Nulato

Resting teams and checkpoint from a Cessna 180

The first town site of Galena was established in 1918 near a native fish camp called Henry’s Point, one of many fish camps located on the Yukon River. Athabascans in the area were nomadic living in spring, winter, fall and summer camps dictated by where and how the wild game was migrating. The town became important as a supply and transportation hub for the lead ore mines. Athabascans living a few miles up river at Louden moved down to Galena to harvest and sell wood to the steamboats for fuel and also hauled freight for the mining companies. The first school opened in the mid 1920’s followed by a post office in 1932.

Military installments built during WWII and later sparked growth in the area. Devastating floods prompted the residents to move their town to a higher dryer location about a mile away from the first town site. Some houses in the new town have piped water and sewer, a few others use honey buckets but the majority use a flush/haul system. Water is supplied from wells. The village operates a landfill. Galena derived its named from the mineral found with lead and silver ore.

Currently, Galena is a town of over 700 people and serves as the transportation, government and commercial center for the western Interior. While some folks still rely on a subsistence lifestyle, most are employed in government, transportation, health care, education, retail, construction or fire fighting jobs. In 1993, one of the Air Force bases closed and shortly thereafter was reopened by the Galena School District as the Galena Interior Learning Academy, a secondary residential vocational school. This school is for students, grades 9 thru 12, who don’t have access to a high school where they live and who desire a topnotch educational experience. Students completing their education at GILA leave with a high school diploma and vocational certification in areas such as Culinary Arts, Cosmetology, Technology, Small Engines or Fire Fighting. The K-12 school in Galena is named after revered Athabascan Elder, Sydney Huntington. He has served on the local school board for many years and believes that education is extremely important for today’s youth. Without educating village youths, there will be no future for the villages of the people. He encourages people in the villages to become educated and move beyond subsistence living. Handler was fortunate to leave Galena with an autographed copy of Shadows on the Koyukuk by Huntington. In the book, Sydney shares stories of his childhood – a simpler but very difficult life.

Dogs with window seats for the trip home form Galena

The climate in Galena isn’t much different than Ruby including the extreme temperature differences. Average July high temperatures are in the low 70’s while average lows in January range for 10 to well below zero. During the winter and often during Iditarod, the area experiences long stretches of bitter cold. Temperature extremes recorded in Galena are 64 below and 92 above. Annual precipitation is close to 13 inches including about 5 feet of snow.

Galena is a regional transportation hub for the surrounding villages. The airport accommodates planes with landing wheels and skies. Barges navigate the river from mid-may through mid-October. Autos, trucks, snowmachines, skiffs and ATVs are used for local travel. During the winter, frozen rivers are used as highways to neighboring villages. Speaking of transportation, Edgar Nollner of Galena was the serum runner who received the medicine from Billy McCarty, Sr. at Whiskey Creek and carried it 24 miles to Galena.

From Ruby, teams run down the Yukon all the way to Galena. Some leaders are spooked by the wind swept wide-open space on the mile to two-mile wide river. It’s important to stay on the well-marked trail to avoid thin ice, overflow and open stretches of water.

Well there you have it – some information about the Alaskan town of Galena.  Thanks to my friend, Target Teacher on the Trail, Jane Blaile for sharing her pictures.  Stay tuned for my next story about Nulato.  Remember, in everything, do you best every day.

Born to Run,
Sanka

Galena Checkpoint in the old Community Hall downtown

Changing sled runners for the run down river

Pat McCarty, serum runner's son

The village of Ruby is the first checkpoint of the northern route that’s situated on the mighty Yukon River. The Millennium Hotel, race headquarters in Anchorage, honors the first musher arriving with a delicious seven-course meal prepared by the Millennium’s Executive Chef. In the corner of the rustic checkpoint upon a little stage, the musher and a quest are seated at a table adorned with fresh flowers, crystal glasses, fine china and silver candlesticks. The menu is far from ordinary musher cuisine. In 2008, Lance Mackey was the first to arrive in Ruby. For appetizers, he enjoyed chicken and mushroom terrine then potato bisque with shrimp ravioli. For the main course Lance devoured halibut and a beef filet stuffed with king crab, asparagus and blue cheese. For desert, Lance enjoyed raspberry crepes. Dessert was followed by an after dinner mint of 5,000 freshly minted one dollar bills presented in a gold pan. Being an athlete, I’m not a table food kind of dog but that halibut and beef filet sounds delicious. Perhaps you’d like to know what was served in Anvik last year or what’s on the menu in Ruby for this year. You can read more about the First to the Yukon Award at the Iditarod website under the sponsor section.

Snowshoes by Native Alaskan George Alberts

Ruby is a village with a population of about 200. Gold was first discovered in the nearby creeks in 1907. Ruby was established as a supply hub for the prospectors. Steamers had easy access to the area via the Yukon River that runs 1,875 miles from its headwaters in the Yukon Territory all the way to the Bering Sea. During the peak of the gold rush, the village grew to 2,000 residents. The town was named after the red stones found along the riverbanks that the prospectors thought were rubies.

Most residents are descendants of Koyukon Athabascans. The Athabascans were nomadic and followed wild game with the changing seasons to hunt and put food on the table. Still today, the people of Ruby depend upon wild Salmon, whitefish, moose, bear, ptarmigan, waterfowl and berries as food sources in their subsistence lifestyle.

"Up on the house top..."

This area of Alaska is known for its extreme temperatures. Average July temperatures are in the 70’s. January Temperatures average from 10 above to well below zero. It’s not uncommon for the thermometer to drop to forty below zero and stay there for many days in a row during the long winter. The coldest temperature ever recorded in Ruby is minus 53 and the hottest is 98 above. On average, 17 inches of precipitation fall in Ruby including over 5 feet of snow. The Yukon River is open for navigation and fishing from the middle of May to the middle of October.

If you lived in Ruby, you’d have the convenience of two stores. One is a general store, selling mostly food, other household essentials and some

The Ruby Mall

hardware. The second store is an evening only store that sells snacks, candy, chips, ice cream goodies, pop, juice and milk and rents movies. You might own a pair of Athabascan snow shoes made by Native Alaskan George Alberts. Only a few houses have wells and septic systems. Most families carry water to their houses from the washeteria and most houses are without septic system and use an outhouse. The village has electricity and connects to the outside world via dish and satellite. There is one school that has 35 students K thru 12. People and supplies arrive in or leave Ruby by airplane or barge. To get around the village or down the only maintained outlying road to Long Creek Mine, a person would use a truck, snowmachine, ATV or riverboat.

Emmitt Peters - 1975 Rookie of the Year - 1975 Iditarod Champion

Handler said being in Ruby is like a living history lesson. She met Emmitt Peters also known as the Yukon Fox. Emmitt won Iditarod in 1975, the same year he won rookie of the year honors. Of the 14 races he’s run, he finished in the top five in each of his first five races and in the top 10 a total of seven times. No wonder he is referred to as the Yukon Fox. When handler visited the evening/movie store and met the owner, Pat McCarty, she learned that back in 1925, his father, Billy McCarty, Sr., was the Serum Runner who transported the precious medicine from Ruby to Whiskey Creek a distance of 28 miles. When Susan Butcher flew into the checkpoint, another page of mushing history came to life. She was receiving treatment for leukemia but was strong enough to visit a few checkpoints. Her friends were thrilled to see her, especially DeeDee Jonrowe who shared a special bond with Susan through Iditarod and in their common fight against cancer.

DeeDee & Susan visit in Ruby

The checkpoint in Ruby is located in the community center that sits high on a hill over looking the mighty Yukon River – actually the whole village is situated on a hill sloping down toward the river with most homes having a breathtaking view of the river. You can see some great pictures of Ruby through an image search of Google. Mushers are very happy to see Ruby as it marks the end of the longest distance, 112 miles, between checkpoints. Most of the trial from Cripple follows a very dilapidated supply route that connected the mining districts to the steamboat landing in Ruby during the gold rush. When approaching Ruby, mushers will no doubt see signs of welcome created and posted by the school kids. Once in the checkpoint, the mushers will be greeted by children seeking autographs. Teams are required to take an eight-hour rest somewhere on the Yukon. Dogs will get better rest on the river than out on the coast so it’s best to rest while there is peace, quiet and great hospitality.

Well, there you have it, lots of information about the village of Ruby and the people who call the river town home. Stay tuned for my next report on Galena. Remember – in everything, do your best everyday.

Born to Run,
Sanka

Northern route - Cripple - a maze of tents

With the year being 2010, the race will take the even year northern route. When the drivers and teams reach Ophir, they’ll take a right and head north to Cripple. The distance from Ophir to Cripple is 59 miles. The total distance from Ophir to Kaltag, where the two trails rejoin on the northern route is 317 miles. The distance from Ophir to Kaltag using the southern route is 328 miles. As handler was explaining this to us, I asked why they didn’t run the trail from Ophir straight to Kaltag. This is what I learned.

Having Iditarod come through your village requires an enormous amount of work but on the other hand, it provides a lot of excitement. So to ease the burden on the villagers and spread the thrill around, two routes were created. That’s a lesson in sharing on a very large scale! Another reason is that it provides variety for the mushers as they plan their strategies, buck the winds, endure the elements and absorb the scenery. Finally, the race has to be at least 1000 miles long. Going straight from Ophir to Kaltag would shorten the route by 150 miles and have you looked at the map? There is nothing, absolutely nothing, between Ophir and Kaltag. By using the northern and southern routes, the trail goes through established villages.

Tropical Paradise of Cripple

The trail from Ophir to Cripple runs along the Innoko River. It’s mostly woods with a few open areas but best of all, it’s pretty flat without any tricky sections but it’s possible for even experienced trail veterans to take a wrong turn. Handler told us this story about DeeDee Jonrowe and Paul Gebhardt from 2008, the last time the race went north. Gebhardt and five other mushers left Ophir before DeeDee. She passed a few teams resting along the trail but did not pass Paul. At one point she noticed there were no tracks in front of her on the trail and she wondered where he was or how long ago he had gone through so that his tracks had dissapeared.  When she arrived in Cripple, DeeDee received an enthusiastic greeting and congratulations.  As the first musher to reach the half-way point, she was presented with the GCI Dorothy Page Halfway Award of $3,000 in gold nuggets.  Jonrowe was dumbfounded! How could I be first, come on, where’s Paul Gebhardt? A short time later, Paul arrived in Cripple, very glad to be there. This run from Ophir had been the worst run of his life and might have taken him out of the winner’s circle – he’d carried a dog in the sled, got soaked in the wet snow, ran into overflow and had gotten lost!

Martin Buser wears Hawaiian attire and enjoys the paradise of Cripple

Today, Cripple, population zero, isn’t a village; it’s only a place on the Innoko River in the former Iditarod Mining District. The checkpoint takes its name from an old steamboat landing located nearby on the river. During the Gold Rush between 1908 and 1925, $35 million in gold, including some of the largest nuggets ever mined were taken from the area. It’s always a guess as to exactly where the checkpoint will be located. It’s dependent upon overflow and other surface conditions. Generally, it’ll be somewhere near the Poorman airstrip. Don Bowers in Trail Notes mentions that abandoned buildings, trucks and bulldozers still sit near the airstrip. The Cripple checkpoint is a maze of tents amongst inflatable palm trees where mushers either experience frigid cold in extreme winter gear or enjoy sunny warmth while wearing Hawaiian attire.

Well, there you have it – some information about the trail running north out of Ophir and the Cripple checkpoint. You can read about all of the checkpoints in my earlier Virtual Trail Journey series. Stay tuned for my story about Ruby. Remember, in everything to your best every day.

Born to Run,
Sanka

Did you know that mushers have already signed up to run the 2010 Iditarod?  That is right!  As of today, 63 mushers have signed up.

While I was spending my summer days taking boat rides on the lake with my human and k9 friends, mushers were making their plans for the next racing season.

The mushers started to sign up last June.  You can see who has signed up by looking at the musher listing on the website.

Some of the mushers are veterans.  Some of the mushers are rookies.

A veteran is a musher who has completed at least one Iditarod.

A rookie is a musher who has not finished the race.  The rookie might be racing in Iditarod for the first time or the rookie could have been signed up before but for some reason, didn’t make it to Nome.

Not every rookie musher gets to Nome on the first try.

Getting to Nome and finishing the race is not easy.  Rookies and veterans train all year long and make lots of goals.  Their dogs don’t get to lounge around like me.  I am a reporter.  They are athletes.  I write.  They train.  I can’t wait to read all about them during the next several months.  On the first Saturday in March, the rookies and the veterans will have their 16 member dog team ready to leave the starting line in Anchorage, Alaska.  What an exciting race to Nome it will be!`

I hope you look at the musher listing.  Count the rookies.  Count the veterans.  Check back every month.  Keep watching the list of rookies and veterans to see how many of each will start this year’s race.

Be sure to check back at Zuma’s Paw Prints, too.  Zuma, Gypsy, Sanka, and I will be putting lots of stories on the website to help you learn more about the rookies, the veterans, and lots of other Iditarod information.

Just Spinning D’Tails!

Libby

PS.  In the picture, my fur friend, Wicket and I are shown enjoying a boat ride on a bright and sunny summer day.  I love summer boat rides!  They are almost as much fun as riding in a dogsled!

OH, and if you want to learn more about why some mushers don’t finish Iditarod,  read this article by Gypsy.  I know you’ll enjoy it.

Hi Boys and Girls,

We K9 reporters have received many emails and blog comments asking us what the difference is between a musher who has scratched or was withdrawn from the race.  This is an excellent question for the blog. 

When a musher scratches from the race, he or she makes the decision themselves.  The most common reason a musher scratches is for the best interest of the team.  This means a lot of things.  Sometimes, a musher is hurt or ill and they feel they cannot take care of their team properly. The team may be ill or not performing to the level needed to finish the race and the musher scratches.  The sled may have been damaged to the point that it is not useable and an extra sled is not available.  There’s just so many reasons a musher may have for not continuing the race. 

Withdrawn means the decision was made for the musher.  The decision is made by a 3 judge panel.  At least 2 of the judges must agree to the withdrawal.  This decision does not mean that the musher did anything wrong.  This year Rob Loveman was withdrawn from the race due to his team no longer being competitive.  He was in last place and far enough behind the others that he would not be able to catch up to them. 

There is one more way that a team would leave the trail and that is by disqualification.  This is more serious and rarely happens.  All 3 judges must agree that a musher should be disqualified. The chief Veterinarian may be consulted also if  cruel or inhumane treatment of the dogs is suspected.  Mushers can be disqualified for deliberately breaking the rules, cheating, or abuse of the dogs.  The musher is given the chance to present his case to the judges before a decision is made. 

Hope that helps.  Thanks for the great questions you have been asking this year.  We will be answering  the questions we are asked the most on the blog.  So keep reading and writing.

See you on the trail,

Gypsy  \\

Hi Boys and Girls,

Several of you have emailed me about dog booties.  You’ve wanted to know what they are made of and when they are worn.  So this post is for you!

Most dog booties used for dog sledding are made out of a material called Cordura 330.  Cordura 330 is a lightweight flexible nylon material.  There are other weights of Cordura that are used for tougher trails (like gravel) and for things like backpacks.  But for booties on snow and ice, the 330 works just fine.

I bet you’re wondering why a dog would need booties.  Ice and snow can pack between the toes and can cause small cuts and discomfort to a dogs paw.  The bootie stops this ice packing from happening.  Booties protect a dogs paws just like shoes protect your human paws.

Another question that is often asked is: “Do the dogs like wearing the booties?”.  I can answer that one.  They are not my favorite thing to wear.  When my human puts them on my feet, the first thing I want to do is take them off.  I’ve tried shaking them and biting at them but they don’t usually come off.  They are tighten with a a Velcro closure that’s really sticky and tough.  That’s probably a good thing for dogs like me that try to take them off.  Once I get running though, I forget I have them on and run the same as I do without them.  I do know that I need them and that they keep my feet safe.

I have also been asked how many booties are worn during a race like the Iditarod.  That usually depends on trail conditions.  I’ve heard mushers take between 1500-3000 booties with them on the trail.  The booties are changed when they wear out or fall off.  I’ve heard some mushers say that they change the booties every 30-50 miles.  Booties are taken off during rest times and feet are massaged and ointment is put on the pads. When a team is ready to start racing again, the booties are put back on.

Hope that answers some of your questions.

Hope you’re enjoying the race.

Gypsy

Hi Boys and Girls,

I hope you are enjoying the race this year.  Several of you have asked about food for both the dogs and humans along the trail.  We’ve talked a lot about what the dogs eat but not about what the humans eat.  Mary Calore contacted me and said she was Matt’s mom and she had prepared all his food the last year when he ran the Iditarod.  She wanted to know if I would be interested in doing a story about it.  I gave her a big howling “YES”.

Matt Calore has run the Iditarod twice, once in 2007 as a rookie and again last year in 2008.  He didn’t run this year but is preparing to race again next year.  The first year, Matt froze mostly pizza and sent it in his drop bags.  Last year, his mom Mary, made his food for the trail.  I was able to interview Mary about the types of food she made and the process she went through to make sure the meals would be easy to prepare and eat.  One of the biggest issues was that Mary lives in Massachusetts and Matt lives in Alaska.  So not only did the food need to stay frozen and safe in the drop bags, it had to make it from Massachusetts to Alaska first.

How did you plan the meals? 

“Matt and I spend several long phone conversations discussing the number of meals he would need, the food he wanted, and the types of meals he needed.  He felt that he would finish the race between 12-15 days, and so needed food for 16 days.  He also figured that he would receive about 5-6 meals at the different checkpoints along the route.   This meant that I made him 15 breakfasts, 14 lunches, and 14 dinners.  I also included snacks and “special Mom treats”.

“We discussed his need to have really substantial food that would give him lasting energy, something to look forward to when he was tired, cold and hungry, but most important, something that was easy to prepare in the cold, in a pot containing dog food and melted snow, and when you are exhausted and starving.  We decided that he needed fats, carbs and meat – so much for too many vegetables!  We also thought about food that would be tasty even if he didn’t get it hot, but had to settle for warm.  This was not the time to try out new recipes!”

What kinds of food did you make for Matt?  Were you able to make his favorite foods?

“For breakfast, I made burrito wraps with scrambled egg, cheese, Canadian bacon, salsa, and flour wraps.  These were favorites of his on the trail because he enjoys salsa and spicy things.  I sent one in each package, but figured that he would eat two in a meal.  I also made egg, cheese, and sausage English muffins – yup- MacMuffins.  These were easier for him to eat without utensils.  I wanted to send cereal, but couldn’t figure out how to send milk without having it freeze, and knew that dry would only make him very thirsty.

The rest of the meals were for dinner or lunch – or a midnight stop along the trail.  These were more difficult.

I made him lasagna, but I did not have cheese on the top.  I had the cheese inside as I was afraid that it would stick to the bag in which it was frozen and then cooked.  The lasagna had hamburger and sausage meat in it, some spinach – yes, as a Mom I wanted him to have vegetables! – and a thick tomato sauce.  The pieces were about 4 inches by 6 inches and one was a meal.  He had about 8 lasagna meals.

Matt also likes rice, so I made him his favorite rice, sausage, green pepper, onion, tomato and cheese casserole.  He said that he liked this for any meal – even breakfast!  I had to make two big pans (6 quarts) of rice!  I think he had about 10 of these.

I also made him cheeseburgers.  In addition to plenty of cheddar cheese, I put salsa on the burgers and used whole wheat rolls.  I had to drain the salsa so that the rolls would not get too soggy.

Matt also like shrimp fried rice, so I sent him two meals of homemade fried rice.  I found a tasty chicken fried rice at the store that I mailed him and he said that it was good, but mine was better!

He loves Italian sausages with sautéed onions, mushrooms and green peppers in sub rolls.  I decided that this would not work too well, so I put the sausage, mushroom, onion and pepper in one bag and froze the rolls separately.  I think this worked OK.  He had five of these.

I also made beef stew with mostly meat and potato, but I included some onions, carrots and peas too.

He wanted some homemade pizza, so I included slices of my own pizza with pepperoni, mushroom, pepper, and extra cheese.  Matt loves cold pizza for breakfast, so I knew that this would be one of the meals that he would heat until it was warm, but not so warm the cheese would melt and make a mess.”

Did you make any special treats for Matt?

I made him about 30 of my special brownies.  They are double batches to make them thick and I put a bag of chocolate chips in each batch to make them really chocolately and moist.  These I froze in twos after cutting them into about 2inches by 3 inches.  I also made some oatmeal caramel bars which can be gooey, so I added extra oatmeal bar part.

I also made up a lot of bags of trail mix as it has protein and oil in nuts, carbs in the pretzels and cereal, and energy in the chocolate and peanut butter candies.  I also found some really good, but not too salty, jerky – beef, turkey and buffalo which he has always liked.  I tried to get as many ingredients without salt as he did not carry too much water to drink for himself.

Matt’s dad bought him some of the special army meals and granola bars – the bars had over 2,000 calories in each one!  He said they were pretty good, but there were some left over and none of my food left.

How did you package the food?

As I made the food, I would cut it into meal size portions, put it into plastic containers and freeze it.  Once frozen, I popped it out of the container into a vacuum, food sealer bag, and using the food sealer machine I bought, sealed each one separately.  Now Matt could put the bag into the water and dog food mix that he was heating on his butane stove, and it would not be spoiled by the dog food.  When he was at a checkpoint that did not feed the mushers, but provided a microwave, he could heat his food inside too.  I made sure that he had a sharp knife to cut the bag as they are very strong and the seal is melted together.  I had to be sure to freeze the meals first, because the sealer pulls out all air, and usually most of the liquid put into the bag.  When it was frozen, the liquid could not be pulled out!  I now had a very full freezer.

How did you get the food from Massachusetts to Alaska?

I vacuum sealed ice cubes, froze the ice packs we got from fish stores, and collected heavy Styrofoam containers – like those the Omaha steaks come in.  We filled them to the top with all of the food, put them into cardboard boxes layered with newspaper and sealed them.  We mailed them US Mail special delivery – next day  delivery – to Anchorage from Massachusetts.  This was very expensive!  A friend of Matt’s picked them up and brought them to him where he kept them in the snow outside.

How did Matt pack his drop bags?

When he packed his drop bags, he put in snacks and a treat bag or two.  Matt had planned the places where he would stop to snack the dogs and himself, where he would camp and cook food, and where he might just need something to chew on.  He then had separated the meals by breakfast and “other” and put whatever he grabbed into the bag.  He was careful to include only the number that he needed so he would have enough for the whole race.  Matt said that the ice was still in the boxes when he unpacked to put the food into the drop bags.

Are there any problems with the food in the drop bags for long periods of time?

Once in the drop bags, the food stays frozen as long as it is cold outside where the bags are kept.  I heard that there has been some trouble this year with ravens getting at the bags!  Last year it was warm and some of the bags got too warm and the food started to thaw!  Matt was lucky and none of his thawed.

Is there anything you would do differently next time?

Matt said that I put too much of the stew and rice in the bags which made them fat and very hard to thaw in the middle. Oh, the rolls for the sausage and peppers shriveled up and looked really funny when I tried them in the vacuum bags, so I just wrapped them in plastic, put them in zip lock bags (good for trash!), and froze them that way.  I did the same with the brownies and bars, who wants shriveled, mangled brownies?  I did not freeze the trail mix, which I had packaged in single serving vacuum bags, but it was packed in with the frozen food when we mailed the packages.

Thanks to Mary Calore for telling me about preparing human food for the trail.  It sounds like a lot of work and Matt is sure lucky to have a mom to do this for him.  Mary said she and her husband are planning to go to Alaska for the 2011 Iditarod and hopes to be an Idita-rider. Have a great time!

And Matt, I’ll be watching for you next year!

Happy Trails,

Gypsy

Click here to view this PDF File.

Click here to view this PDF File.