Clydesdale horses originated in Scotland

Allan Alexander Allan was born in Dundee, Scotland in 1867. The boy became known as Scotty. Growing up, he loved to work with animals. At the very young age of 12, he began vocational training on how to train horses. At the age of 19, he accompanied a beautiful Clydesdale Stallion on a voyage across the Atlantic Ocean and then to a ranch in South Dakota. Once in American, Scotty headed to the west coast where 10 years later, news of gold in the Klondike lured him to the far north.

Like many young men, Scotty left his wife and two, soon to be three children behind with the promise of returning rich or sending for them when he was settled. He didn’t strike it rich in the Klondike. He earned his wages as a teamster, moving supplies over the dangerous trails to the mining camps, first with teams of horses and then by dog team. He became well known in the Dawson area as a top notch dog driver.

News of abundant gold in Nome prompted Scotty to travel the frozen Yukon River, a distance of over 1,200 miles, with his dog team lead by Dubby. Get a map out and compare this trek to the Iditarod race. Scotty didn’t strike it rich prospecting for gold in Nome either so he took a job in a hardware store and focused on training dogs. once settled, he brought his wife and family to Nome.

Nome Kennel Club Patch on Handler's Anorak

In 1907, dog drivers in Nome banded together to form the Nome Kennel Club. The purpose of the organization was to improve the care and breeding of sled dogs. The club sponsored the All Alaska Sweepstakes running from Nome to Candle, a distance of a little more than 400 miles. In the mean time, Scotty acquired Baldy. With Baldy in lead, Scotty placed in the top three a total of eight times – with three victories.

After WWI broke out, Scotty was contacted by the French Military to train drivers and 450 dogs for transporting supplies and wounded soldiers in the mountains between Germany and France. The dogs became famous around the world and many received medals of valor.

Scotty was elected to the Alaska Territorial Legislature and served terms in 1917 and 1919. He and his family moved back to California prior to the 1925 Diphtheria Epidemic. Seeking the best dog trainer, Admiral Richard Byrd sought out Scotty to train the dogs for Byrd’s 1928 Antarctica Expedition.

Scotty, the most famous musher of his time once said, “Dogs are the most intuitive creatures alive. They take the disposition of their driver. That is why I never let my dogs know that I am tired. At the end of the day…, I sing to the little chaps and whistle so they always reach the end of the trail with their tails up and waving.” Murphy and Haigh, share these words in Gold Rush Dogs. Handler says that Iditarod mushers follow his advice today.

Tenor, Thunder and Chaser in the 3 Dog - 3 MIle Race sponsored by the Nome Kennel Club

The Nome Kennel Club still exists and organized the All Alaska Sweepstakes again in 2008. Check the Internet for more information on that – who was the winner, what was the purse, what was the route, how long did it take, are the rules different than Iditarod? When Handler was in Nome, she ran in the 3 Dog – 3 Mile Business Man’s Race (open to men and women amateurs) sponsored by the Nome Kennel Club using dogs and a sled provided by club member, Dempsey Woods.

You can read more about Scotty Allan at www.litsite.org. and in Gold Rush Dogs by Murphy & Haigh.  Baldy of Nome by Esther Birdsall Darling includes many stories about Scotty – you can’t talk about Baldy without talking about Scotty.” Make sure to read my earlier story about Baldy of Nome. Here’s a question for you – Did Baldy become famous because of Scotty or did Scotty become famous because of Baldy?

Well, there you have it, some information on a Scott who gained fame in Nome for his ability to train and drive dogs in the best and worst of conditions. Stay tuned for another story about a Scott, John Stewart, who’ll be driving dogs from Anchorage to Nome in Iditarod XXXVIII.

Born to Run,
Sanka

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

Black Jack

Thus far you have met our heroes Martin Buser, Bruce Linton, Balto and Togo. You have read about their great skills, determination and perseverance. Our hero, Baldy of Nome, has accumulated equally impressive accomplishments. Have you noticed that some of our heroes are from current times, some are from the recent past and some are from long ago in the gold rush days of early 1900? I guess the past is important and I’ve learned it’s really fun to learn about the past by studying history. Elders Baffin, Holstein and Tikchik provided a definition of a hero in my last story. For this story, I asked Black Jack to define hero. Black Jack is a big, no nonsense sort of dog. He always gets right to the point. He’s not only a leader, he’s wise and he’s the alpha dog of our kennel. All of the dogs respect Black Jack. When I first came to Just Guts, I knew He’d be a great friend and teacher. According to Black Jack, a hero is a dog (or person) who is respected for incredible accomplishments in adverse conditions. Black Jack also added his B-HOOPS theory. Heroes turn barriers into hurdles, obstacles into opportunities and problems into solutions. Isn’t Black Jack awesome?

Back in the days of the gold rush in Nome, a young boy by the name of Ben had a dog named Baldy. Times were tough for Ben and his family. Often they didn’t know where their next meal would come not to mention food for Baldy. In a great act of personal sacrifice, Ben put Baldy up for sale. Renowned musher, Scotty Allen purchased the homely mutt not so much for the dog’s potential as a racer but because he felt sorry for Ben. As Baldy trained with the other Allen dogs, Scotty saw in him a deep desire to please and excel. During the 1909 All Alaska Sweepstakes, in a blinding storm on hazardous trail, Scotty moved Baldy to lead – exactly where the dog longed to be. Pulling with all his strength, Baldy led the Allen team to their first Sweepstakes Victory. Murphy & Haigh tell us in Gold Rush Dogs, “Baldy proved himself to be a strong, faithful and willing leader.” Altogether, Baldy and Allen earned 3 victories and 5 other top three Sweepstakes finishes along with numerous victories in other races. But wait, it gets better!

It’s the Solomon Derby, a race run from Nome to Solomon and back. Baldy is in lead and the team is making good, if not great time as they near the turn around point of Solomon. Baldy senses that the sled is lighter than usual and notes that Scotty hasn’t been singing and talking to the dogs as he usually does. Baldy, overcome by the feeling that something was wrong, stopped the team and looked back to find that Scotty was missing. Swiftly, Baldy turned the team and sled around and headed back down the trail in search of their missing musher. A short distance back, they found him lying unconscious on the trail, bleeding from a gash in his head. Baldy hovered over his master, licking his face, pawing his chest and barking. It took some time but Scotty finally opened his eyes. It took a great amount of effort for him to crawl into the sled and then in a weak voice he told Baldy to turn around toward Solomon and continue the race. Slowly, everything came back to Scotty – as they were moving speedily along, he had heard something snap – bending over to inspect a runner – BAM, the lights went out. Scotty’s head had collided with an iron trail marker he never saw coming.

With an injured Scotty in the sled, Baldy and the rest of the team made it to the halfway point of Solomon ahead of all the other contestants. Everyone urged the dazed and still bleeding Allen to withdraw from the race. But quit was not a part of Allen’s vocabulary. He simply said, “Baldy and I can make it.” Indeed they did – they raced back Nome and took first place.

You can read about Baldy in Gold Rush Dogs by Murphy and Haigh. For a detailed and exciting story of Baldy’s life, you should read Esther Birdsall Darling’s Baldy of Nome. You can read it online like Black Jack and I did at www.gutenberg.org.

Well, there you it – our hero, Baldy. Wow, what a dog – he saved his musher’s life!  Stay tuned for our next hero, Granite. Remember, do your best everyday to turn problems into solutions.

Born to Run,
Sanka

Elder Baffin

Since you’ve read Heroes, Heroines & Idols featuring our heroes Martin Buser, Bruce Linton and Balto, have you created definitions and a list of your own heroes? Have you taken time to define hero? I got together with some of the elder dogs in the kennel, Baffin, Holstein and Tikchik, to come up with the Just Guts definition of hero. Here’s what we came up with.

Because we are dogs, some of our heroes are canine and some are human. We think the same might be true for humans. When Gunner Kaasen came into Nome with the serum in early February of 1925, most certainly his hero was Balto. Heroes possess extraordinary gifts, talents and strength. They are known for their remarkable achievements, outstanding qualities, courageous actions and brave or amazing deeds. They are held in high esteem. A hero might also be called superman, brave man, champion, conqueror or idol. The elder dogs based their definition on a huge thick book called the Miriam-Webster Dictionary. I contributed by doing some research on the computer in the Encarta World English Dictionary.

Elder Hostein

Martin Buser’s run to Nome in 2005 with an injured hand definitely falls into the category of a remarkable achievement. He started the race and was able to finish in 13th place because of his extraordinary strength and his drive to persevere against adversity. How about Bruce Linton with his diabetes? We consider him to be a real superman. People told Bruce he shouldn’t compete in the Boston Marathon, the Ironman Triathlon or the Iditarod because he was diabetic. But because of his strength and courage Bruce was determined to accomplish what he wanted to in life rather than letting his medical condition rule. Both Martin and Bruce have prevailed to achieve their goals against steep odds. Now it’s time to share stories about Togo, another one of our heroes.

Elder Tikchik

Togo wasn’t always the famous Alaskan Siberian husky of the Serum Run. I learned in the books, Gold Rush Dogs by Murphy & Haigh and The Cruelest Miles by Salisbury & Salisbury that Togo was a sickly spoiled pup, hard to handle, difficult and mischievous. Leonhard Seppala actually found a new home for him, not once but twice, and twice Togo returned to where he was born. Finally Seppala gave in and decided to keep Togo. As a young pup, Togo rain along side Seppala’s team as they trained but he was always a nuisance nipping at their ears and tails. Once when Seppala had to make a very lengthy run to a mining camp, he confined Toga in the dog yard. Togo wanted to be with the team so he broke free and ran after the them. When Seppala came out of the roadhouse where he had spent the night, there was Togo waiting next to the sled. There was no way to send the bold eight-month-old puppy home so he was harnessed and put in wheel. Seventy-five miles later, Seppala realized that Togo had behaved better and worked harder than any of the other dogs. Seppala realized there was something special about this persistent, if not spunky puppy. Over time, Togo was promoted to lead, a position he held for 16 years. Seppala had found a great leader in the grown up dependable Togo.

After winning the All Alaska Sweepstakes three times, the Ruby Derby twice and numerous other races, Togo, teammates and Seppala were quite famous in Nome. No wonder they were chosen to head out from Nome, meet the serum and bring it safely to the children. Over the 261 miles from Nome to Shaktoolik and back to Golovin, Togo and team experienced Alaska’s most brutal weather. True air temperatures reached 50 degrees below zero. Winds gusted to 50 miles per hour and created wind chills that were unimaginable. “Blizzard” didn’t adequately describe the winter storm conditions, at zero visibility, Togo had to follow the trail with his nose. After Seppala received the Serum from Henry Ivanoff on Norton Bay outside of Shaktoolik, Togo lead the team on a risky but time-saving short cut across the heaving ice of Norton Bay to Isaac’s Point. With his sixth sense for danger, Togo did what he was famous for.  Believing in Togo’s leadership, Seppala turned the team over to him to safely cross the dangerous sea ice.

With Togo in lead, Leonhard Seppala drove 170 miles from Nome to Shaktoolik to meet the serum and then returned 91 miles to Golovin. Altogether, Togo covered 261 miles in the race to save the children of Nome, a far greater distance than any of the other teams in the relay. In The Cruelest Miles, Salisbury describes Togo as a dog that didn’t look like a leader – he was small, about 48 pounds, with a black, brown and grayish coat but he was large when it came to courage, intelligence, speed and dependability. In 1925, at the age of 12, Togo was amazingly “fast, strong and alert.” After all, beauty is only skin deep and it’s not the size of the dog, it’s the size of the heart inside the dog that counts.

Well, there you have it – some great stories about our hero, Togo. What a dog! If you haven’t already done so, read Gold Rush Dogs by Murphy and Haigh and The Cruelest Miles by Salisbury & Salisbury. They are packed full of stories about great dogs and the events that made them great. By the way, if you ever get to Alaska, Togo’s body has been preserved and is on display at Iditarod Headquarters in Wasilla.

Stay tuned for more hero stories and remember the Togo saying – it’s not the size of the dog; it’s the size of the heart inside the dog that counts.

Born to Run,
Sanka

Storm Watch Siberians wondering who will watch TV tonight.

My good friends, the Siberian Huskies from Storm Watch Kennel up there in Wasilla, Alaska just across the road from where I used to live at the Redington’s, have their own television watching room in the musher’s house! With a huge wall television, leather couches and chairs, a really durable floor, a large bucket of treats and big tall bowls of cool fresh water, it’s quite luxurious. Every night a few of the huskies go inside to watch some TV and relax human style with their musher, Wayne Curtis. Wayne and the Sibes seem to agree that American Idol and Heroes are their favorite shows. Down here at Just Guts, we don’t watch much television except for football on Sunday evening but we do talk about our heroes, heroines and idols on other evenings and sunny afternoons when we’re not working.

Our list of Heroes includes Martin Buser, Bruce Linton, Balto, Togo, Baldy of Nome and Granite. Susan Butcher, DeeDee Jonrowe, Pam Flowers and Ivedi have made our list of Heroines. All of these creatures have done miraculous things in the face of adversity and extremely challenging situations. We have some idols too – Jeff King, Rick Swenson and Lance Mackey.

A few days before Iditarod began in 2005, Martin Buser cut part of a finger off in a saw while doing some fancy woodwork project. Unless you’ve had an injury like that, you can’t imagine the pain. Everyone thought Martin would withdraw from the race to let his finger heal but no. Martin said, yes I’m in a lot of PAIN but my dogs have trained hard and they deserve to run this race. It won’t be easy but I’ll endure the pain and do what is necessary to get this team to Nome. I still have one good hand, I’ll figure out how to manage the pain; bootie, feed and care for my dogs; drive the sled; and take care of myself. They ran the race and amazingly finished in 13th place.

Bruce Linton, an Iditarod veteran of three races, is a Type 1 diabetic who needs to inject insulin daily. As a diabetic, Bruce focuses on living life in a healthy way. From experience he knows that exercise is important in keeping his blood sugar in a healthy range. His impressive list of athletic accomplishments includes 12 marathons including 3 Boston finishes, 3 Ironman Triathlons and 3 Iditarods. Bruce is convinced that diabetics can achieve anything as long as they take care of themselves, live a healthy lifestyle and have a positive attitude. Bruce models this belief in his lifestyle and has renamed his kennel – No Limits Dog Sled Kennel. He’s improved his place every year that he’s run Iditarod – 55th to 46th to 28th. Do you suppose he can finish in the top 20 in Iditarod 2010?

You all know about Balto – he was the lead dog of the relay team that delivered the much needed diphtheria anti-toxin to Nome. The weather conditions were horrible between Bluff and Nome but Gunnar Kaasen and the relentless dogs led by Balto covered the final 53 miles delivering the serum to the waiting Dr. Welsh. We read in The Cruelest Miles that after the brave driver handed the serum over to Dr. Welch, he stumbled up to Balto where he collapsed praising his brilliant unstoppable leader.

You and your classmates might consider these questions and activities. What is the difference between a hero, heroine and an idol? Create a list of criteria for each category. Create your own list of heroes, heroines and idols. After you’ve made your list, look for common characteristics they all share. Does it match your list of criteria? Create a list of synonyms for each of the categories – hero, heroine and idle.

To read the biographies of our heroes Martin Buser and Bruce Linton, just go to www.iditarod.com and click on 2010 Iditarod and then choose Musher Listing. Visit www.buserdog.com and www.nolimitssleddogkennel.com to learn more about Martin and Bruce and their preparations for Iditarod 2010. You can learn more about Balto from two of our favorite books – The Cruelest Miles by Salisbury and Gold Rush Dogs by Murphy & Haigh.

Stay tuned for more stories about our heroes, heroines and idles. Remember, in everything do your best and as Bruce Linton would say, there are no limits!

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.

Hello Students!

A big shout out to you and your classmates!  

The northern lights are so beautiful.  I love to stand outside and watch them dance across the sky.  Sometimes you can almost hear them dance as their greens, yellows, reds, and blues mix and move across the sky.

Northern lights are hard to explain because they are very ’scientific’.  It has to do with pieces of charged particles of the earth’s magnetosphere crashing into to atoms and molecules of the earth’s upper atmosphere.  These particles become a trapped magnetic field of the solar wind.  Oxygen and nitrogen in the air determine if the particles are seen as green, red, blue, or violet.  The different gas in the atmosphere and the solar wind create the colors.  It is all so ’scientific’ but it results in a beautiful display of colors.  I hope you all get to see what I say is better than fireworks someday.

Lots of Tail Wags,

Zuma