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Tag: Checkpoints

Virtual Trail Journey - McGrath at Mile 339 by Sanka W. Dog

Posted by Sanka in Alaskan History, Checkpoints, Explore Alaska Date: November 12, 2008

Oxbows require shortcutsFrom Nikolai it’s a southwest run to McGrath which should take five to seven hours. In his Trail Notes, Bowers considers this to be an easy run but it can be very boring for both the dogs and the drivers. There are so many bends in the Big River and Kuskokwim River that seem to be identical, and so many lakes that seem to be identical, it’s as if the trail goes on and on covering the same ground. These river bends are called oxbows and thankfully, there are shortcuts across them. Many teams choose to do this run at night or early in the morning. It can get VERY cold so dogs are happy to wear coats and mushers want to wear their warmest gear too. The first musher to reach McGrath receives the Spirit of Alaska Award from Penn Air.

Shopping in McGrathMcGrath has a population of 400 with a few more than half being Native Alaskans - Athabascan and Eskimo. There are two stores, one for groceries and one for dry goods, along with a restaurant. The school in McGrath has 181 students. Nearly all the houses in McGrath are hooked up to the village water system but most have their own septic systems. There is village garbage service and electricity is provided by McGrath Light & Power. The village has a public library, a regional health clinic and a well developed air strip. A person traveling to or from McGrath would go by plane, boat, snowmachine or during Iditarod - dog team as there are no roads leading to the village. There are some local roads and winter trails are marked for travel to Nikolai and Takotna. People and businesses in McGrath receive cargo and supplies by air and water. Being a major supply center, there are many cash jobs but some people still rely on subsistence activities. They hunt moose, caribou, bear and rabbits; fish for salmon; trap; tend gardens and harvest berries and other natural crops.

Frosty but warm Dogs @ 35 belowThe Kuskokwim River is almost always open from June thru October. Summer temperatures in McGrath range from 62 to 80 but in winter the temperatures run between -64 and 0 degrees Fahrenheit. When Handler was in McGrath in 2006, the temperature was 35 degrees below zero - sort of a frosty morning for the dogs but they had lots of straw. When it’s that cold, the snow talks back, “CRUNCH,” when you walk, run or drive on it. This area receives only about 10 inches of precipitation per year including 80 to 90 inches of snow.

Now for a little history. I did a Google search one day after lead dog training and found some good info at www.alaskatravel.com/alaska/mcgrath.html. Before the gold rush, McGrath was a meeting and trading place for Kuskokwim Athabascan. Then, because this was all the farther north barges could travel on the Kuskokwim River, it became a regional trading center after gold was discovered in 1906. It wasn’t until 1907 that the town was established and named for Peter McGrath, a local U.S. Marshal. From the time gold was discovered in 1906 until 1925, hundreds, even thousands, of people walked or mushed on the mail and supply trail know as the Iditarod Trail through McGrath on their way to the Ophir gold mines in the Innoko Mining District. Initially, McGrath was across the river from its present location but in 1933 a major flood caused residents and businesses to move to the other bank of the river. In 1937, the Alaska Commercial Company opened a new store. With planes becoming safer and more popular for delivering people, mail and supplies, an airstrip was cleared in 1940. About that same time, the first school was built. McGrath was an important refueling stop during World War II. For the most part, gold mining operations in the area shut down many years because of low prices. Today McGrath is an important communications, transportation and supply center for interior Alaska. It also serves as the center of the huge Iditarod School District.

Well, there you have it - some history and information about McGrath, the Iditarod Trail and what its like to live in the village. The next checkpoint on the trail is Takotna. It’s rumored that Takotna is the best little checkpoint on the Iditarod Trail - handler will tell us about that village next. So, stay tuned and remember in everything do your best every day and have a plan!

Born to Run,
Sanka

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Trail from Rohn to Nikolai by Sanka W. Dog

Posted by Sanka in Along the Trail, Explore Alaska, Off-Season News Date: November 11, 2008

There was so much to share with you about the village of Nikolai, there wasn’t enough time or space to tell you about the trail between Rohn and Nikolai. Between the stories, pictures Handler has and what I’ve discovered about the trail from the Bower’s Trail Notes in Iditarod’s Guide to the Last Great Race, there’s reason to tell you a little more about this part of the trail.

Dogs Teams are unmistakable from the air in the Farewell BurnThe trail between Rohn and Nikolai is beautiful and challenging. During the clear, cold daytime the mushers and dogs can see Denali and Mt. Foraker in the northeast. Try to imagine how beautiful these peaks are around sunrise and sunset when they are still brightly lit by the sun over the dark landscape below. On the other hand, challenges include areas of glare ice, overflow, open water, wind and lack of snow. I had to ask what overflow was. Handler explained that it’s water that sits on top of frozen ice. How does it get there? It comes up through cracks in the ice or around the edges. You know, I’ve done a few open water crossings - just little steams and it’s not so bad. We have to change booties pretty soon afterward.

Egypt Mountain is a stand alone peak that’s about 3,000 feet tall. The teams run low along the shoulder of this mountain as they head from Rohn toward Farewell Lake. This is where the buffalo live. Buffalo? I thought handler was making this up! Back in 1965, eighteen of the big brown beasts were moved from Canada and then a few years later another 20 were added to the herd. Now there are 200 to 300 bison that graze in the burn area. They aren’t a problem for Iditarod teams but they are curious. There are stories about mushers who decide to pull over to rest with their teams and wake up to a buffalo kissing their cheek. Now who would believe this but Don Bowers, Jr. speaks the truth in his Trail Notes!

Cessna 180 provides an aerial view of the trail through the Farewell BurnThe Farewell Burn is exactly what its name implies. During the summer of 1978, one and a half million acres burned in Alaska’s largest ever forest fire. Forty miles of Iditarod Trail runs through the burned area. After the fire, the trail was covered with snags and downed trees, so for several years it was very tough sledding but in 1984 a 25 foot wide trail was cleared through the burn by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). If there is good snow, this can be a great section of trail - without snow, it’s still tough sledding.

Buffalo Camp in the Farewell BurnIn the Burn, about 40 miles from Nikolai, the teams will come upon a tent camp complete with people and snowmachines. This is the Buffalo Camp. Teams are welcome to stop to rest and have some stew. The hunters sure helped Paul Gebhardt out in 2006 when he lost his team. Paul told Handler his story while they were eating Cheeseburgers and Fries at the Nikolai Community Center.

Gebhardt was coming into the burn when his sled hit a tree and the gangline snapped. The team kept going leaving Paul standing on the runners of a motionless sled. Paul yelled at his leaders to stop but they didn’t so he began to run after the team. He got hot so he took off his anorak and tossed it beside the trail - he kept running. Next he took off his coat and tossed it beside the trail - he kept jogging. Next he took off his insulated pants and tossed them beside the trail - he kept walking. Paul was in the lead when he lost his team. Doug Swingley, not too far behind, came upon the abandoned sled. He saw Paul’s footprints going down the trail and the anorak, coat and pants laying beside the trail. He knew what had happened. Pretty soon Doug caught up with Paul and gave him a ride to the Buffalo Camp. Paul borrowed a snowmachine from the hunters and finally caught up with his team a couple of miles down the trail. Gebhardt tied his team off and then raced back to his sled, picking up his anorak, coat and pants on the way. He towed his sled up to the Buffalo Camp, picked up a hunter then went on up the trail to where his team was tied off. The hunter returned to camp with the snowmachine. Paul replaced his gangline and continued down the trail, now in second place.

I’ve heard about the rule that mushers can’t receive outside assistance on the trial. Do you think Paul was penalized for riding on Doug’s sled or using a snowmachine to recover his team? The rules allow a musher to use any means available to recover a team. The Race Marshall said that Gebhardt didn’t gain any time or advantage in using these options to recover his team so there was no penalty. Lucky for Paul that the Buffalo Camp was so close and lucky that mushers are really Good Samaritans and willing to help each other out.

Well, there you have it - some stories, history and information about the trail between Rohn and Nikolai. From Nikolai, the teams move on to McGrath. Stay tuned for that story and remember - in everything do your best every day and have a plan.

Born to Run,
Sanka

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Virtual Trail Journey — Nikolai at Mile 285 By Sanka W. Dog

Posted by Sanka in Checkpoints, Explore Alaska, Off-Season News Date: October 27, 2008

Nikolai and Iditarod Teams from the AirAs if coming over the Alaska Range wasn’t exciting enough, being in the interior is really exciting! The first Native Alaskan Village that the Iditarod passes through is Nikolai. It is an Athabascan Village, population 100, situated on the south fork of the Kuskowim River. During the gold rush a trading post and roadhouse were located here on the Rainy Pass Trail that connected the Ophir Gold Mining District to Cook Inlet. Today, the village has a store, a school, a community center, a church, a post office, a health clinic, a washeteria and an air strip. The village has a piped sewer system while most of the 50 houses in Nikolai have their own wells for water. Electricity is supplied by Nikolai Power & Light. People, supplies and mail get to and from Nikolai by either air or water except during Iditarod when dog teams and snowmachines are plentiful.

Summer temperatures in the interior range from 42 to 80 degrees but in the winter it can get mighty cold with temperatures ranging between 62 below and zero degrees. They have about 16 inches of precipitation each year including about six feet of snow. The Kuskokwim river is usually open from June through October for boat and barge traffic.

People who live in Nikolai heat their homes with wood. They have a subsistence life style meaning that they grow their own vegetables; pick berries; hunt caribou, moose and rabbit and fish for Salmon to put food on their tables. Some folks earn a little extra money by trapping and selling handicrafts. In the summer many folks work construction.

Nikolai K-12 School Handler says the school is nice. It has a media center, gymnasium, locker rooms, kitchen and two classrooms - one for the kindergarten thru sixth graders and one for the seventh thru twelfth graders. During the race, the students are on vacation and the mushers can get food from the school kitchen, sleep in the gymnasium and shower in the locker rooms. The media folks use the internet in the media center to send their stories.

One afternoon I had some time after lead dog training to do a little research on the Native Alaskans called Athabaskans. I borrowed a little book called Alaska’s History by Harry Ritter and you won’t believe what I learned! Wisconsin, where I live, is situated in the Great Lakes Region and was once populated by Native American Indians. As it turns out, there are MANY similarities between the two groups. Years ago in their traditional cultures, they both used bows and arrows for hunting; they both wore fringed and beautifully beaded buckskin clothing and they both used utensils and canoes made of birch bark. Can you think of why this might be?

Many years ago before modern times, the Athabascans lead a nomadic life - they went where their food was. In the summer they lived in tents by the rivers to catch salmon. In the fall they moved to hunt moose and caribou. In the winter they lived in earth sheltered dwellings. Mr. Ritter said the Athabaskans were famous for their strength, resourcefulness and stamina. All Alaska Natives are spiritual people and have great respect for the land, water and creatures of nature.

Sponge Bob in Nikolai I could tell that Handler really liked Nikolai - the villagers, students and teachers were so very friendly. While eating at the Community Center, the villagers told stories about their childhood and their ancestors and the mushers told stories about their experiences in the Farewell Burn. The menu at the Community Center was very familiar - cheese burgers and french fries for lunch and supper - eggs, bacon and hash browns for breakfast. Many of the villagers, adults and children, gathered at the checkpoint and community center to socialize, meet the mushers and see the dogs teams.

Well there you have it - a glimpse of what life is like in Nikolai today and a little historical information about the Athabascan way of life years and years ago. By the way, Martin Buser named one of his sons Nikolai and the other Rohn - how cool is that to be named after a village or checkpoint on the Iditarod Trail! Next Handler is going to tell us about the trail between Rohn and Nikolai. Stay tuned for that story and remember - in everything do your best everyday and have a plan.

Born to Run,
Sanka

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Virtual Trail Journey - Skwentna at Mile 87 by Sanka W. Dog

Posted by Sanka in Explore Alaska, Off-Season News Date: October 8, 2008

Aerial View of Skwentna CheckpointThe distance from Yentna Station to the second checkpoint, Skwentna is 34 miles. These are easy miles for the mushers and dog teams as the trail follows the Yentna River until joining the Skwentna River a couple of miles short of the checkpoint. Most mushers find the trail easy to follow but a few take wrong turns along the many channels and sloughs. Handler has told me about mushers coming into Skwentna saying it took twice as long as it should have to get there because of following a wrong trail. I’ll bet they paid close attention to the official markers after that!

Skwentna Zip Code 99667Skwentna checkpoint is located on the Skwentna River at the Post Office and the home of Joe and Norma Delia. Joe has been the postmaster in Skwentna since 1948. Skwentna has a population of 75 in the winter and about 250 during the summer. There aren’t enough children in the area to have a school so the kids who live there are home schooled. Folks come to the post office by snowmachine, plane or dog team in the winter and boat in the summer. Average rainfall per year is 27 inches and average snowfall is 118 inches. In January, the Delias experience temperatures from 30° below to 33° above and in July the thermometer can dip to the lower 40’s soar to the mid 80’s. Athabascan Indians have fished and hunted along the Yentna and Skwentna Rivers for centuries.

You can’t believe how exciting and noisy it is to have all the Iditarod teams come through a checkpoint in just 12 hours. As the race goes further down the trail, it spreads out but in the early checkpoints like Yentna Station, Skwentna, Finger Lake and Rainy Pass, all the teams are still pretty close together. My handler actually works at Skwentna as a communications volunteer and says the best part is to see all the awesome dogs, telling them all “GOOD DOG” and petting as many as possible. In 2008 the first team made it to Skwentna at 20:49 (remember that’s military time) and 15 hours later the last team was on the way to Finger Lake.

Working communications from the cabinThere are about 40 or more people who come together to make things happen at Skwentna. The River Crew comes in from Tacoma, Washington. They lay out straw bales, sort food, heat water, park teams and act as checkers. The Skwentna Sweeties come from Eagle River, Alaska. They provide hospitality by cooking great meals for all the workers and the mushers. There are five or six veterinarians, a race judge, a race marshal and a handful of communications people. When you work a checkpoint, everyone has a very important role. It’s just like the dogs and mushers going down the trail - everyone has to work as a team. Do you know the true meaning of TEAM? Together Everyone Achieves More.

Well, there you have it - a little information about Skwentna, the folks who live there and the volunteers that come together to make things happen. Next Handler will tell us about Finger Lake - that’s the third checkpoint. Stay tuned for that story and remember, in everything do your best every day and have a plan.

Born to Run,
Sanka

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Virtual Trail Journey - Yentna at Mile 53 by Sanka W. Dog

Posted by Sanka in Explore Alaska Date: October 6, 2008

The distance from the Willow restart to the first checkpoint, Yentna Station is 42 miles. These are easy miles for the mushers and dog teams as most are on frozen rivers or well traveled snowmachine trails. Most of the traffic at Yentna Station goes straight on through, stopping just long enough to check in and pick up supplies. More about the race and strategy later, first I want to tell you what I learned about Yentna Station.

Officially, this checkpoint is known as the Yentna Station Roadhouse. How strange is that? The nearest road is more than 40 miles away! The only way to travel to Yentna in the winter is by plane, snowmachine or dog team. In summer you can add boat because the checkpoint is located on the Yentna River. Yentna Station Roadhouse

Roadhouses are quite significant in Alaskan history. They are like hotels that were built along trails used by miners, mail carriers, loggers and anyone else who had to travel along wilderness trails. They were generally built a “day’s travel” apart. Some were permanent wood structures while others were just temporary tents. Some were quite nice while others just provided shelter and a meal. It seems to me roadhouse should really be called trailhouse.

Today, the Yentna Station Roadhouse is an adventure lodge run by 8 members of the Dan & Jean Gabryszak family. The roadhouse or lodge is a large permanent structure that offers guide services, meals and rooms to folks who want to fish, hunt, follow Iditarod, work or travel in the area. It’s not only the first checkpoint for Iditarod, it’s also a checkpoint for Junior Iditarod, Iditasport, Alaska Ultra Sport, and the Iron Dog Race. Iditarsport and Ultra Sport are both human powered endurance races where people bike, ski, run or snowshoe anywhere from 130 to 1100 miles. The Iron Dog is a snowmachine race of a couple thousand miles. You can do what I did, Google these races and see what they are all about. By the way, in the lower 48 snowmachines are known as snowmobiles.

Each year, the Gabryszaks expect around 15 inches of rain and 60 inches of snow and it can get as cold as minus 45 degrees in the winter and as hot as 90 degrees in the summer. Handler saw skiers and bikers along the Iditarod Trail when is was 35 degrees BELOW zero. That’s a little chilly for sled dogs but it’s REALLY cold for humans. I hope they were wearing warm coats!

Here’s a bit about strategy along this part of the trail. Some mushers check in at Yentna and then run another 34 miles to Skwentna before taking their first rest. Other mushers pick up supplies at Yentna and camp/rest before getting to Skwentna. Those teams check in, pick up more supplies and blow right on through Skwentna. There is so much concentrated action at the early checkpoint that mushers often plan to camp outside the checkpoints for some peace and quiet. It’s all in the trail strategy that the musher puts together before the race. I’ve heard a lot about how important planning is. Here’s a little saying - if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. YIKES - I hope everyone has a plan!

Well, there you have it - a little information about Yentna Station, roadhouses in general, the trail and Iditarod strategy. Next Handler is going to tell us about Skwentna. That’s the checkpoint she works at - stay tuned for that story and remember, in everything do your best everyday and have a plan.

Born to Run,

Sanka

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What happens at a Checkpoint?

Posted by Zuma in Race Coverage Date: March 13, 2008

Libby Here!

Are you wondering how long the checkpoint breaks are? When you follow the race and watch the Internet for information, you can ’see’ how long a musher stays in a checkpoint. Looking back at the race information, you can see, some stay short amount of times, some stay longer amount of times.

A musher stays in a checkpoint as long as their race schedule and their dogs decide they should be there. Each musher thinks about a race plan way before the race starts. The dogs are trained to run a certain amount of time and then to rest a certain amount of time. During the run time, there are stops for quick rests and quick snacks. During the rest times, there are times for longer dog naps, bigger meals, and often cuddle time under dog blankets.

So, the answer to the question about how long checkpoint breaks are is this: They are as long as the dogs and mushers need them to be because of their training schedule.

Pictures on the Internet or Insider video often show what goes on in Checkpoints. You can see the vets busy examining each dog, mushers cooking meals for the dogs, and dog’s having long naps. Sometimes you can even see pictures of mushers sound asleep.

If you were running a long race, would you have a rest - run schedule? Would you run fast at times? Slow at other times? What would your schedule be like and what would you do during your breaks? Write about your thoughts!

Just spinning some de’tails’!

Libby

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Skwentna Checkpoint Number 2 by Sanka W. Dog

Posted by Zuma in Race Coverage Date: March 11, 2008

Skwentna - Checkpoint #2

By Sanka W. Dog

You can’t believe how exciting and noisy it is to have 96 dog teams come through a checkpoint. As the race goes further down the trail, it spreads out but in the early checkpoints of Yentna Station, Skwentna and Finger Lake, all the teams are still pretty close together. I’m lucky to know about this because my handler actually worked at Skwentna as a communications volunteer.

Skwentna has a population of 75 people in the winter and 250 people in the summer. It’s located on the Skwentna River. There aren’t enough children in the community to have a school so the kids who live here are home schooled.

The first team into Skwentna arrived at 20:49 (remember, that’s military time). The workers are waiting down on the frozen river, watching for the light of a headlamp to come around the bend of the river about a half mile away. The team stops under the WELCOME TO SKWENTNA banner where they are greeted by the checker and the communications worker. The dogs are counted and the arrival time is recorded. If the musher is going to stay, s/he parks the team, sets a snow hook at each end of the dogs and then spreads straw out for the dogs to sleep on. The musher collects the drop bags, draws some hot water then return to the team to give them water and take their booties off. Shortly there after, the musher will cook the dogs a nice meaty meal. After the dogs are taken care of, the musher most likely will go up to the cabin for some hot food and rest.

Who are the workers at Skwentna? The checkpoint is located at the home of Joe and Norma Delia. Joe is the postmaster. Iditarod sends 3 communications. The river crew comes in from Tacoma, Washington. The Skwentna Sweeties come from Eagle River, Alaska.

Everybody has a very important role in making the checkpoint work. Two “comms” people send race information up from the river to the cabin where the 3rd comms person sends the information to race headquarters in Anchorage via satellite computer connection. They can also communicate on a fixed cell phone and satellite phone. Pretty high tech! The river crew lays out the straw bales for each team, alphabetizes and organizes the drop bags so mushers can find them easily. They heat river water for the teams. River crew members also park each team (it takes a lot of room and organization to park 96 teams). Two members of the River Crew work as checkers and record official times of arrival. Everybody really loves the Skwentna Sweeties - they provide the hospitality. They cook great meals for all the workers and the mushers.

My handler said that the best part of working the Skwentna checkpoint was to see all the awesome dogs, telling them all “good dog” and petting as many as possible.

When you work a checkpoint, everyone has to work as a team. It’s just like the dogs and musher going down the trail - everyone has to work as a team. Remember the true meaning of TEAM. Together Everyone Achieves More.

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