Shageluk (SHAG-a-luck) is a village on the Innoko River. The name Shageluk is an Indian term and means village of the dog people – how cool is that. The area is very scenic with hills and small spruce trees. The Community Center acts as the checkpoint for Iditarod but the teams park by the school. When the race comes through, there are people, dogs, sleds, booties and straw everywhere. Usually the school kids establish a camp out on the trail – sort of a welcome center, complete with brightly colored signs they’ve created to greet the mushers as they pass by. Even though the mushers are tired and very busy taking care of their dogs, they always seem to have just a little extra energy to talk with the kids, sign their autograph books and answer their endless questions. Not only is there a lot of excitement when the Iditarod teams come through the village, there are also many visitors. Friends and relatives come to visit and watch the race. As the village doctor, Musher always arranged her visit to Shageluk so she was there when the race went through. That’s where she met Martin Buser, DeeDee Jonrowe, Susan Butcher and countless other mushers.

Of the 129 people living in the village, most are Alaska Native Athabascan Indians. Thirty five children attend the K-12 school. Temperatures range between 42 and 80 during the summer and then dip to -62 to zero degrees in the winter. Average precipitation is 67 inches including an average of 110 inches of snow each year! There are no roads into Shageluk. Locals use ATVs, snow machines and dog teams to get around. The Innoko River is used for transportation – boats in the summer and snow machines in the winter. The river is usually frozen from November to May. Small planes come to the village daily as long as weather permits. The small planes don’t have advanced navigational systems therefore visibility has to be a minimum of five miles for the bush planes to fly. This is referred to as the visual flight rule.

People who live in Shageluk rely mostly on subsistence activities for food – they pick berries; grow vegetables; trap beaver; fish for salmon and hunt bear, moose and ducks. There is a nice village store. Before the store opened, people ordered what they couldn’t grow, catch, hunt or make and it was delivered by small plane or boat. Ask a villager what their most important possessions are and the reply will be snow machine, boat, rifle and TV. To keep busy, the kids of Shageluk hunt, fish, watch TV, watch movies, play video games and they LOVE basketball. They travel by plane or snow machine to play games in other villages. The city provides water to the school and the washeteria. Homes have electricity even though they don’t have plumbing. Residents use pit privies and haul water from the washeteria where they also go for laundry and bathing.

While a bush doctor, Musher lived in Bethel. She visited each of her villages two times per year. During the rest of the year, there was a health aide at the clinic to see patients. Everyday via radio medical traffic, the doctor talked with the health aide to discuss the condition of patients seen that day. If anyone was seriously ill, and urgently needed to be seen by a doctor, the patient would be flown to Bethel about 150 miles away.

The trail between Iditarod and Shageluk crosses MANY ridges, some steep and some gentle. None of the ridges are really distinctive so to the mushers the trail seems to go on endlessly. There is an old burn area that the teams pass through before crossing two streams, the Little Yentna and Big Yentna. Don Bowers makes a note in his Trail Description that it’s easy to mistake the Little Yetna for the Big Yentna. That’s a bummer to think you’re 20 miles further down the trail than you actually are. Mushers have to take an 8 hour mandatory rest once they reach the Yukon River. Shageluk is the first checkpoint where mushers can take their Yukon River rest. The trail connecting Iditarod and Shageluk was used during the gold rush but not a lot. So when it came time to locate the Iditarod Trail for the race to run the southern route, trail breakers sought the help of Shageluk Elders who had used the trail a half century earlier. Without their experience and knowledge, the historical Iditarod trail could have been lost forever.

Well, there you have it – my musher’s account of life in Shageluk, medical treatment in the bush and a short description of the trail. None of Musher’s pictures were digital so thanks to my friend, Kim Slade the 2007 teacher on the Trail, for sharing her digital images. Next Handler will tell us about Anvik and Grayling. Stay tuned and remember in everything do your best everyday and always have a plan.

Born to Run,

Sanka

 

Six miles out of Ophir it’s CRITICAL to know if it’s an odd or even year. In odds years, teams go left at the fork in the trail, taking the “southern” route but in even years, teams fork right and travel along the “northern” route. Aren’t you wondering why there are two routes? Iditarod is a SIGNIFICANT event that requires a monumental amount of work but provides great excitement in the everlasting winter for the villagers of interior Alaska. It’s a wise choice to divide the work as well as the excitement between the small interior villages along the alternate year routes.

The ninety miles of trail between Ophir and Iditarod has many large spruce, birch and cottonwood trees. Mushers will climb from 800 feet in elevation to 1,100 when crossing the Beaver Mountains. There are many creeks – some with over flow, frozen swamps and lakes as well as tundra, large timber and brush along this section of trail. If a musher wishes to rest the team, there’s a cabin not quite half way to Iditarod. Don Bowers in Trail Notes describes the cabin as a dilapidated plywood shack with a very basic stove and says, “There’s not much there but it’s way ahead of what’s in second place.”

Except for one trapper, nobody has lived in Iditarod since 1935. The checkpoint is set up in an old house that until a few years ago, that trapper used. But like the miners, the trapper has also moved on. Besides the trapper’s house, there is a bank vault and a few other shelters still standing.

Gold was discovered on Christmas Day of 1908 in Flat located just a short distance from the Iditarod River. News traveled and those seeking riches and adventure found their way either by land on the frozen Iditarod Trail or by river on steamers and then established a mining camp on the river bank that became known as Iditarod. Iditarod and Flat were called the Twin Cities. After reading a story in the SitNews by June Allen published in March of 2005, I learned a few things about the Twin Cities that I want to share. The folks living in Flat and Iditarod enjoyed the conveniences of gaslights, telephones, newspapers, banks, restaurants and hotels and even a motor car. A tramway connected Iditarod and Flat. This turned out to be the last great strike of Alaska’s Gold Rush. The mines were depleted within a few years and the miners left but not before $33 million dollars of gold had been mined.. The post office closed in 1925. Don Bowers claims that back in 1910, Iditarod had a population of 10,000. But today with a population of zero it’s a lonely, haunted place even during the activity of Iditarod. Flat has a population of four.

Well, there you have it – some history and information about Iditarod, the second ghost town on the Iditarod Trail. Do you suppose the that mushers, dogs and volunteers can feel the “spirits” of the departed miners as they pass through Iditarod? Handler just brought me a new book. It’s called Gold Rush Dogs by Murphy and Haigh. It can’t wait to read and share stories about those AMAZING dogs as soon as I have a little break from all the action of Leader School. Thanks to my friend, Kim Slade the 2007 Teacher on the Trail for sharing her pictures of Iditarod. Next Handler is going to tell us about Shageluk (it’s not a ghost town). Stay tuned for that story and remember in everything do your best everyday and have a plan.

Born to Run,
Sanka

 

BOO!

The trail used by Iditarod dog teams to travel from Takotna to Ophir (O-fur) follows an old mining road that was built in the 1920’s to connect Takotna and Ophir with Sterling landing. Water levels on the Kuskokwim River were not always deep enough for steamboats to navigate all the way up river to Takotna so an alternate landing was established. The supplies unloaded from the steamboats at Sterling Landing were then transported to the local supply center and mining towns using the road. This “bush” road like all others in Alaska, doesn’t connect to any state highway system.

In his trail notes, Don Bowers tells the mushers that as they leave Takotna heading toward Ophir, the trial climbs to the top of the divide between the Kuskokwim and the Innoko Rivers. It’s not a serious climb, only about 800 feet over nine miles of trail. After cresting the divide, the trail runs along Independence Creek and the Innoko River until it reaches the ghost town of Ophir. Many teams have taken their 24 hour rest at Takotna so the dogs are ready to get up and go. Mushers say that the view from the top of the 1,200 foot divide is very scenic.

Now for a little history. NationMaster.com, an online encyclopedia says that Ophir, Alaska was named by gold miners after the Ophir mentioned in the Old Testament of the Bible. Supposedly, rich King Solomon received shipments of gold, silver, precious stones, ivory, apes and peacocks from the famous wealthy land of biblical Ophir.

Gold was first discovered around Ophir, Alaska in the late 1800’s. At its peak in 1907 to 1908, Ophir had a population of 1,000 people and who knows how many dogs. In gold rush towns, dogs were invaluable for hauling supplies out to the mines and gold back from the mines. As the gold supply was exhausted, the miners and dogs moved on. Today the population of Ophir is zero and only a few buildings, a gold dredge and dilapidated runway remain to mark the location of the once vibrant mining town. As of 2006 small mining operations still exist along some of the nearby creeks. Mining today is far different that it was in the early 1900’s.

The checkpoint for Iditarod is located in a cabin owned by Dick and Audra Forsgren. Mushers and volunteers really appreciate the big pot of stew that Audra cooks up on the woodburning stove in the cabin. Ophir Temperatures (-42 to +80) and precipitation (10 inches) will be very similar to Takotna and McGrath.

Well, there you it – some history and information about Ophir, one of the ghost towns on the Iditarod Trail. Thanks so my friends, Jane Blaile the 2007 Teacher on the Trail and Robert Bundtzen for sharing their favorite photos of Ophir. Next Handler will tell us about Iditarod Checkpoint. Stay tuned for that story and remember, in everything do your best everyday and have a plan.

Born to run,
Sanka

The village has 55 residents. It’s a big deal when Iditarod comes through – everyone needs to help. Folks from the lower 48 who have relatives in Takotna head to the little village to share in the work load. The school children are on vacation so they can help. The checkpoint is manned day and night by residents, friends and relatives in 12 hour shifts. Handler worked with school children who were on the 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. cleanup crew. When a musher left, the children would rake up the left over straw, food and poop then bag it. Another crew would work from 7:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. Takotna is an amazing place and Iditarod is truly a labor of love.

Takotna is known for its cold winters and cool summers. On Average, temperatures range from -42°F to zero degrees in the winter and between 42 and 80°F in the summer. Precipitation would be very similar to McGrath with 10 inches of rainfall including around 7 feet of snow. The river is frozen from November through May. The community has electricity. The school and community center have running water and flush toilets. Water is hauled from the waterworks for home use and honey buckets and outhouses are used for sewage disposal. Travelers come and go from the village by either plane or boat. The local road system covers about 15 miles including a road that climbs to the airstrip located high above the village. Handler made the 1.5 mile trek up to the airstrip and was treated to a distant but breath taking view of Denali.

The population of the community is a mixed group of non-Natives, Ingalik Athabascans and Eskimos. Some residents have jobs with the school district, post office, health clinic or local businesses like the small grocery store or seasonal construction companies. A great majority of the area residents rely on moose, salmon, gardens and wild berry crops as food sources. Take a close look at this picture of the inside of the checkpoint. What items do you see that also appear on your table at home? Think about this – this tiny village is in the interior bush of Alaska – accessible only by plane or boat – they hunt and fish for most of their meat – yet we have many things in common.

Now for a little history that Handler and I learned from the Alaska Community Data Base. Over the years, Takotna has been known as Berry Landing, Portage City, Takotna City, Takotna Station and Tocotna. In 1908 after gold was discovered in the Innoko District, Arthur Berry was hired to bring supplies up the river. The village was founded at the spot where the river became too shallow for Berry’s sternwheeler to continue. The village prospered during the gold rush having several commercial companies and roadhouses as well as a post office, radio station and news paper. The water level changed from year to year and so it was not always possible to get supplies to Takotna thus a landing was established further down river. Later in the 1930’s mining activity declined, the Alaska Commercial Company closed the store and McGrath became the supply hub for the area.

Well, there you have it – Takotna, the friendliest little checkpoint on the Iditarod Trail. Our friend and Iditarod Champion, Joe Runyan considers Takotna an excellent choice for the 24 hour layover saying, “It’s a quiet spot for mushers to rest inside a warm dry building, dry out wet gear, eat delicious food and gather information about trail conditions and weather.” Next handler will tell us about Ophir Checkpoint. Stay tuned for that story and remember, in everything do your best everyday and have a plan.

Born to Run,
Sanka