Iditarod legend remembered

Dec. 5, 2006

By Michael Rovito

Frontiersman

MAT-SU - When friends and family talk about a loved one who has died, it is customary to say nice things about them. But ask longtime musher Joe May of Trapper Creek about Herbie Nayokpuk, and he will tell you that in Nayokpuk's case, people really mean it.

Nayokpuk, an Eskimo from the Bering Sea island town of Shishmaref, died Saturday at the age of 77. He had been hospitalized in Anchorage since suffering a massive stroke in November.

May, who won the 1980

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race after forging a trail partnership with Nayokpuk - nicknamed &#8220The Shishmaref Cannonball” - said the Native musher had a special bond with his dogs. May said if there is one thing Nayokpuk wanted more than to win, it was to make sure his dogs were taken care of first.

&#8220He would pull back, slow down and rest more if he thought it was in the best interest of the dogs rather than just win the race,” May said. &#8220There are a few people around who drive the dogs too hard just for the sake of winning a race.”

Nayokpuk loved his dogs so much, May said, that he would sometimes take a break from racing and let them off their harnesses to run around and roll in the snow.

&#8220He would turn his dogs loose and have some coffee,” May said, adding that a lost dog on the trail means the musher is disqualified. &#8220But the dogs would come back.”

Nayokpuk never won the Last Great Race, but he is remembered for being a top contender in the race's early days. He finished second to May in 1980 and racked up eight top 10 finishes in the 11 races he participated in. He won the Golden Harness twice - in 1980 and 1987 - for having the outstanding lead dog. Nayokpuk also was voted the Most Inspirational Musher in 1988.

He later became the first living musher granted the honorary No. 1 bib and was elected to the Iditarod Hall of Fame in 1997. In nominating him, former channel 2 newsman John Larson summed up Nayokpuk's legend: &#8220If I had to choose one face to represent the Iditarod, it would be Herbie's. If I had to choose one heart, it would be Herbie's. If I could only meet one Iditarod musher ever - Herbie again. This Eskimo from Shishmaref was everything that was good about the Iditarod: tough, strong, savvy, kind. No one was more respected on the trail, and his team was a thing of beauty to see.”

As the news of Nayokpuk's demise spread across the mushing world, Mat-Su residents who knew him best remembered his competitive spirit and gentle soul.

Willow musher DeeDee Jonrowe, a veteran of 27 Iditarods and perennial top finisher, remembered a time when Native mushers were more common in the 1,150-mile annual race from Anchorage to Nome.

&#8220He was one of the original Eskimo mushers,” Jonrowe said.

She recalled her rookie year, the same year Nayokpuk took second in the Iditarod, when he ran on ivory runners attached to his sled. A talented ivory artist, Nayokpuk's original sleds are a testament to how far race technology has come, Jonrowe said.

Joe Delia, a Skwentna resident who helped race founder Joe Redington stake out the trail from Knik to Skwentna and ran the checkpoint in that Bush town until 1997, spoke at length about Nayokpuk. Being involved with the Iditarod from its beginnings, Delia has seen many mushers come and go over the years. But when he spoke of his friend from Shishmaref, it was as if the man made him forget about anyone else who ever came through the Skwentna checkpoint.

&#8220Herbie had a lot to do with kids on the trail,” Delia said, adding that Nayokpuk's willingness to share the sport of mushing with his young followers was special. Delia's daughter, Christine, was influenced by Nayokpuk.

&#8220He always took time when he came through here to take her out and show her the dogs,” Delia said.

Christine Delia went on to become the first female musher to win the Jr. Iditarod.

Delia, 75, said that even though Nayokpuk hadn't raced in many years, the impact of his death, and life, will still be felt at Iditarod time. He noted the passing of four-time champion Susan Butcher earlier this year, too.

&#8220We really have lost some good ones,” Delia said.

Contact Michael Rovito at 352-2252 or michael.rovito@

frontiersman.com.