Life along the Iditarod Trail

Frontiersman staff

The Iditarod Trail has more than 1,000 miles of primary trail, with more than 1,000 miles of interconnected trails as part of the same system. In 1999, the National Millennium Council designated the Iditarod Trail as a national Millennium Trail, a designation that only went to 16 trails nationwide.

A major effort to raise awareness of the trail got under way earlier this month.

The Alaskan Express Freight Sled Expedition is following the route to Nome to commemorate the Iditarod as a National Millennium Trail. As the expedition makes its way to Nome this month, it will stop in communities along the route to give presentations to schools and the public.

"We want to celebrate the trail, and we are hoping people realize the rich history of the trail and how important it was to the people here thousands of years ago," said Ron Arnold, president of the Iditarod National Millennium Trail Inc., in a Frontiersman story last year.

There are several purposes of the trip. A four-panel, full-color map will be produced, and the entire Iditarod National Millennium Trail will be global positioning system mapped. But more importantly is to provide an oral history of the trail and to educate others about what an important role it has played in Alaska's history.

Long-term plans include building small cabins every 20 miles along the trail, from Seward to Nome, to make the trail accessible from start to finish for everyone, including tourists.

What makes the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race unique is the fact it is so remote, among other things. When starting in the Valley, the first 20 or so miles are accessible by road, but the 1,080 other miles aren't.

To the villages on the Iditarod Trail, the event brings a huge economical windfall with it. The small hotels and beds and breakfasts are booked when they otherwise would be closed, restaurants are open to all hours of the night, and even kids with snowmachines become tour guides for a week or so.

But the race really isn't about money to many of the villages. It's about getting to share in the race for all Alaska, a race that is known throughout the world. For two weeks, villages with names like Shaktoolik, Unalakleet and Anvik get to play host to the world.

In even the smallest checkpoints, personal messages written by the village's students are hanging on the walls of the checkpoints, with hopes the mushers will stop and read them. Many do.

In classrooms around the country, teachers often use the Iditarod to teach numerous lessons in a fun way. Studying the Iditarod can be a lesson in geography, math, science and technology, all wrapped into one race.

"It is one of the highlights of our year. The kids really get into it and follow the race very closely on the computer," said Grady Young, a sixth-grade teacher at Central Elementary School in Illinois. "For about a month before the race, we study the trail, which hasn't been an easy lesson this year, and we use math to figure out how long it will take the teams to get from one checkpoint to the other. The entire thing is fascinating to the students.

The Iditarod Trail Committee also helps educate teachers through the Teacher on the Trail program.

Teachers must apply for the program a year in advance, and ultimately, one teacher is picked to follow the race all the way to Nome, filing reports, which can be read on the Iditarod's Web site.

Countless volunteers along the route -- those who man the checkpoints , drop food from small airplanes, and make sure the mushers are safe -- see the race at its best. Aside from these volunteers, only the mushers themselves have a better understanding of the Last Great Race.