Aliy Zirkle – Life on the Iditarod Trail Part 3

This is Aliy Zirkle’s video Odyssey of Iditarod 38 with insight of the trail, the scenery, and the varying conditions in the extreme isolation of the Alaskan Frontier.

The Journey continues past Rainy Pass and the decent down the “The Happy River Steps” to the valley below.  Enjoy the ride as it is like a sled dog roller coaster.  Listen and you can hear Aliy hitting the brakes to slow the sled to not overrun the dogs.  Watch it full screen for the best view.  You can also see a few television camera crews who have been dropped off to film the mushers making their way through this difficult part of the trail.  Enjoy.

The Happy River Steps

Dalzell Gorge has been a place where technique is the difference between continuing on the Iditarod Trail or possibly crashing into a tree or limb.  Falling off the sled or broken bones has ended many people’s dreams.  Over the years it has taken out many a musher, experienced and rookie alike.  Just before you start down, if you pay attention and it is not covered in snow is a sign that reads “Watch Your Ass”; immediately beyond is a steep 200-foot hill down into Dalzell Gorge.  Depending on conditions, the Gorge can be nothing more than a very scenic exercise in sled driving, or it can be your worst nightmares come true.  The worst-case scenario is minimal snow and lots of glare ice and open water.  Hopefully you’ll have some warning if it’s really bad.

After coming down the Alaska Range you come to the foreboding area known as the Farewell Burn.  An area that was decimated by wildfire several decades ago and it is just starting to come back to life.  The Iditarod Trail cuts a thin white line through an seemingly endless expanse of spruce trees that are all exactly the same age, each about six feet tall.  It has the appearance of a haunted Christmas tree farm.  Some years the snow cover is sparse and the terrain rough to cross.

Aliy continues on the trail with her pack of dogs making their way between Ophir and Cripple a 59 mile run between checkpoints which is approaching the halfway point of the race. 

The remoteness and solitude comes through in this video and also take note of the small stick trail markers along the way topped in orange.  These are placed to guide the way but sometimes very hard to see whether at night or in a blinding blizzard snowstorm.  This year’s race ran in twenty to forty below zero temperatures.  You can see the ice hoar frost buildup around Aily’s face and hood.

Further up the trail coming into the checkpoint in Ruby which is along the Yukon River.

It is interesting seeing the “check in” process at the checkpoint where the mushers are identified, the time recorded, and the dogs are checked over by the vets.  The previously dropped food bags by the Iditarod Air Force are waiting for the musher to pickup so they alone can feed and tend to their dogs before taking care of themselves getting some coffee, food, or rest.

Depending on the cycle it could be a few minutes in the checkpoint or resting several hours before hitting it hard again on the trail.  Many mushers complete their 24 hour rest stop in Ruby where the population swells as the teams of dogs and sled drivers stop to rest, sleep, and eat.  The musher has been standing on the runner for several days at this point helping “pedal” the team along so a longer time in the checkpoint helps everyone. 

After leaving Ruby the teams will head down the mighty Yukon River for several days.  The river varies from one to two miles wide in places and has many obstacles to watch for.  Open water flows, broken ice chunks of varying sizes as well as the cracks in the ice along the trail.

Yukon River Part 1 - 30 below and open water just before sunset

Once again Thanks SP Kennel and Aliy for sharing these videos giving all of us who can only dream and try to imagine what it is like a first hand look into the overall experience of Iditarod.

Ice