Icewind's Ramblings

Aliy Zirkle who has ran the Iditarod since 2001 when I first moved to Alaska.   She was the first woman to win the Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race in 2000 a similar long distance race held in February that covers the expanse from Whitehorse, in the Yukon Territories of Canada to Fairbanks.   She has been one of my favorites to watch and follow since I came to Alaska. She and her husband run SP Kennel (Skunk’s Place) a premier sled dog racing kennel in Two Rivers, Alaska.   Aliy Zirkle (runs Team Red) & her husband musher Allen Moore (runs Team Black) on their website, and have videos on YouTube.   Last year she ran the race with a video camera mounted to her sled and gave a totally unique view of what it is like to run dogs over 1100 miles through some of Alaska’s most beautiful and rugged landscape.   Saturday Morning’s Ceremonial start in downtown Anchorage is a 15 mile run beginning on Fourth Avenue and then making a right turn onto “A” Street where it lea...

It’s March which means it is time again for “The Last Great Race” . . . The Iditarod, pitting men, women and their dogs against the extreme and many times harsh elements and terrain of the Alaskan wilderness.   Over a thousand mile distance to work out the rhythm of the dogs and one’s inner self in a place that sometimes defies description. From humble beginnings to a world class sporting event. Iditarod Information from Iditarod.com In 1925, part of the Iditarod Trail became a life saving highway for epidemic-stricken Nome. Diphtheria threatened and serum had to be brought in; again by intrepid dog mushers and their faithful hard-driving dogs. The Iditarod is a commemoration of those yesterdays, a not-so-distant past that Alaskans honor and are proud of. An Event for All Alaska Anchorage is the starting line — a city of over 250,000 people, street lights, freeways and traffic. From there the field of dog teams which grow in number each year, runs to Eagle River, Checkpoi...