Robert Forto

Finger Lake

Iditarod 40: The Trail. Shaktoolik to Koyuk

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Iditarod 40: The Trail. Shaktoolik to Koyuk   50 Miles

The trail from Shaktoolik bears north, crossing the peninsula. It runs on land for eight to nine miles then starts across Norton Bay at the mouth of Reindeer Cove. The terrain to this point is mostly gentle swells of the ground with no true grades. There is no vegetation. Approximately five miles onto the ice is Island Point and Little Mountain. It appears to be a large rock rising from the sea ice, but is in fact the head of a small peninsula. The trail passes a shelter cabin on the south side of Little Mountain. From here a compass bearing of 340 degrees leads into Koyuk. Marking on this segment of the trail usually consists of laths with reflective tape alternating with spruce boughs. Every mile will be marked. The ice is often rough.

Koyuk (Koy-uk) — (KOY) Lat 64.56 Long 161.10 — Population 347 — Once this checkpoint is reached, the mushers can breathe a sigh of relief as almost all of the rest of the trail is at least over land. The checkpoint is the City Rec Center.

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Iditarod 40: The Trail. Cripple to Ruby

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Iditarod 40: The Trail. Cripple to Ruby     70 Miles

Leaving Cripple, the country stays the same for 15 to 20 miles. Then the trees get larger and thicker, with larger rolling hills. At Bear Creek, the trail enters a cat trail that should be easy to follow. At Sulatna Crossing (steel bridge), most of the mushers stop to rest and feed their dogs. (Sulatna Crossing is not a checkpoint.) There is a small lake on the left. Immediately after the bridge, the trailbreakers will punch out 15 to 20 parking spots for dog teams. The trail follows this road all the way to Ruby Hills. There are many long grades and much side hill to travel.

Ruby (ROO-bee) — Lat. 64.44 N Long 155.29W — Population 173 — The first checkpoint on the famous Yukon River, the longest river in Alaska, stretching 1,875 miles from its headwaters in the Yukon Territory of Canada to the Bering Sea. Gold was discovered here in 1907, but no town was established until 1911 when additional gold deposits were discovered on Long Creek, causing a rush of prospectors to the area. This is the home of 1975 Iditarod champion Emmitt Peters. Ruby was home for many of the mushers who carried mail for the Northern Commercial Company from Tanana to Ruby. The trip took four days and paid $5 a day. Dog team mail ended here in 1931. The checkpoint is in the community hall.

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Iditarod 40: The Trail. Finger Lake to Puntilla Lake (Rainy Pass Lodge)

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Iditarod 40: The Trail. Finger Lake to Puntilla Lake (Rainy Pass Lodge)

At Finger Lake the trail drops sharply onto Red Lake leaving the lake at the northwest corner. It climbs steeply leaving the lake at the northwest corner. It climbs steeply up a small creek bed to the benches above Finger Lake. From here it is through swamps, spruce and alder forest to Happy River. The two miles before Happy River are through dense spruce. At Happy River there are three benches to descend with the first being the longest drop, known as the “Steps”. A small drainage leads down to the level bench and the trail drops straight down this “V”. From this bench the trail descends off the right end to the bench along the river. The last drop is onto the river itself. This section is one of the most hazardous on the trail and extreme caution must be exercised here. The trail will be well marked and the descents will have a straight lead-in. In 2012 the trail will be routed around the famous “Steps” due to a road that was created by a mineral exploration company. This trail re-routing is not yet a permanent change.

Once on the river itself, the trail turns left to the mount (200′) and then right, going up the Skwentna River. Approximately 1/4 mile up the Skwentna is a draw coming down from the right and the trail goes up this draw. A ramp may have to be constructed because the bank has washed away leaving a cut bank four to eight feet high. Once into the draw, stay to the right side as the left side leads to a vertical wall 6′ high and is impassable. The draw is only 125 – 150 yards long and once on top the trail continues northwest to Shirley Lake passing through spruce and cottonwood and rolling hills. No grades are steep or long. The steepest grade is up the draw from the Skwentna River. The trail exits Shirley Lake on the northwest side and continues through spruce and cottonwood to Round Mountain. There are some moderate but short grades and a couple of steep but short grades both up and down. At Round Mountain a side hill is encountered and brush is encroaching on the trail. From here to Puntilla Lake is a distance of three to four miles and is gentle terrain with open swamps and sparse timber.

Rainy Pass — (RP) Lat 62.10 Long 152.43 — Population 2 — This area represents the highest point on the Iditarod Trail as it passes over the majestic Alaska Range. Located on Puntilla Lake is Vern Humble’s guiding operation. Known as Rainy Pass Lodge, it is closed down at this time of year. Iditarod uses one of their cabins for a checkpoint and another for mushers to rest in.

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I will be covering the Iditarod everyday on my website and on the radio. Please listen in. Please like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and check in with me on Foursquare.

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Iditarod 40: The infamous Happy River Steps

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The 2012 Iditarod is only about 18 hours old and some of the front runners, Hugh Neff, Lance Mackey, Paul Gebhardt, Aily Zirkle, and Ryan Redington are making very good time with most of them heading into Rainy Pass.

Right around this area is a part of the trail that is a much of legend as the race itself. It is the infamous Happy River Steps.

Just last month the Iditarod Trail Committee decided that they were going to take out this section of the trail in favor of using something a little “more safe”, shall we say. It had something to do with mining and maybe even politics but never-the-less, as the clock struck the proverbial midnight the steps are back.

The Steps have been known to make or break an Iditaroder’s dreams and chances on making it to Nome. Countless mushers have ended their race right  there, less than a day or two into the 1,049 mile race.

Here is the announcement from the Iditarod Trail Committee:

Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race will be utilizing the Happy River Steps in this year’s race because the reroute has been affected by weather.

The Iditarod Trail Committee (ITC) announced this afternoon it will route mushers down the Happy River steps in this year’s race. In early February, the ITC made the decision to use a winter trail established last year that circumvented the steps and added a little over a mile to the distance between Finger Lake and Rainy Pass.

“While teams were still leaving 4th Avenue today, we heard from our trailbreakers that the winter trail was no longer the better option based upon the amount of snow and wind in that particular section of trail over the last day,” said Mark Nordman, Race Director.

As trail conditions are constantly affected by changes in weather, ITC, as noted at its early February board meeting, will consistently evaluate available options with the goal of providing the best possible trail.

Who are you rooting for in the 2012 Iditarod?
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Iditarod 40: A race of checkpoints

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Hugh Neff

Ask just about any musher in the Iditarod how they track the race and they will say from checkpoint to checkpoint.

A couple weeks ago I met a 2010 Iditarod rookie and she pulled out a laminated card with a chart listing miles to and from each checkpoint. She said this is how she knew what she was up against. When things got rough she would know its only “X” number of miles to the next checkpoint where she could rest her dogs (and possibly herself), grab a meal, re-evaluate and move on down the trail.

Then you talk to veterans like 2012 Yukon Quest champion Hugh Neff, who is competing in his ninth Iditarod this year, and he will tell you that he knows the trail well enough now that he doesn’t worry about what checkpoint is coming up but who might be staying in one for their mandatory rests.

The following is a chart of distances between checkpoints on the Northern Route which is ran this year and on even years.

CHECKPOINTS

Anchorage to Campbell Airstrip    11 miles

Willow to Yentna Station    42 miles

Yentna to Skwentna    30 miles

Skwentna to Finger Lake    40 miles

Finger Lake to Rainy Pass    30 miles

Rainy Pass to Rohn    35 miles

Rohn to Nikolai    75 miles

Nikolai to McGrath    48 miles

McGrath to Takotna    18 miles

Takotna to Ophir    23 miles

Ophir to Cripple    73 miles

Cripple to Ruby    70 miles

Ruby to Galena    50 miles

Galena to Nulato    37 miles

Nulato to Kaltag    47 miles

Kaltag to Unalakleet    85 miles

Unalakleet to Shaktoolik    40 miles

Shaktoolik to Koyuk    50 miles

Koyuk to Elim    48 miles

Elim to Golovin    28 miles

Golovin to White Mountain    18 miles

White Mountain to Safety    55 miles

Safety to Nome    22 miles

Note: As of 2012 the Northern Route distance is approximately 975 miles. In prior years the distance was always over 1,000 miles. Three things factor into this adjustment:

  • The change in the Ceremonial Start (running from downtown Anchorage to Campbell Airstrip instead of Eagle River);
  • The change of the Restart location from Wasilla to Willow (loss of the Wasilla-Knik-Susitna River and some Yentna River mileage), and;
  • The actual year to year trail conditions can affect trail routing and the actual mileage will vary somewhat from year to year.

    “1,049 miles®” has been a symbolic figure from the inception of the race to signify the 1,000 miles or more of race trail and the number 49 depicts Alaska as the 49th state.

I will be covering the Iditarod everyday on my website and on the radio. Please listen in. Please like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter and check in with me on Foursquare.

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