"There are strange things done in the midnight sun,
By the men who moil for gold;
The Arctic trails have their secret tales
That would make your blood run cold!"
-------Robert Service
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This summer of 2015 has been "The Summer of the ARCTIC,"
at our house!
Maybe it has been the heat which brought on this happy
phenomenon---in which we have watched six or eight cold,
icy TV shows about the northern climes and countries and
have read three or four books about the wintry seas and
frozen-in-and-crushed ships....
And...we rented from NETFLIX recently a six-part TV series,
covering the awesome, fascinating, and world-popular
Alaskan sled dog event....the Iditarod.
"THE IDITAROD," perhaps the most-famous race on earth
today, might seem to some to meet the poet's criteria for
"strange things done in the midnight sun," when a lower-
forty-eight-state novice takes an unwashed person's look
at REAL ALASKA doings!
It is a tough 1000 mile race--- for both men and dogs.
Beginning at Anchorage and ending at Nome, it covers
some of the most beautiful terrain in Alaska...and some
of the most-remote, and most exotic that Mother Nature
has to offer---as she throws at the competitors---jagged
mountain ranges, desolate tundra, frozen rivers (with
melting spots), snowstorms, white-outs, and miles of
windswept trails.
Add to that zero weather, treacherous gullies, night
travel, fatigue, hunger, and intestinal issues with
dehydration---particularly for the sled dogs.
These specially-bred "Alaskan sled dogs" are a story
within themselves! If you read on the subject, you will
find that they are part Eskimo sled dogs, part imported
European dogs, and part wolf.
They do not bark---they howl. Given good training,
affection, discipline, food, and shelter, they will
run their hearts out for a musher...up to a hundred
miles a day...and, if well physically, will repeat this
day after day.
One of the main things I have gleaned from this
series, along with the marvelous Alaskan scenery,
is the courage of these animals, along
with their literal strength-of-heart. How their
hearts function minute-after-minute, hour-after-
hour, as the dogs are always running, is beyond
my understanding.
And they are ready to go again the next day.
The fastest race ever run in Iditarod history
(since it began in 1973) was 8 days, 13 hours,
4 minutes, and 19 seconds, in 2014. The winner
was Dallas Deavey.
There was a photo finish in 1978...the winner
taking the long race by one second. A heart-
breaker for the loser...
There are check stations for signing in, resting--
short breaks and long--- checking the animals for
injuries, feeding them, and maybe a few hours
sleep for all, as the exhausted sled "driver" may
often have been standing for eight or nine hours.
A check point may be a tiny outpost, or a small
village, or a town. For example, Ruby (pop. 190)
or Unalakleet (pop.710)
Each dog team entry is required by race rules to
take ONE continuous twenty-four hour break
during the race. Meticulous records are kept
by Alaskan citizen volunteers from all walks.
This is because the race has been said to
reflect "THE SPIRIT OF AlASKA"---"It's
more than a race." It reflects the emotions
and history of 710,000 Alaskans.
AND MORE, it commemorates the famous
1925 "GREAT MERCY RACE" to Nome,
Alaska---a town on the verge of a terrible
diphtheria epidemic---and lacking effective
antitoxin; some eight mushers and 150
courageous sled dogs relayed through on the
IDITAROD, carrying enough vaccine to
halt the epidemic.
The town of Nome was "frozen-in" and it was a
time when aircraft were just coming into
vogue.
As the final mercy sled arrived in Nome, after
days and nights of arduous mushing by all
the teams, it was carrying the heavily
insulated-against-the-cold containers---cheers
went up for the lead sled dog Balto, as he
entered the town at the head of his team.
Balto's statute, today, looks out over New
York City's Central Park and is said to be
oft visited...and popular.
"SEWARD'S FOLLY?" I think not!
"Balto"
***********************
BY MIL
1 September 2015
1041 hours
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