“All the way to Nome!”
-Bill Starr (former Anchorage Assemblyman)
“Hey there Spencer”. The phone call caught me by surprise. After some small talk he dropped the question:
“So what are you doing on February 29th through the 12th?” My heart skipped a beat. I knew exactly where this conversation was going and I was super excited. “Eric has to drop out, he’s having surgery. Do you want to go to Nome with us?”
After initially fumbling over my words, I couldn’t say yes fast enough. We went over a few details before hanging up, setting into motion a trip I have wanted to do for a very long time.
Last year I was able to join the Iditarod trail breakers for the “Pre-trip”. Over the course of a week we made our way from Big Lake to Rainy Pass, down the Dalzell Gorge and all the way to Rohn. We broke the trail, brushed it out, and built 32 bridges over all of the open creeks.
 |
| The Iditarod Trail Breaking crew taking a break at Rainy Pass. |
Along the way we would stay at Winterlake lodge (Finger Lake), Rainy Pass Lodge (Puntilla lake), and a cabin located strategically at the top of the Dalzell gorge. This year I would get to go on both trips taking me (eventually) to the end of the Iditarod trail...Nome!
The Iditarod trail sled dog race has been a big part of my life since I was a kid. Our close family friend Jim Lanier is a musher that has completed many Iditarod races. Our two families started a fledgling setnet salmon operation in Northern Cook Inlet back in the mid 80’s. Our families have been close and we have followed and supported Jim Lanier’s Northern Whites Kennels ever since.
Our cabin on the Yentna River is right next door to Jim’s cabin. Each year we host an Iditarod celebration on the river. We build an igloo style snow-wall and give away hotdogs to the mushers as they pass-by. This has been a family tradition for over twenty years. By the time the racers reach our spot on the Yentna it is 60 miles into the race and the mushers are hungry. They have come to expect our hotdog offerings. In recent years over 90 percent of the mushers have taken hotdogs from us. One of our enthusiastic friends Bill Starr has become notorious for howling out the phrase “All the way to Nome!”, as the mushers pass. This, I think, is my new mantra.
