2009 Mushing History Conference

The 2009 Mushing History Conference is scheduled for the first weekend in November, with a meeting for the presenters planned for Friday, November 6th, and the Conference to be held on Saturday and Sunday, November 7th and 8th.

A sampling of the confirmed speakers to date is available at the conference website. For information about the Conference contact:

Conference Director: Tim White, 881 County Road 14, Grand Marais, MN; email: twhite@boreal.org

Coordinator: Helen Hegener, Northern Light Media, P.O. Box 759, Palmer, Alaska 99645; (907) 354-3510; email: helen@northernlightmedia.com

Trailbreakers: Pioneering Alaska's Iditarod

Trailbreakers: Pioneering Alaska's Iditarod, Volume 1: Blazing the Last Great Gold Rush Trail 1840-1930, by Rod Perry. This book is, according to the author, "The most authentic, thorough treatment ever given the gold rush history of the old Iditarod Trail, done as only one who is not only a master writer, story teller and historian who has driven dogs on weeks-long trips through trackless arctic wilderness could tell it."

Iditarod! The most in-depth, definitive work on the old Gold Rush Trail. A historical narrative written by a race pioneer who ran the first Iditarod in 1973 .
Well known for his ability to tell a colorful story, Rod Perry is one of the premier authorities on the Iditarod Trail.

Informative excerpt from the book's Facebook page: TRAILBREAKERS Volume I is the most-complete, most-accurate telling of how the fabled Iditarod Trail came to be. As it relates the 1840-1930 progression of events establishing the “Last Great Gold Rush Trail in North America,” the book educates and corrects long-standing myths and misinformation that have grown up. It interests and entertains, filled as it is with humorous anecdotes and colorful gold rush tales. Anyone acquainted with Rod Perry as a raconteur knows he couldn’t write history any other way.

To order TRAILBREAKERS Volume 1 visit author Rod Perry's dynamic website, which features a peek inside the book, an expanded author's profile, and a galley of historic gold rush photographs.

Lance and his Leaders

Lance Mackey and his lead dogs, Larry and Maple. Photo by Theresa Daily, Daily's Web Design, GoMush.com



Tonya Mackey bestows a kiss on her husband's leader, Maple. Photo by Theresa Daily, Daily's Web Design, GoMush.com

Lance Seizes the Lead

Lance heading out on the Iditarod Trail from the Willow Re-Start on Sunday, photo by Helen Hegener, Northern Light Media.

According to his Comeback Kennel website, Lance's team includes: Larry (Team Dog), Chucko (Team Dog), BoyCuz (Team Dog), Maple (Leader), Rapper (WheelDog), Tulasak (Team Dog), Pimp (Wheel), Dred (Leader) Rev (Leader), Battel (Leader), Niki (Team), Lippy (Leader), Shasta (Team ), Zena (Leader), Pauly (Wheel/Team)

From Lance's site: He still has 16 healthy, happy dogs running in his team. Four of those dogs are rookies to this years Iditarod trail. They have done good, trained well and now they have accomplished running over half the Iditarod trail. He couldn't be happier. "It's like watching your kids grow up and do well" he says" there's a certain amount of pride taken in watching them excel"

Iditarod Updates

Jon Little's Trail Notes:

Only Lance Mackey can lose about an hour getting lost at the end of a long run, and not have it effect his race much. Mackey is in control of this race now, the earliest he ever taken charge. Now the question is, can anybody challenge him?

Josh Rogers' Iditablog:

The question now shifts to if either Seavey, King, or Neff will be able to make up the distance between them, and Lance Mackey. Hugh Neff is facing some pretty formitable competitors in a hunt for his first victory, Jeff King is searching for a 5th Iditarod Championship, and Mitch Seavey is looking for his second.

Anchorage Daily News:

Mackey on Friday fell asleep on his sled during a 25-mile run from Shageluk to the Yukon River town of Anvik, took a wrong turn and cost his team a couple of hours, briefly sapping its spirit.

But by Saturday morning Mackey's 16-dog freight train was rolling again. He reached Eagle Island at 8:33 a.m., and an hour later he was still alone there.

Kleedehn Still Leading, Neff Close Behind

Brent Sass leaving Circle City, photo by Helen Hegener

February 22, 2009; 1630 AKST (Circle City, Alaska) - William Kleedehn and Hugh Neff arrived at Central Checkpoint this afternoon within three minutes of one another. The two have been consistently near the top of the leader board since the race started eight days ago, but to be within three minutes of each other at this stage of the race will make for an incredible finish.

There's a Central checkpoint photo and more of this race update at the Northern Light Media Journal.

"300 Miles of Mushers"

Updates from the Yukon Quest site this morning:

Yukon Quest mushers and their dog teams will soon be stretched across nearly 300 miles of trail.

The 5 front runners are in and out of Eagle Checkpoint, on their way to Slaven's Roadhouse and should reach Circle City some time close to midnight Saturday.

Check the race site for complete information on the mushers' positions. And from another race update:

By late Friday evening both Slaven's Roadhouse, the next stop for the front runners, and Circle Checkpoint, the first checkpoint on the Alaska road system, were populated with Yukon Quest Judges and Veterinary Team members awaiting the arrival of the first teams. While teams are not anticipated to arrive in Circle until midnight Saturday, unpredictable weather conditions made it prudent to position Race Personnel at the earliest possible opportunity.

Saturday's reported clearing weather should allow race organizers to complete the flights delayed by Friday's weather system, and the accumulating snowfall should continue to improve trail conditions for Yukon Quest mushers and their dog teams.