The historic Iditarod trail runs through roughly 1,000 miles of frozen Alaskan wilderness, stretching from Anchorage to Nome. The first Saturday of every March the start of famous Iditarod dog sled race takes place on this trail.
Written By: Matt Snader
In the last two editions of the Dog Journal I have covered various aspects of the race and trail: The start in Anchorage, some experiences running the trail on snowmobiles (or snowmachines, as we call them in Alaska), and now we will cover the final leg of the racefrom the last checkpoint in Safety, to the famous burled arch finish line in downtown Nome. It typically takes mushers eight to twelve days to reach Nome after the starting line in downtown Anchorage.
In 2016 our family took a trip to Nome, which I have written about in my book, No Place Like Nome. Located on the west coast of Alaska, and in the middle of nowhere, with no outside road access, Nome is a very historical and interesting place to visit. It was started (like many other Alaskan towns) due to a gold rush in 1898. Prospectors found gold on the beaches, sparking a stampede of people to the area. It literally became a town of 10,000 people almost overnight, and continues there to this day, although the latest census numbers put Nome at only 3,699 people. Steam ships supplied the town, but they could only access Nome a few months out of the year. The Iditarod trail originally served as a land route to bring supplies to Nome (and other towns along the route), and gold back to Seward. It was first mapped and marked out in 1908 by the Alaska Road Commission, and originally called the “Seward to Nome Trail.”
The Iditarod trail gained national attention in 1925 with the diphtheria outbreak in Nome. Mushers, working in relay teams, brought the life saving serum into Nome, and as a result, many lives were saved. Often this serum run is mistakenly given as the reason for the Iditarod dog sled race, but it is only a small part of the whole reason for the race. The race was started to keep the sport of mushing alive, and to honor the trail’s service to the interior of Alaska in more ways than just the diptheria outbreak run.
Regardless, if the race was started to keep the memory of the serum run alive, or not, the fact remains the trail ends in Nome. The finish line, which is moved to downtown Nome for the race, is called the Burled Arch, due to the fact it is made from a log with two burls in it. Early mushers complained that the finish line was anti-climatic, with two paper plates that said “The End.” Iditarod finisher Red Olson was so disappointed by the finish line when he crossed it in 1974, that he built an arch from a burled tree and donated it. This donated finish line went on to become famous, but in 1999 it literally fell apart from decades of use and deterioration. The sign was then rebuilt from a new burled tree, and was put in service for the 2000 Iditarod.
Naturally, I wanted to see the Burled Arch, which I understood was a tourist attraction in Nome, even in the summer. When we arrived in Nome, I saw the arch on display out in the center of town, but we wanted to get settled in to our rooms before going out to take a photo with it. The next day I was dismayed when it was gone! A quick email to the Iditarod trail committee revealed the arch had been taken inside for a new coat of sealer, but I was told we were welcome to come see it. Eagerly we went down to look at the arch, which was located inside a large shed. An Iditarod employee unlocked the shed for us and let us in. Soon I found out why the arch had been put inside for maintenance. This was July of 2016, and the Hillary Clinton presidential campaign was in full swing. For reasons unknown Adventures to me, a bunch of Hillary campaign people were in Nome, and rumor had it they were going to pose in front of the Burled Arch for a campaign photo! Immediately the arch had been whisked away to prevent such a thing from happening. This struck me as humorous, and I assured the helpful worker that I had no affiliation with the Clinton campaign.
We also took the road out as far as we could go, which extended to the last checkpoint on the Iditarod trail, known as the Safety Checkpoint, or Safety Roadhouse. From Safety it is 22 to miles to Nome, and there are times when the race has been decided in this last small stretch. Our rental vehicle was an old Ford Explorer with bald tires, and had no spare tire! I picked up a spare from the rental company before heading out, and they seemed surprised I wanted one. Past the Safety Roadhouse a few miles there are some old trains sitting around on the tundra, an unlikely place to find three old locomotives. These were originally were from New York city. How they got there, and why they are there, is a topic for another article.
Our arrival at the Safety Roadhouse and checkpoint was anti-climatic. Someone was inside frying hot dogs, and wondered if we were hungry. We had just eaten, and suspecting that hot dogs served this far out in the boonies might be a bit expensive, declined. It certainly seemed to be the off season, as we were the only people there, except for the hot dog chef and what appeared to be his family. Strangely, there was thousands of dollars in cash laying all over the place, without anyone to guard it. I should hasten to explain why this money was everywhere. It seems that it is a tradition, in some parts of Alaska, to autograph a one dollar bill and then nail it to the nearest wall. There were one dollar bills on the wall, ceiling, posts, and doorways! There were even a few larger bills, such as fives and tens, but they were much rarer. After looking around a bit, and restraining the children from stealing any wall paper, we headed on our way.
We also got a chance to see Leonhard Seppala’s house in Nome, which was in a bad state of disrepair (I believe a non-profit has purchased it and is going to make a museum out of it). He was an early pioneer in dog sled racing, claiming many championships over the years, in dog sled races leading up to the Iditarod. Unfortunately, he died in 1967, and never saw the creation of the Iditarod. He played a major role in the 1925 serum run. Before his time, many of the dogs used for dog sledding were big Malamute type dogs. While powerful, these dogs were also slow. Seppala favored smaller, lighter dogs, and more of them. His tradition continues on today with the race teams in the Iditarod, as you will not find any large dogs on the race teams. The modern Alaska husky and Siberian Husky can trace many of their roots directly to Seppala’s teams.
The gold rush put Nome on the map, and you can see many traces of it still around today. Along the Iditarod trail there are old dredges, and various parts of machinery and equipment in various stages of rusting away. In the town center of Nome there is the world’s largest gold pan. Even today there are still prospectors out there looking for gold in Nome, and apparently finding some, as they continue to exist. Who knows how much gold people are still finding out there, but geologists say that most of Alaska’s gold is still in the ground. While in Nome, Shane and myself tried our hand at gold prospecting in Anvil Creek, one of the first areas where gold claims were staked. We actually found about a tenth of an ounce of gold-not enough to pay for our plane tickets (probably not even our lunch in Nome), but gold nonetheless!
So should you visit Nome? I think the best time to visit would be right before the conclusion of the Iditarod race in March, although your housing probably needs to be booked a year or two in advance of your trip. The only way there is by plane or dogsled, or the barge, if you are very patient. There are not many services in Nome-the only fast food there is a Subway, and the car rentals all seem to have bald tires. But, if you want to see the “real” Alaska, or at least experience what Alaska was like 50 years ago, then Nome is your town!
The Iditarod sled race is a grueling and challenging long-distance dog sled race that takes place in Alaska, covering over 1,000 miles of treacherous terrain from Anchorage to Nome. The race is named after the Iditarod Trail, a historic dog
he famous Iditarod trail, which is used by the Iditarod dog sled race, runs from Anchorage to Nome, covering approximately 1,000 miles. This trail is also used for the Iron Dog Snowmachine race. I have traveled the first 300 miles of this trail rather extensively by snowmachine (snowmobile to you lower 48’ers). When I share this tidbit of information with people, they often are rather surprised, and ask something like: “You mean they actually let you drive on the race track?”
