/ 2008 Archived Material / Ceremonial Start

Target Iditarod Teacher on the Trail^™ Ceremonial Start

by Jane Blaile

Friday was the last day of teaching before I leave.  In my classroom, we had a sort of ceremonial start to my journey.  I brought my packed trail bag and trail clothing to school.  I spent a fun afternoon with my class. We began by playing the Iditarod Quiz Show game from the curriculum challenge written by Julie Howard.  Then I asked my students what they thought was essential for me to have in my gear bag along the trail. The FIRST thing that a boy of mine said was "a picture of your family".  How sensitive and right on target was that?   I recorded all of their answers, no matter if they were correct or not.  I unpacked my bag and passed out all of the items as well as my clothing.  Since my clothing wasn't going to be actually packed into the bag, but worn by me the entire time, we started with that.  Everyone who had a clothing article stood and we discussed what it was, making a list on the board.  They have been eager learners this year and could tell me that I will be wearing 4 layers on top and 3 layers on the bottom.  They loved the "snot wipe" feature on my mitts.  (This feature is described just that way on the product tag.)  And the coyote ruff on my parka was a big hit.  We have them running up and down our neighborhood streets here in the desert, so they are familiar with them, which can be classified as nuisances.

 

Next, my gear and sundries.  As they described their items, they packed them back into my bag.  Sleeping bag, sleeping pad, first aid, personal care, batteries, headlamp, socks, hand sanitizer, etc.  Their list was a pretty good one.  When we reviewed it, we saw they had gotten most of the essential items with a few extras like sweaters, a blanket, and makeup, which might be nice, but definitely not going. 

 

Each student then lifted my gear bag to estimate how much it weighs fully packed.  They guessed very high numbers, but all told, it only weighs 21.5 pounds.  Half of it is sleeping bag!  Next they estimated how much all my clothing weighs.  It totaled 13 pounds.  I described my computer backpack to them...it will be carried on my front with my gear bag on my back.

 

So, they were part of my preparations and know what my bag looks like and exactly what I will be using and have with me.  My hope was to make them a part of my journey, give them something real to connect to, have them feel that they, too, in a small way, are going with me.