/ 2008 Archived Material / Meeting in McGrath

Target Iditarod Teacher on the Trail^™ Meeting in McGrath

by Jane Blaile

Tonight turned out to be a fascinating night so far. Not so many mushers arrived, but I have met and talked to some of the greatest people. I grabbed dinner at the checkpoint and was glancing over the current race printout when Rick Swenson sat across and over one spot from me. He picked up an old newspaper, and I said, "Do you want to look at this, Rick?" He asked me how I knew his name and when I told him I was the current Teacher on the Trail for the Iditarod, he understood. So, he got up and got his meal, then returned to the seat directly across from me saying, "So, tell me about Phoenix and what you are doing." Just like that. Well, I did tell him and we started discussing so many things about the Iditarod, but also about him. He told me about growing up and how he got started into dog mushing, about the checkpoints along the northern route, about his children and where they lived...just an outstanding conversation. One thing he said, which I thought was insightful was, "The Iditarod is not just a sled dog race. It's a cultural event."

Outside, I introduced myself to the checkers and vets, offering to help in any way I could. Somehow it surfaced that one of the checkers has done extensive bear research in Alaska. So, I asked as many questions as I could about bears. There are only 8 species of bears in the entire world, 3 live in the northern hemisphere, and 5 in the southern. Our three species are: brown bears, black bears, and polar bears. Grizzly bears and Kodiak bears are varied brown bears. Polar bears are the largest species of bear in the world weighing up to 3,000 pounds.

Dallas Seavey pulled in on a snow machine with a friend behind. He was giving an update on how far out the next musher was and asking about getting snow machine parts and gas.

Blake and Jennifer Freking from Finland, MN arrived and stopped briefly to grab supplies. Blake is a veteran, but Jennifer is a rookie. They are running their Siberian teams the whole way together.

There were 2 vets near with whom I struck up a conversation. I asked them how they got into veterinary medicine. One vet is from Australia, one from Kansas. Each had a completely different story on how he got started, but they both had the same philosophy about how it should be done today.

There was a National Guard Public Relations officer there describing his work in Iraq; how he was a combat photographer and has pictures that tell the whole story.

I introduced myself to the race judge here. His name is Lavon Barve. I knew he was an Iditarod runner, and I told him I knew about him. He is a very humble man, but after I asked questions about past Iditarods, etc., he slowly began telling stories. He first ran in 1975, and his last run was in 1997. He entered 14 Iditarods and placed in the top 10 eight of those times, three top 20s, 2 scratches and a 22^nd place. His best place was 3^rd in 1990. He talked of 70 pound sleds, and improvements in clothing. He told how mushers suits would freeze into one solid piece and some mushers would have to scratch because they couldn't get out of their suits. And he spoke of booties - some old versions collecting snow and ice until each one weighed upwards of 5 pounds...about trying to defrost them with Blaz-o....He mentioned his first place Yukon Quest finish, too. And he talked...

Meeting people in McGrath.