/ 2008 Archived Material / Race to Nome

Target Iditarod Teacher on the Trail^™ Race to Nome

by Jane Blaile

Nome.  I'm here in Nome.  And it is midnight - Wednesday now.  The 2008 Iditarod race will be won in a matter of hours.  If Jeff King wins, he will tie the all time number of wins.  If Lance Mackey wins, he will blow the mushing world out of the water having won both the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod 2 years in a row.

I started in Unalakleet this morning, but we left before noon to go to Elim.  On the way, we spotted 2 red fox running around on the tundra.  I wish I had had more time there, but during my short stay, I accomplished a lot.  I found the Big Read books to deliver to Elim Aniguiin School and got a ride up there.  It was a half day, so the students were leaving just as I arrived, but the staff and remaining students were very warm, friendly, and welcoming.  I was led to Nick Schollmeier, a 4/5 teacher who was a quilt recipient through the Common Thread Quilt Project.  He is as excited about the race as anyone, and eager to make connections to students "outside".  His students have been following my journals, and they came up to me knowing my name.  It was really moving.  I had to run out fairly quickly to fly out, but had enough time to take great pictures at the checkpoint just as Rick Swenson was pulling in.

After that, we stopped in Golovin. Again, we saw a fox below.  Golovin is no longer a checkpoint along the trail, but the trail runs right along it.  Jeff had to take a quick portrait photo, so Danny and I didn't even get out of the plane. 

Next stop - White Mountain.  We arrived about 1 p.m.  Lance's allowed out time was 4:53 and Jeff's was 5:50.  The mood was calm at the checkpoint and supportive in the village.  The sun was shining brightly on this village located on the steep banks of the Fish River.  Planes were landing on the ice just beside the hole in the ice for mushers to get water.  Both mushers bootied up and took off amidst a small crowd of onlookers. 

Since Jeff wanted to take pictures of King along the trail, he had Danny and I BOTH jump on the snow machine he was borrowing.  It must have been a funny sight, Jeff driving at high speed with me sandwiched in-between him and Danny Davidson.  We raced along the trail and stopped just before some lightly dusted rock outcroppings which make an excellent background for race pictures.

We got a ride up to the airstrip, me in a toboggan behind the snow machine, and flew out towards Nome.  It's fascinating to watch the trail from the air.  When Jeff or Danny spots a racer, they say, "Dog team!" just like the checkpoint volunteers do when they spot a team coming in.  We first saw Jeff and then further up, we spotted Lance. One of the fascinations with flying over the trail is that from up there, you are able to see multiple teams and how far apart they are from each other, but the mushers often do not know that based on their perspective on the ground. We saw one more fox then, making our total 5 for today.

Having passed over Safety, we started looking for musk ox.  They had been spotted in the area recently.  And do you know, we found a herd of about 15?  It was outstanding!

Seeing Nome brought mixed feelings for me; I am excited to see the finishers, but this signals the end of my journey here.  I can't wait to participate in the fun Iditarod week activities (I'm mushing a dog team here Friday.), but I'm not used to so many cars, buildings, etc  It will be great to go home to my family, but I will sorely miss my traveling companions, Jeff and Danny, and all the great people I've been seeing hopscotch along the trail as we do. 

As I was sitting here writing, someone asked me how my journey has been.  I said, "It's indescribable, but one that I will enjoy for many years to come."  This experience will stay with me forever.