Majestic Journey: An Iditarod Dog Team Gives a Rookie Musher a 1,000 Mile Ride of His Life Across Remote Alaska

By Bill Jack

Take an exhilarating ride on the sled runners behind a dog team across 1,000 miles of the Iditarod sled dog race. Crossing Alaska's vast and remote wilderness, you will understand what the Iditarod is really like. As the sled dogs move you silently across Alaska's massive landscapes, you will be overwhelmed with the size and beauty of it all. In addition, you will find out what these amazing sled dogs are capable of. At the same time, you will be witnessing their incredible love for running. Besides being entertained, you just may be motivated to attempt a new adventure of your own.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Publication Consultants
• Release date: Dec 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9781594339752

Bill Jack

Born in Manchester, the author left his home and military life in Hereford to move to New Zealand. His future search centred on a better life with more prospects than the UK had to offer at the time. He now lives in Tauranga with his wife, Janet, in the Bay of Plenty region of the North Island.

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Majestic Journey

AN IDITAROD DOG TEAM GIVES A ROOKIE MUSHER A 1,000 MILE RIDE OF HIS LIFE ACROSS REMOTE ALASKA

BILL JACK

PO Box 221974 Anchorage, Alaska 99522-1974

[e-mail], www.publicationconsultants.com

ISBN Number: 978-1-59433-974-5

eBook ISBN Number: 978-1-59433-975-2

Library of Congress Number: 2020920162

Copyright 2020 Bill Jack

—First Edition—

All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in any form, or by any mechanical or electronic means including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, in whole or in part in any form, and in any case not without the written permission of the author and publisher.

Front cover photo ©Jeff Schultz/SchultzPhoto.com

Manufactured in the United States of America

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I thank the many people who willingly helped me before the race, during the race and writing this book. Thank you Ray Lang for your help and some colorful advice for running the race. Thank you the late Rahn Parker and the late George Parkhurst and the late Doc Leedy for all your help. A special thank you to the late Mark LaChapelle and his wife Penny and their son Elliott for your help and endless hospitality, opening up your home to us for several days before the race. Thank you Jerry and Sherell Holtzhouser in McGrath, Junie and Linda Towarak in Unalakleet and Walter Sagoonik in Shaktoolik for your warm hospitality at your homes. Thank you Penny for your unending support and patience that made this dream come true. Thank you Thurman for the many hours you put in, nightly feeding the dogs and your help before and after training runs. Thank you Mori and Dana for doing your house chores so we had more time to prepare for the race. Thank you my three sons, Joe, Tom and Thurman, for your help during the summer dog team runs with the ATV. In addition, thank you to the hundreds of volunteers who make this race happen every year. I especially want to thank my daughter in law, Nancy Jack, for all the direction she offered me concerning this book.

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

FOREWORD

MAP

IDITAROD CHECKPOINTS

INTRODUCTION

CHAPTER 1BRIEF HISTORY

CHAPTER 2RACE PREPARATION

CHAPTER 3OFF TO ANCHORAGE

CHAPTER 4ANCHORAGE TO SKWENTNA

CHAPTER 5SKWENTNA TO ROHN

CHAPTER 6ROHN TO OPHIR

CHAPTER 7OPHIR TO KALTAG

CHAPTER 8KALTAG TO KOYUK

CHAPTER 9KOYUK TO NOME

CHAPTER 10REFLECTIONS

PHOTO SECTION

AFTERWORD

1991 RACE RESULTS

TRIVIA QUESTIONS

AUTHOR’S PAGE

FOREWORD

BY JEFF SCHULTZ

Official Photographer of Alaska’s Iditarod since 1982 I’m convinced there is absolutely no one in the world who can fathom the unequivocal demands that the body, mind and soul endures, as a musher crossing Alaska by dog team. The sleep deprivation, the constant gnaw of the cold, the unending chores of feeding & watering the animals, the fear of upcoming trail conditions, the need to be everything to their dog team (provider, navigator, inspirational coach) and what seems like an endless white confinement of trail. The Iditarod dog musher must endure & conquer through it all, in extreme conditions.

Though I’ve mushed dog teams over my years of involvement, I’ve never run the Iditarod. My understanding of the Iditarod comes after travelling the trail forty times via plane and snow machine and from intersecting with hundreds of mushers in countless trail locations and nearly every imaginable situation; mental, physical, geographic, weather and emotional.

Having first-hand experience of the Iditarod for so many years, I contend that EVERY person who travels the trail; volunteer or musher, could write a book of their memories on any given year. There are THAT many adventures mishaps, close calls, unique people, and tales that every musher will encounter, travelling the Iditarod trail. It’s to these exact same things that Bill Jack has put down his personal memories in Majestic Journey. I can certainly understand why Bill chose those two words for his book; Majestic Journey.

Majestic: adjective: possessing majesty; of lofty dignity or imposing aspect; stately; grand - Sliding on the runners for hours and hours through the 6,000 ft. peaks of the Alaska Range and crossing Rainy Pass would certainly connote majesty. Experiencing the infinitely vast, untouched and diverse remaining miles of Alaska wilderness God created would as well.

Journey: noun; a traveling from one place to another, usually taking a rather long time; trip: passage or progress from one stage to another. - A typical mushing journey of the Iditarod will likely be 8-13 days for most mushers today, from Alaska’s Southcentral area, to the interior and finally to the Bering Sea Coast. But much more so, the progress and stages it took him, as a human being, to be truly and constantly in the moment and present, each of his senses on high-alert, experiencing and being the main character in his adventure.

I think you’ll understand his experience and passion more as you put yourself inside his head when you read about he and his sled careening around a blind corner and catapulting him off the sled, where he watched (no doubt in slow motion) his sled twisting 360 degrees in mid-air. And later in the race, to his complete surprise, he and his team were bucking a 40 mph headwind with blowing snow creating a milk-bottle affect. He had to put all his faith and trust in his lead dogs to find the trail.

It’s the daily adventure of this kind of experience that most of us will never know if it weren’t for a story like this. Next to driving a team of dogs to Nome yourself, Majestic Journey, will get you as close to the runners as you can get. Enjoy the journey—

IDITAROD CHECKPOINTS

INTRODUCTION

Traveling across the vast Alaskan wilderness on a dogsled was exhilarating. There were nights when I could turn off my headlight and let the moon light the trail ahead. On other clear nights, I was awed, watching the Northern Lights dancing across the sky. During the day, the beauty of this remote wilderness was absolutely awesome to behold.

In contrast, the challenges were many. A musher must cook, feed and take care of the dogs with no outside help. The lack of sleep, freezing temperatures and the demands of the trail are exhausting. Mushers are tested physically, mentally and emotionally. Many times the unexpected suddenly happens. It could be an angry moose, a broken sled, a serious injury, frostbite, a life threatening blizzard, losing your team or even being run over by a snow machine (snowmobile).

The Iditarod is the ultimate test of endurance, stamina and perseverance for the dog driver and his team of dogs. Majestic Journey will show you what it’s like to ride the runners of a dogsled day and night for two solid weeks across our country’s last frontier.

CHAPTER 1

BRIEF HISTORY

The only impossible journey is the one you never begin.

Tony Robbins

The Iditarod Sled Dog Race is known as a 1,049-mile race from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska. The 1,000 refers to the approximate length of the race, and the 49 refers to Alaska being the 49th state. Every