What is the Iditarod? | AK Explained By Dave Goldman 8:19 PM March 6, 2017
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is now a mainstay in American sports. It wasntalways like that. The first race took off in 1973, thanks to the vision ofJoe Redington.
Photos from Iditarod: The First Ten Years Dan Seaveycollection
Hold tight! Take a wild sled dog ride with 4-time Iditarod champ Jeff King
TRIPOD CABIN During the heat of the day Saturday,AliyZirkleand her 14-dog team camped a mile and a half east of Tripod Cabin. TheBLMshelter cabin is located 35 miles down the trail fromKaltagand 45 miles fromUnalakleet, the first coastal checkpoint andInupiaqcommunity on theIditarodTrail.
Zirklesaid she chose to stop before the cabin because there was an incredible 360-degree view from that point of trail.
Looking west toward the warm, spring sun, there was a gorgeous view of Old Woman and theWhalebackmountains, hinting of trail to come. Hills seemed to cradle where she stopped. There was plenty of snow, and with black spruce trees surrounding her team in the distance, the view made it a nice place to cook a meal and enjoy the sunshine.
Walking toward her, no one would have had a clue of the ordeal she faced about 14 hours earlier.
Read more:After the scare of her life, Zirkle tries to keep her head in the game