Travel Diary: Iditarod in Alaska

by Leila Claudio

LW contributor

I read about the Iditarod when I was still a young girl in the Philippines. The idea of a person braving the elements in extreme conditions, with only a team of huskies for company boggled my imagination! So, when a group of my friends suggested a cruise to Alaska with an excursion to a dogsled camp, I quickly made my decision.

The Siberian huskies were used to haul gold, equipment and supplies during the gold rush, but with the advent of planes, trains and other transportation, the Siberian husky was in danger of extinction. To preserve the legacy of the huskies, the Iditarod—a 1,000-mile race, that’s held the first Saturday of March every year, from Anchorage to Nome—was created. This time, Alaskan huskies, a mixed breed of border collie, greyhound and other breeds, are picked for their speed.

To qualify, the musher (driver) and dog team (14 dogs) need to have run two 300-mile races, one 150-mile race, a letter of recommendation from an Iditarod racer, $4,000 to enter and enough money for a sled, food and training. The musher must submit to a complete physical and drug test; the dogs, to a veterinary inspection. There can be no outside help and no swapping out of dogs. The huskies must be able to hunt, guard and find the trail home, even in a blizzard! During training, a dog must be able to run 150 miles a day. The musher packs the drop bags of food and supplies; one and a half tons are shipped off to 26 check points in the Iditarod. A team goes through 1,000-1,800 pounds of food. A dog will consume 10,000-14,000 calories of protein a day, all this for a grand price of $50,000.

With this background in my mind, I wanted to experience a little bit of what a race feels like. I thought I’d be sitting on a sled and going through a meadow of snow, but no! There were nine of us in a golf cart contraption pulled by 12 dogs, but never mind, the dogs were going crazy waiting to run! The exhilaration of the dogs, the excitement and romance of it all made my heart fit to bursting! After the run, we met some of the dogs and puppies in training.

Sure, I didn’t get to ride a sled in a blizzard with a dog team, but I feel so grateful that I got a minute inkling of what a musher and his team go through during this, the bravest of races.

Magda Bellis (l) and Leila Claudio (r) visited Alaska.

The pair got a feel for what it's like to be transported via dogsled.

Bellis (l) and Claudio (r) pose with a puppy in training.