Eagle River musher is carrying hope in a box on the Iditarod Trail Published March 8
Larry Daugherty, a musher from Eagle River, will carry empty packages of COVID-19 vaccine with him on the trail this year. Forty-six mushers began the 2021 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race from Deshka Landing in Willow on March 7, 2021. (Marc Lester / ADN)
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Print article Larry Daugherty of Eagle River is carrying hope on the Iditarod Trail. It comes in a box. Daugherty, a radiation oncologist, is carrying empty packages of the COVID-19 vaccine as a symbol of the hope he sees a year into a global pandemic that gained full force during last year’s Iditarod.
Revamped Iditarod brings equipment adaptations and a fast pace as mushers cross the Alaska Range
Wait 1 second to continue. ROHN A day into the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, a fast trail and shortened route are making for a quicker race than normal. Mushers are adapting to this year’s pandemic-adjusted trail in a number of ways, as evidenced by their equipment. Recent rule changes and the absence of shelter options in checkpoints mean competitors are using larger sleds and hauling “tail-dragger” trailers for hauling supplies, sleeping options and dogs. “We got this fun new tent, it looks like a play kennel,” said Bethel musher Victoria Hardwick during a break Monday at Finger Lake. “You don’t have to use your fingers or anything.”
Diehl leads Kusko 300, Bailey leads Summit Quest 300 in dueling sled dog races Author: Anchorage Daily News
Print article On a day offering two mid-distance sled dog races in Alaska, Richie Diehl of Aniak held a narrow lead late in the Kuskokwim 300 and Jodi Bailey of Chatanika owned a narrow lead early in the Summit Quest 300. Diehl is among 13 mushers racing for a fat purse of $160,000 in the Kusko, one of the most prestigious mid-distance races in the sport. The race started Friday evening in Bethel and is expected to end there Sunday morning. Five teams, including six-time champion Pete Kaiser of Bethel and nine-time champion Jeff King of Denali Park, had made their third of four stops at a checkpoint near Tuluksak by 7 p.m. Saturday. They’ll visit the checkpoint one more time before making the final run to the finish line.
16 dog teams set to leave windy Bethel en masse for the start of the Kusko 300
Print article Volunteers on snowmachines hauled straw and other supplies while doubling as trailbreakers Thursday in preparation for this weekend’s Kuskokwim 300 sled dog race in Bethel. Strong winds buried both the race trail and the road that organizers planned to use to take supplies to a checkpoint being set up about 30 miles outside Tuluksak, race manager Paul Basile said. Thursday brought winds of 24 mph and stronger to the area, and Basile said the forecast calls for continued wind through the weekend. “It’s definitely changed our logistics the last couple of days,” he said. “We’d really been hoping to get a lot of our supplies and some of our volunteers to our Tuluksak checkpoint by truck.