Balto Finishes Strong
On March 3, about 70 daring mushers, or sled dog racers, and about 1,000 dogs will meet in Anchorage, Alaska, for the official opening of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
The Iditarod (eye-DIT-uh-rahd) is one of the most challenging races in the world. It starts in Anchorage and crosses more than 1,000 miles of Alaskan wilderness. It ends up in Nome.
This week, The Mini Page learns about a legendary sled dog who was the hero of a journey that inspired the Iditarod.
A race to save lives
In January 1925, a dangerous disease called diphtheria (dif-THIR-ee-uh) threatened the people of Nome. Dr. Curtis Welch treated children who had come down with the contagious disease, but as more kids got sick, he knew he would run out of medicine. Doctors in Anchorage had more doses of the medicine, but the two cities were hundreds of miles apart.
The medicine could be sent by airplane, but cold and windy weather made it too dangerous. The only other option was to send the needed medicine by dogsled.
Gov. Scott Bone decided a relay of dogsled teams would carry the medicine from Nenana, where railroad tracks met the sled trail to Nome, 674 miles away. The relay started on Jan. 27.
Balto gets his chance
During the race, mushers and dogs met dangerous challenges, including sea ice and snowdrifts that could lead them off the trail.
When it was Gunnar Kaasen’s turn, he chose his favorite husky, Balto, and put him at the front of his sled for the next-to-last leg of the relay. They set out on Feb. 1 into a blizzard, running toward a town called Port Safety, where the last musher was waiting.
However, the musher in Port Safety had received instructions to wait for better weather and was asleep when they arrived! So Kaasen made a quick decision: He would finish the last 20 miles of the journey, with Balto in the lead.
Thanks to Kaasen and Balto, the medicine arrived in Nome on Feb. 2, just 5 1/2 days after leaving Nenana. The previous record for the trip had been nine days.
A hero
The 1925 Serum Run was famous all over the country, and Balto became a national hero and symbol of the journey. In New York City’s Central Park, a statue of him honors his service.
In 1973, Dorothy G. Page and Joe Redington Sr. started the Iditarod race. They wanted to celebrate the many things sled dogs have done for Alaskans. The sled dogs’ life-saving trip was just one of the services such dogs have provided.
The Iditarod race
“Iditarod” is the name of a ghost town along the trails. Many experts believe it means “distant place.”
The Iditarod begins in Anchorage with a ceremonial start. The race truly begins the next day from Willow.
The Iditarod Trail runs for about 1,049 miles. It varies year by year because obstacles may arise, forcing mushers to break new trail.
The race keeps going until the last team comes in. The fastest winning time was eight days, three hours, 40 minutes and 13 seconds, set in 2017. The last racers can take nearly three weeks to come in.
Mushers begin training dogs in August, with the dogs pulling four-wheelers. In the spring and early summer, when the snow thaws, the dogs get a vacation.
Teams must stop at checkpoints throughout the trail. These stopping points are often villages where mushers and their dogs might get a chance to eat and drink.
At each checkpoint, veterinarians look over the dogs. Mushers rub salve, or ointment, on a dog’s paws. If a dog is injured or too tired, it might leave the race and be flown home from a checkpoint.