Many of you have asked “What gets packed in a sled for the Iditarod?” Well, here’s your answer!
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Many of you have asked “What gets packed in a sled for the Iditarod?” Well, here’s your answer!
Comments are closed.
We were riveted to this info, thank you… interesting what you don't have in there, too… not too many extra comforts for sure! very well organized,have a great race!
Approximately how much will a loaded Iditarod sled with musher weigh?
How much will it all weigh… Hmmmm… Well, it depends on a number of "add-ons"
The sled weighs about 50lbs. The "gear" that Aliy showed you is probably another 50 pounds… so there's 100 lbs.
Add the musher at about 200lbs and you've got a "base weight" of 300 lbs.
Add Dog food, snacks and straw for camping… could be another 100 lbs…
So I'd say the "sled" will weigh between 300-400 lbs depending on circumstances…
What you may also want to know is that this weight is a "joke" for the dogs…
We typically will have 8 dogs haul 600-800 lbs on our expedition trips…
Half as many dogs hauling twice as much weight…
Like I said, the Iditarod sled is nothing for a team of 16 dogs…
How about that?
Thank you for posting this video. I've always wanted to know what is inside a sled. You don't seem to have very much human food. I saw the big SP Kennel patch on your sled. I found the dog cooking-pot very interesting.
from Indigo
What wonderful information in the video.
How long does a bottle of Heat last when warming the dog's meal?
Are there checkpoints that provide warm water for the mushers or do the mushers melt snow?
Duct tape must be in there, recalling the incident with overflow last year.
Linda
Great info! It was so neat to actually see not only how the sled is packed, but also what was prioritized in packing – looks like cold weather gear and dog gear 🙂
"How long does a bottle of Heet last?"…
Short answer: A bottle of Heet is "usually" sufficient to heat a 3-gallon pot of water to a nice hot temperature for a meal…
Actual results depend on variables like whether the musher is starting with snow — which takes a long time to melt into water before it can be heated — or starting with water from a lake/river, or from a well/tap, etc… How cold the air is that's surrounding the cooker, etc…
Heet is a really good fuel source because it burns hot but does not explode… It is pretty "efficient" but you use as much as you need to…
"Are there checkpoints that provide warm water for the mushers or do the mushers melt snow?"…
All of the above… Warm water, cold water, lake water, river water, snow… all different circumstances… Be prepared!
I'm amazed at how much stuff you can fit in the sleds! I seem to take up more room packing for a weekend trip!
How often do you put dogs in the bag and do you have to re-arrange the sled or do they just ride on top of the supplies?
I assume that a hatchet has a dedicated spot on the sled.
Wonderful information!
Thank you very much!!!