Aliy Cam Iditarod 2020: Episode 5

These Aliy Cams are a fun and interactive way I try to share my team’s experiences on the Iditarod Trail. In the 10 days, 7 hours, 28 minutes and 30 seconds that we traveled the trail I tried to capture the real images from the wilderness, the weather and the trail.

My dogs are the center of the videos. The race revolves around them. Their individual positioning in the team varies throughout the race. I moved them around depending upon their moods and energy. Their positioning also depended upon the trail and weather conditions or other random influences. The dogs on the team are: Amber, Bruno, Chevie, Cloud, Dutch, Decaf, Five, Jefe, Junior, Kodiak, QT, Rodney, Spark, and Violet. If you watch closely, you’ll get to know their gaits or their ear “bobs” or their little quirks.

2020 Aliy Cam Episode 5 – “The Road to Ophir”

As you can see in the video, the dogs are moving along nicely. It’s just before noon on the fourth day of the race. In lead are Junior and Q.T., then Dutch and Spark, then Decaf and Kodiak, then Five and Rodney, then Jefe and Chevie, then Cloud by herself and in the rear of the team: Violet and Amber. You’ll hear a dog screech about 2 minutes into this clip. That’s Violet. She’ll often give a short screech when she pulls uphill. I always laugh because I think it’s similar to a huge 300-pound Olympian muscle man who grunts when he hurls the shot put.

The trail we are traveling follows an old mining road that was built in the 1920’s to connect Takotna and the Ophir area mining claims with a resupply spot called Sterling landing, on the Kuskokwim River. It crosses over many hills and creeks and winds along like a real road. You can see actual road signs in the video. The view off to the right of the team (which is east) is glorious.

Gold was first discovered around Ophir, Alaska in the late 1800’s. At its peak in 1907 to 1908, Ophir had a population of 1,000 people and who knows how many dogs. The dogs were critical for hauling supplies as well as gold. Today the permanent population of Ophir is zero but there are a few buildings, a gold dredge and a runway. Small mining operations exist in the summer months and the trail passes right next to the cabins and equipment. I joke on the video: “You might want to check your gold necklace and see if it’s from the Ophir area.”

The Iditarod checkpoint cabin at Ophir has lots of history. If you are interested in really learning the history of the Iditarod’s early years then you ought to find the book: “Iditarod: The First Ten Years” which is an amazing compilation of stories, photos and clippings by The Old Iditarod Gang. For the past 50 years, this Ophir cabin has been the part-time home of the Forsgren family. Dick Forsgren was the first mayor of McGrath and purchased the land and cabin in Ophir in the 70’s. He and his wife, Audra, loved the area and were involved with the Iditarod from the beginning. During the first race in 1973, they surprised all the mushers by having a warm and cozy spot ‘in the middle of nowhere’. After that, the cabin then became a regular checkpoint as it is today. In the early years, Dick helped break trail between McGrath and Poorman for the Iditarod and Audra cooked and housed any musher who stuck their head into their cabin’s door. Their son, Keith and and his family then kept the family’s involvement with the Iditarod going strong after his father’s passing in 2010. Last I knew, Audra was in her 90s and happily living in the Pioneer Home in Palmer. This year Dick’s grandson, Kyle and his great grandson traveled from their home in Hawaii in order to open the cabin for Iditarod mushers. It is a popular spot for mushers and others who travel the trail.

I had a great deal of fun with Dick’s great grandson who might be 12 years old – plus or minus. I’m sorry that I don’t remember his name. (Anyone know it?) Anyhow, he “helped” me with the dogs as much as the Iditarod rules allow – which means he petted many of the dogs while they were resting and asked me questions. He was, in fact, very helpful to the Vet Crew and Volunteers because he hauled them and their gear back and forth to the runway which is several miles away. It was easy to enjoy myself in Ophir and I smiled lots when I thought about the Forsgren family. Their family bond continues over generations and they all seem to share the family passion for their land and their history. It is very inspirational.

The IditarodTrail Invitational is an adventure race like no other. The biker that I was chatting with in Ophir is Graham Muir. I shared one of my awesome energy bars with him and his biking partner and made friends immediately. I learned later that this duo finished their race in Unalakleet. Congrats guys!

Please Note: when I turn on my video camera it’s like bringing another person onto the team. I often talk like there is someone else present and will explain where we are or what’s happening. From a dog’s perspective this doesn’t make sense. They hear me talking to “someone” and often look back to see who’s there. I sometimes had to use my ‘cheerleader voice’ to keep them focused ahead instead of wondering what the heck I was doing behind them.

The race took my dogs and I over 10 days to complete. In total, I recorded only one hour of video. So these Aliy Cams are only a tiny segment of that experience. I also did not video during the most challenging trail or the worst blizzard conditions. I was too busy clinging my handlebars or navigating hazards. I also never recorded a video when I felt like it would intrude in our personal space.

Here is a map so that you can follow along.