# Have you heard of the Iditarod? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 8, 2019, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-the-iditarod/836697 "2019-07-08T04:27:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-the-iditarod/836697/81 "2019-07-09T23:10:30Z")
It got a lot of publicity in the 1980s and 1990s, but not so much since Susan Butcher died. For a long time, she really was the heart and soul of the Iditarod. > **[Susan Butcher | Illness and legacy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susan_Butcher#Illness_and_legacy)** > > On December 2, 2005, Butcher was diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia, which had manifested as a blood disorder three years earlier. She underwent chemotherapy at the University of Washington, and received a bone marrow transplant on May 17, 2006, after the cancer went into remission. According to her husband David Monson, "someone said this might be a tough disease, but this leukemia hasn't met Susan Butcher yet." > Butcher died on August 5, 2006, after fighting graft-versus-host disease and... ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 9, 2019, 11:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-the-iditarod/836697/82 "2019-07-09T23:35:36Z")
> [@DigitalC](#): > > You should have asked “do you know what the iditarod is” because I’ve certainly heard of it but I couldn’t have told you what it was before reading your post. Being very nit-picky, there are at least three answers. Iditarod was an Alaska town, now abandoned; there is the National Historic Trail named Iditarod, and then there is the annual race held since 1973 that follows much of the historic trail and passes through the abandoned town every other year. I uploaded some pictures of our Iditarod trip last winter to Imgur. I’d shared these with Chefguy before. [2019 Iditarod - Album on Imgur](https://imgur.com/a/tW2NbYt). It really was a fantastic trip! ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-the-iditarod/836697/83 "2019-07-10T00:49:50Z")
Those are great pics, **Bullitt**! Thanks for sharing them! ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 1:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-the-iditarod/836697/84 "2019-07-10T01:10:55Z")
Brilliant photos! Loved ‘em! ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 1:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-the-iditarod/836697/85 "2019-07-10T01:11:35Z")
The grandfather of my best friend in high school went to the Iditarod mining district in 1911, living in the small village of Flat with his wife until 1920. In 1920, he traveled by snow shoe and dog sled some 350 miles to Anchorage. Part of his diary: > [@](#): > > “Left Happy Roadhouse at 6:40 A.M. Caught up with and passed a dog team that was hauling a big shipment of gold ($150,000) from the dredge at Candle Creek to Anchorage for shipment to Seattle. Had to snowshoe all the way to Mountain Climbers 21 ½ miles. Got in at 8 P.M. Pretty tierd [tired] and nobody at roadhouse and nothing to eat. Hungry as a bear. When dog team drove in I talked the driver out of a small piece of reindeer meat (his dog feed). Cooked this and devided [divided] it up between the six of us. Saved a bit of the broth from morning. Collected $1.00 from the boys except Oscar. Feeling fine.” His full story is [here](https://www.alaskahistory.org/biographies/erickson-arne/). ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-the-iditarod/836697/86 "2019-07-10T02:47:45Z")
Amazed that none of four college-educated Americans had heard of it. ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2019, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-the-iditarod/836697/87 "2019-07-10T02:56:27Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > The grandfather of my best friend in high school went to the Iditarod mining district in 1911, living in the small village of Flat with his wife until 1920. In 1920, he traveled by snow shoe and dog sled some 350 miles to Anchorage. Part of his diary: > > His full story is [here](https://www.alaskahistory.org/biographies/erickson-arne/). That was really cool; thanks. ---
**Author:** ![Annoying\_Buzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb8c5e/32.png) [@Annoying\_Buzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annoying_Buzz)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-the-iditarod/836697/88 "2019-07-11T01:06:54Z")
Growing up, Susan Butcher was a household hero. Hell, yes. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 6:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-the-iditarod/836697/89 "2019-07-11T06:37:54Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > Those are great pics, **Bullitt**! Thanks for sharing them! > [@elbows](#): > > Brilliant photos! Loved ‘em! Thank you! Glad you enjoyed them. We all really had a good time there. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 6:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-the-iditarod/836697/90 "2019-07-11T06:57:42Z")
Nope. Not until just now. ---
**Author:** ![MarvinKitFox](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ba0ec/32.png) [@MarvinKitFox](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MarvinKitFox)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 7:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-the-iditarod/836697/91 "2019-07-11T07:34:20Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > So I said, “In the Iditarod, the animals race by pulling these…” (dog was not allowed) Quite possibly you pronounced the word _completely_ differently from how they though it would sound. That, coupled with the completely incorrect assertion that it is an _animal_ race, is likely what led to the confusion. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-the-iditarod/836697/92 "2019-07-11T11:50:21Z")
I would say I would not have known it by name before I came to the SDMB. But as I came here 20 years ago, that’s a long time of knowing about it. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-the-iditarod/836697/93 "2019-07-11T15:04:23Z")
Yes, but I lived in Alaska for a couple years as a kid. Not sure I would have instant recall on that if I didn’t. As a matter of fact, I did a helicopter flyover of the race with the radio station coverage. Perk of being the GM’s kid. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-the-iditarod/836697/94 "2019-07-11T15:16:16Z")
> [@MarvinKitFox](#): > > Quite possibly you pronounced the word _completely_ differently from how they though it would sound. Yeah, I was wondering if that might be the explanation. But presumably that would have been cleared up in the ensuing discussion? > [@](#): > > That, coupled with the completely incorrect assertion that it is an _animal_ race, is likely what led to the confusion. Why is that a completely incorrect assertion? It’s a sled dog race, and sled dogs are animals. ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-the-iditarod/836697/95 "2019-07-11T16:05:01Z")
> [@Snowboarder\_Bo](#): > > That was really cool; thanks. Yeah, Grandpa Arne was quite the character. When I knew him in the 60s, he was a pretty cranky old man, still spending summers at Crow Creek where grandson Arne and I would hang out and do teenager things. He always flew the Norwegian flag at the mine, and he set bear traps all around his cabin, making it a bad idea to wander around there. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-the-iditarod/836697/96 "2019-07-11T16:23:20Z")
I just looked up how to say it (eye-DIT-tuhr-RAHD), and I will ask other people I know. ---
**Author:** ![Bullitt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bullitt/32/5725_2.png) [@Bullitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bullitt)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-the-iditarod/836697/97 "2019-07-11T17:02:18Z")
> [@Ashtura](#): > > Yes, but I lived in Alaska for a couple years as a kid. Not sure I would have instant recall on that if I didn’t. As a matter of fact, I did a helicopter flyover of the race with the radio station coverage. Perk of being the GM’s kid. Wow, that’s very cool! It is such an interesting viewpoint from in the sky and looking down, seeing a team of sled dogs snaking its way around trees and over dips and bumps – sort of like pairs of black ants tied together in a line and pulling a small black rectangle against the white snow, snaking around and over this and that. When we flew to Rainy Pass from Talkeetna, the pilot took us over the Finger Lake checkpoint (the one just before Rainy) and we could see teams stopped there, resting and feeding their dogs. (BTW, Talkeetna Air Taxi, highly recommended outfit) Here is the Iditarod Race Map: [Race Map – Iditarod](https://iditarod.com/race-map/). It’s two maps, actually, as the course follows a slightly different route in even years versus odd years. In odd years they take the southern route which passes through the abandoned ghost town of Iditarod (article, “Historic Iditarod, an Alaska ghost town”, [https://www.alaskapublic.org/2018/03/30/ak-historic-iditarod-an-alaska-ghost-town/](https://www.alaskapublic.org/2018/03/30/ak-historic-iditarod-an-alaska-ghost-town/)). ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-the-iditarod/836697/98 "2019-07-11T23:21:18Z")
> [@Bullitt](#): > > Wow, that’s very cool! > > It is such an interesting viewpoint from in the sky and looking down, seeing a team of sled dogs snaking its way around trees and over dips and bumps – sort of like pairs of black ants tied together in a line and pulling a small black rectangle against the white snow, snaking around and over this and that. When we flew to Rainy Pass from Talkeetna, the pilot took us over the Finger Lake checkpoint (the one just before Rainy) and we could see teams stopped there, resting and feeding their dogs. (BTW, Talkeetna Air Taxi, highly recommended outfit) > > Here is the Iditarod Race Map: [Race Map – Iditarod](https://iditarod.com/race-map/). It’s two maps, actually, as the course follows a slightly different route in even years versus odd years. In odd years they take the southern route which passes through the abandoned ghost town of Iditarod (article, “Historic Iditarod, an Alaska ghost town”, [https://www.alaskapublic.org/2018/03/30/ak-historic-iditarod-an-alaska-ghost-town/](https://www.alaskapublic.org/2018/03/30/ak-historic-iditarod-an-alaska-ghost-town/)). Hey, we flew into Finger Lake on a ski plane one winter and stayed at the Winterlake Lodge there. Great place. Did some snow machining and cross country skiing. Took a ride on a dog sled that almost ended in disaster. The place has gourmet quality food. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 11:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-the-iditarod/836697/99 "2019-07-11T23:24:57Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > Iditarod is one of my favorite words. But OP, sometimes things like this happen, with things that feel like they should common knowledge. I had a conversation that gave me a similar WTF feeling when I realized I was talking to three people who had never even heard of The Dark Crystal, let alone had an opinion about it. What’s the Dark Crystal? Seriously never heard of it. On the other hand I can’t remember a time when I didn’t know about the Iditarod. It is a huge huge deal in Alaska. Susan Butcher was one of my heroines as a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Ulfreida](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ulfreida/32/8014_2.png) [@Ulfreida](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ulfreida)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2019, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-the-iditarod/836697/100 "2019-07-11T23:28:53Z")
> [@Garak](#): > > In elementary school we had to read a Gary Paulsen book about the Iditarod and I remember it because I didn’t really like the book so I was unhappy Read it again. It’s one of the funniest books I’ve ever read in my life. Winterdance. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-the-iditarod/836697.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-heard-of-the-iditarod/836697.md?page=6)