Tag Archives: Iditarod Trail

The Ghost of Wild Bill Shannon

Posted on August 22, 2015 by Helen Hegener

It had been a long evening’s presentation as the mushers, snowmachiners, support crews and others gathered in the Nenana community center listened intently. The trail boss, musher coordinator and others explained the final preparations and outlined their trip across the … Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska History | Tagged All Alaska Sweepstakes, Don Duncan, Doug Swingley, Helen Hegener, Iditarod, Iditarod Trail, Nenana, Nome, Norman Vaughn, Northern Light Media, Seppala, Serum Run, Terrence Shanigan, The Cruelest Miles, Togo, Tom Walker, Von Martin, Wild Bill Shannon | 1 Comment

S. Hall Young, Mushing Parson

Posted on May 3, 2015 by Helen Hegener

“In the summer of 1879 I was stationed at Fort Wrangell in southeastern Alaska, whence I had come the year before, a green young student fresh from college and seminary–very green and very fresh–to do what I could towards establishing … Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska History | Tagged Alaska, Alaska Days with John Muir, Chilkoot Pass, Crow Creek Pass, Dr. Young, Fort Wrangell, Glacier Bay, Helen Hegener, Iditarod Trail, John Muir, Klondike, Knik, mushing, mushing history, Northern Light Media, Old Knik, Reverend Young, S. Hall Young, Samuel Hall Young, Seward, Stickeen, The Mushing Parson, Yukon River | 3 Comments

Alaskan Roads and Trails History

Posted on April 30, 2015 by Helen Hegener

Alaska’s history can be defined in large part by the network of trails and roads which criss-cross the state, threading through the seemingly endless forests and across the wide tundra lands; winding over great mountain ranges and bridging tumultuous rivers. … Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska History | Tagged Alaska Highway, Alaska Road Commission, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Glenn Highway, Iditarod National Historic Trail, Iditarod Trail, Nome, Richardson Highway, roads, routes, trails, U.S. Army, Valdez | 1 Comment

Iditarod National Historic Trail

Posted on April 17, 2015 by Helen Hegener

The 2015 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is over, but the Iditarod Trail is much more than just a sled dog racetrack. This network of over 2,300-miles of winter trails, which first connected ancient Native Alaskan villages, opened the territory for … Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska History | Tagged Iditarod, Iditarod National Historic Trail, Iditarod Trail, Knik, National Historic Trail, Nome, Seward | Leave a comment

Along Alaskan Trails

Posted on April 14, 2015 by Helen Hegener

Along Alaskan Trails, Adventures in Sled Dog History, by Helen Hegener, is a collection of true stories about Alaskan sled dogs and the role they played in the development of the north, with dozens of historic photos from the archives … Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska History, Books | Tagged Baldy, Balto, Chinook, Fritz, Helen Hegener, Iditarod Trail, Jujiro Wada, Leonhard Seppala, Mary Joyce, mushing, mushing history, Northern Light Media, Scotty Allan, Slim Williams, Togo | Leave a comment

The First Iditarod on Kindle

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Helen Hegener

The First Iditarod, Mushers’ Tales from the 1973 Race, is now available as a Kindle book. Telling the story of the first race from the perspective of the mushers who ran it, The First Iditarod also includes the history of … Continue reading →

Posted in Books | Tagged Helen Hegener, Iditarod, Iditarod Trail, mushing, mushing history, Northern Light Media, sled dog race, sled dogs | Leave a comment

The Early Days of Mushing

Posted on March 5, 2015 by Helen Hegener

“I spent almost the entire winter freighting with my dogs to the outlying creeks, and so was away from civilization most of the time. There was more money in it than in ordinary freighting to the mines, and the life … Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska History, Books | Tagged Alaska, All Alaska Sweepstakes, Helen Hegener, Hudson Stuck, Iditarod Trail, Leffingwell, Leonhard Seppala, mushing, mushing history, Nome, Northern Light Media, Scotty Allan, sled dog racing, sled dogs, Yukon River | Leave a comment

1973 Iditarod, The First Race

Posted on March 3, 2015 by Helen Hegener

“W. A. Dikeman and Charles Peterson reported by Iditarod Nugget as “First Mushers Over the Iditarod Trail: Taking 45 Days from Seward to Otter, they meet several others on the trail including Harry Johnson and Bob Griffis.” (Iditarod Nugget, December … Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska History, Books | Tagged Alaska, Helen Hegener, Iditarod, Iditarod Trail, mushing history, Nome, Northern Light Media, Serum Run | 1 Comment

The First Iditarod

Posted on February 28, 2015 by Helen Hegener

“Musher after musher agrees that no one – racers or officials – knew what to expect.” ~Bill Sherwonit in Iditarod: The Great Race to Nome (Alaska Northwest Books, 1991) This book is the result of several years of researching, interviewing, … Continue reading →

Posted in Alaska History, Books, Sled Dog Races | Tagged 1973 Iditarod, Alaska, Helen Hegener, Iditarod, Iditarod Trail, mushing, mushing history, Northern Light Media, sled dog race, sled dog racing, sled dogs | 1 Comment

Iditarod Adventures

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Helen Hegener

Iditarod Adventures: Tales from Mushers Along the Trail, by Lew Freedman, illustrations by Jon Van Zyle (Alaska Northwest Books, 2015). In this splendid collection of profiles and ‘tales of the trail,’ written by the mushers themselves, twenty-three top Iditarod and … Continue reading →