Iditarod 2023 Trail

It’s the southern route that includes the namesake ghost-town of Iditarod as the midpoint. The Stepping Stones, the Burn, Rainy Pass, the Glacier, all of the hazards of the first half are still part of the race, as well as the long open stretch between Ophir and the Yukon. The route that is normally taken in odd years.

The day will be about 10 and a half hours at Anchorage and the moon is waxing with a full moon on March 7th. The temperature is in 4°F-14°F range in Anchorage, which is a welcome change from recent years.

Things start off today, Susan Butcher Day, with the ‘parade’ from Anchorage to the airport. The actual racing starts on Sunday at Willow.

At the beginning of the race, especially if there is deep snow, the moose will use the trail. To a moose a sled dog team is a wolf pack, and they will attack. An adult moose can easily kill, or severely injure, multiple dogs on a team. You don’t want to run into a moose.

Between Finger Lake and Rainy Pass you discover the Happy Valley Steps. The Steps are jarring enough with snow on them, but without the snow they’re slabs of rock, quite capable of busting up a sled.

After Rainy Pass, you face the descent into the Dalzell Gorge. Without snow to help with steering and braking, it will be even more of a nightmare than the E+ ticket it has always been.

The run from Rohn to Nikolai as two fun features. The Glacier is actually minor; it is a spring that pours water down a hill. If it is cold enough, it will be glare ice, otherwise it will be a cold mud patch.

The bigger problem is the Farewell Burn. This was the result of a forest fire, and the area is second growth, stumps, logs, and the hummocks of grass that can act like the bumpers in a pinball machine. The ideal condition for the Burn is deep snow to cushion the sled and keep above the hummocks and stumps.

After Nikolai things calm down a lot, but people really start thinking about taking their 24-hour stop.