THE IDITAROD TRAIL SLED DOG RACE, ANCHORAGE TO NOME, ALASKA
It’s pretty cold in Alaska, and you’d think that would keep sports fans at home. No way. Hardy folks come out in force for the biggest sporting event in the state—the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. The Iditarod kicks off on the first Saturday in March and runs for 1,049 miles across the wilderness over 10 to 17 days.
The race trail runs through the campus of Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage, and students have a tradition of coming out with goodies to cheer on the 85 or so teams. No matter that the high temperature at the start typically hovers in the low to mid 30s (and gets colder the farther north you go). With a lot of vegetarians on campus, sun-dried tomato basil veggie burgers are a favorite, along with chocolate chip cookies.
Fans gather all along the trail and hand snacks to the mushers as they go by. One Boy Scout troop manages to find a way to prepare hot lattes on the shore of a frozen lake and pass them to the mushers.
But no one can top the Skwentna Sweeties for feeding hungry fans, volunteers, and mushers. The Sweeties are a core group of women in the town of Skwentna, population 111, who spend weeks planning and preparing food for the mushers when they come through (and seeing to the canine comfort of each 16-dog team as well). Teams enjoy a feast that includes everything from stews to apple pies baked outdoors. The Sweeties end up feeding more than 100 people.
The Skwentna Sweeties, who have been honored for their work by the governor of Alaska, have been putting on the dog at the Iditarod for more than two decades.