Easily as many as 80-some teams, race across the roughest, most incredible terrain: two mountain ranges, frozen rivers, dense forests, desolate tundra and miles of windswept coast. Temperatures can be far below zero, in the minus 50 range on the grand Yukon River, or the teams can be challenged by melting sea ice and rain storms, whipping winds and blowing snow that can cause a complete loss of visibility, the hazards of overflow, and always long hours of total darkness and treacherous climbs to hundreds of miles of jagged terrain. From Anchorage a city of nearly 300,000 people to the small gold town of Nome on the western Bering Sea coast, each team of 12-14 dogs and its musher cover more than 975 miles in 8-13 days.

This is a tradition steeped in the history. For milinea sled dogs were way of life to the Native peoples of this land—Athabascan Indians, Yupik and Inupiaq. At the time of Alaska becoming the Last Frontier The Iditarod Trail, now a national historic trail, had its beginnings as a mail and supply route. Mail and supplies went in, gold came out – all via dog sled. Heroes were made; legends were born.