Iditarod Historic Trail
(From Bureau of Land Management brochure on Iditarod National Historic Trail)
When American explorers and prospectors arrived in the north, they quickly learned from Native Alaskans that sled dog teams were the only way to reliably move goods and people across the frozen landscape. Not by chance, the "Seward to Nome Trail" as the Iditarod was originally called, was first mapped and marked in 1908 by a four-person Alaska Road Commission crew supported by dog teams.
...having two basket sleds and 18 sets dog harness made...at Seward we spent five days 'trying out dogs' and repacking the outfit ready for the trip..." —W.L.Goodwin (1908)Nine months after the route was surveyed, two prospectors made a ‘Christmas Day Strike’ in the Iditarod Mining District, and the last great gold rush was on. Between 1910 and 1912, 10,000 gold seekers came to Alaska's "Inland Empire". In the following years they worked $30 million of gold from the ground.
...in the month of March I left for the north. That was many years ago when there were only two modes of travel, mush dogs or just mush." —Charles Lee CadwalladerRead more about this topic: Iditarod Trail
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