Veteran Iditarod racer Raymie Redington was weary and frustrated when he arrived in McGrath to take his 24-hour layover Wednesday. He was carrying two dogs in his sled, and they were the biggest dogs in his team. He hauled 75-pound Choctaw 30 miles when the dog didn't feel like running. And he carried Dakota, who weighs nearly as much, the last 10 miles into the checkpoint. Redington wasn't sure if he would drop them. Redington, in his 10th Iditarod, dating back to the first one in 1973, perked up, though, because he's convinced he will start catching other mushers soon. "We're going to be moving up pretty quick," he said at the start of his layover. Redington said he always liked stopping in McGrath because mushing friends Eep Anderson, Rudy Demoski and others lived here. "You got a day to hang out," he said.

Couldn't they have found a wall?

Rookie Jim Gallea has plenty of race experience to draw upon. His parents both ran the Iditarod. Bill Gallea, finished 41st in 1996, and Cindy Gallea was 48th in 1998. Even so, his parents wanted to make sure he would have words of encouragement along the way so they wrote notes on the seat attached to their son's sled. "Jim - you are tough enough to do this," reads one scribbled in black magic marker. Another says, "Remember we are with you every step (baby step) of the way. Mom & Dad." Gallea appreciates the notes, but said, "They graffittied my sled."

When missing a snow hook....

Mushers often check and double-check their gear to make sure they don't forget something they need on their Iditarod trip. But, even so, items get left behind. When Kotzebue musher Ed Iten reached Finger Lake he realized he missed his second snowhook to tie off the front of his team. He's been improvising ever since. First he wrapped a rope around a ice bridge he carved out with an ax. Then, in Nikolai, he came up with a better solution. He drilled two holes into a shovel spade and wrapped the rope through them. "It's always got to be something," he said.

- Staff and wire reports

Anchorage Daily News
Anchorage, Alaska

Tuesday
March 16, 1999