The Trail -- 1998 Iditarod

The 1998 race follows the northern route of the Iditarod Trail, which runs up through Ruby, Galena and Nulato and stretches 1,151 miles from Anchorage to Nome. In odd-numbered years, mushers follow a southern route through Iditarod, Shageluk and Grayling, that is 10 miles longer. The traditional mileage cited, 1,049, is a symbolic figure: the 1,000 because the mileage always exceeds that, and the 49 because Alaska is the 49th state.

There are 26 checkpoints on the northern route, including Anchorage and Nome. The checkpoints farthest apart are Cripple and Ruby, 112 miles apart, about midway through the race. Wasilla to Knik, though, is just 14 miles.

Cripple is the official halfway point on the northern route. The first musher there wins a trophy and $3,000.

Ruby is the first checkpoint on the famed Yukon River. The first musher here earns a gourmet dinner and a cash prize.

Among the bigger checkpoints are Unalakleet, pop. 714, and Nulato, pop. 450. Several stops, such as Ophir and Cripple, are ghost towns. Most of the stops have a small store, phone service and limited lodging. Some stops offer nothing more than the checker's cabin.

First quarter of race	Checkpoints Anchorage to Eagle River Eagle River to Wasilla Wasilla to Knik Knik to Yentna Yentna to Skwentna Skwentna to Finger Lake Finger Lake to Rainy Pass Rainy Pass to Rohn	Miles 20 29 14 52 34 45 30 48

Second quarter of race	Rohn to Nikolai Nikolai to McGrath McGrath to Takotna Takotna to Ophir	93 48 23 38

Third quarter of race	Ophir to Cripple Cripple to Ruby Ruby to Galena Galena to Nulato Nulato to Kaltag Kaltag to Unalakleet	60 112 52 52 42 90

Last quarter of race	Unalakleet to Shaktoolik Shaktoolik to Koyuk Koyuk to Elim Elim to Golovin Golovin to White Mountain White Mountain to Safety Safety to Nome	40 58 48 28 18 55 22