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The Tripod Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance October 2014 Annual meeting The annual membership meeting of the Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance will be held December 3-4 in Anchorage. The 3rd will be a workshop day for the Board and the 4th will be the annual membership meeting at the Millennium Alaska Hotel, 4800 Spenard Rd. The annual meeting is the time for election of board members, reports from Federal and State agencies and from organizations that have projects that affect the trail. It is also the time for the Board to set priorities and plan for the future. Board election at annual meeting Three Alliance Board of Director seats are up for election this year: Seat I Norton Sound, current incumbent - Leo Rasmussen, Seat J At Large Seat # 4, current incumbent – Jonathan Sewall, Seat K At Large Seat # 5, current incumbent - Jules Mead.
There is a nominating committee at work, but any member who would like to nominate a fellow member as a candidate for any of the seats, should email the name or names to IditarodHTA@gmail.com. iTREC! The Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance promotes public awareness of the Iditarod Trail and its gold rush and Alaska Native heritage by encouraging education programs and historical research, assisting in the protection, improvement, maintenance and marking of the trail, developing partnerships that foster stewardship commitments and support from land owners, local communities, organizations and others. The trail for all seasons The fall workshop for the Iditarod Trail to Every Classroom (iTREC!) teachers will be held in Seward on November 7-9.
National Historic Trail Workshop The Partnership for the National Trails National Historic Trails Workshop will be held in Salt Lake City on October 27-30. The workshop will focus on organizational capacity building and preservation approaches. The themes for the workshop include: Social media-How to use social media to fundraise, develop interest, support and membership and how to use it to support preservation efforts. Preservation –How to partner with national and local land trusts and agencies, how to preserve critical sites and segments in areas of energy development, how to develop trail corridors for reservation and recreation. Capacity building-How to build membership, strengthen the volunteer base, recruit leadership and develop partnering relationships.
Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance PO Box 2323, Seward AK 99664 IditarodHTA@gmail.com http://www.Iditarod100.org Remember when you file for your 2015 Permanent Fund Dividend on line, you can donate all or part of it to the Alliance through the Pick, Click, Give Program. The Tripod Warrior Hike A new program, Warrior Hike, expands on an idea long understood nature as healing. The first person to complete a through-hike of the Appalachian Trail, Earl Shaeffer, was a veteran returning from World War II. He said that he needed to “walk off the war”. Extended wilderness experiences, such as long distance hiking, offer a wealth of physical, mental and spiritual benefits for those returning from the trauma and chaos of serving in combat.
Veteran Sean Gobin, who served three terms in Iraq and Afghanistan, founded Warrior Hike after hiking the Appalachian Trail himself in 2012, upon his return home to the United States. Last year the inaugural group of Warrior Hikers traveled the Appalachian Trail; this spring three separate groups hiked along the Appalachian, Continental Divide and Pacific Crest Trails. Warrior Hike is open to any veteran who has served in a combat zone with an honorable discharge. The program provides a variety of services and support to all participants, including providing necessary equipment and supplies for thru-hiking a national scenic trail, collaborating with a variety of supporting partners along their journey and employment assistance following the hike.
From the past… “Iditarod Pioneer” October 31, 1914 OUTBOUND MAIL STARTS MONDAY On Monday morning the first consignment of mail will be started over the new mail route between Iditarod and Seward, and the winter mail service which has been the hope of the citizens of this section of Alaska for several seasons past will be inaugurated. Carriers will leave Iditarod and Seward simultaneously. Colonel H. F. Revell of Seward, the contractor, is allowed time limit between the two cities of twenty-five days, with a limit of 475 pounds of mail, which is to run on a weekly schedule.
However, it is his intention to make the through trip in fourteen days, and he believes that even better time than this can be made when the trail is in good shape The distance between Seward and Iditarod is approximately 500 miles, as against approximately 900 miles by the old route from Cordova to Fairbanks and hence to Iditarod, so it will be seen that considerable time will be saved in the delivery of mail as compared with the old route, even if the full contract time is taken for the trip. When in Iditarod last spring Colonel Revell stated that it is his intention to use horses on the run between this city and French Joe’s, on the upper Kuskokwim, a distance of 200 miles.
Strenuous efforts will be made by the contractor to give a satisfactory service, as it is his intention to demonstrate to the postoffice authorities the economy of using this route for the winter mail service of Nome and Seward peninsula He claims that a savings of fully two weeks can be effected over the present Nome route, via Cordova, Fairbanks, Kaltag and Unalakleet. The establishment of this route means much to Iditarod and interior Alaska generally. The keeping open of the trail by the mail teams will insure an easy means of travel between the Interior and the coast, and the possibility of express matter being transported, something heretofore impossible in the winter season. Robert Boyd of Discovery will be the carrier on the first relay from this city, and he will carry the mail to and from Takotna. There being no snow yet, he will probably use pack horses.
In connection with the service to be inaugurated Monday will be a semi-monthly service between Takotna and Ruby, which will include mail for the latter city and other Interior Alaska points. From a late arrival in the city The Pioneer learns that considerable trail work is ongoing in the vicinity of Takotna, which will result in shortening the thoroughfare in that locality at least fifteen miles. The Northern Commercial Co. has a crew of men at work on a trail from Takotna to McGrath, which, it is claimed not only cuts out the forks of the Takotna river, but other bad stretches of road encountered on the old trail. Captain William Geiger, the pioneer homesteader of McGrath, is cutting a new route from that place and Frank Fox, who conducts the Salmon River roadhouse, is cutting the road from his place to meet the Geiger party.
Tom Boyd, who has a sub-contract from Colonel Revell for carrying the mails over a long stretch of the Iditarod-Seward trail is contributing substantially toward the new road-building in that section.