The Tripod, March 2016

The Tripod Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance March 2016 Alaska members, don’t forget, when you file for your 2016 Permanent Fund Dividend on line, you can donate anywhere from $25 to the full PFD amount to the Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance through the Pick, Click, Give Program. If you have already filed, you can, until March 31, go to the PFD homepage and select the “Add or change Your Pick, Click Give Donation” button and follow the prompts. Trail training classes Three days of trail training classes will be held in Anchorage on April 19-21. The classes are being sponsored by Alaska Trails, the US Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. The classes will be held at the BLM Anchorage Field Office, 4700 BLM Road. Instructors will be Jamie Schmidt, USFS lead trainer, and 1 or 2 other USFS trainers depending on class size.

Jaime has more than 20 years of Forest Service recreation and trail management experience in Alaska, Idaho and Montana. ●Trail Fundamentals and Trail Management Objectives, April 19, 1-5 pm, cost $75. Trail fundamentals include basic concepts that are cornerstones of effective trail planning: design, construction, maintenance, and management. During this course you will learn how to put these tools to work for an effective trail program. This course can be taken alone, you do not need to sign up for TRACS (below) ●TRACS: Trail Assessment and Condition Surveys, April 20-21, 8 am to 5 pm, cost $275. You must take, or have recently taken, Trail Fundamentals before you can take TRACS. TRACs is an approach to efficiently conduct trail assessment and condition surveys resulting in quality field data that is useful for a wide variety of purposes.

You will learn how to collect the right trail information the first time. Lunch is provided on these two days. You can register via Paypal at the Alaska Trails website: http://www.alaska-trails.org/get involved/donate.shtml. For more information or to set up other billing arrangements call 907-334-8049 or email office@alaska-trails.org. Fees cover the cost of training, materials, food and related expenses. 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 Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance PO Box 2323, Seward AK 99664 IditarodHTA@gmail.com http://www.Iditarod100.org Alaska members who apply for their 2016 Permanent Fund dividend online can donate part or all of it to the Alliance through the 2016 Pick. Click. Give Program. Tripod, March 2016 The last week of hearings in the Dickson v. State of Alaska case will be on March 21 and 22 from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in room 502, Nesbett courthouse in Anchorage. The public is invited to listen in on the final rebuttal and closing arguments. The case involves property in the Knik area, near the intersection of Burma and Moore Roads. The plaintiffs Kelly Dickson and Donna Defusco say two trails on four parcels of their land are not subject to the rights-of-way sought by the state.

One of the rights-of-way is a portion of the Historic Iditarod Trail known as the Knik to Susitna Trail. The second is called Homestead Road, established in 1958 and used by homesteaders to access their property, according to the state. The state argues that both the Iditarod Trail section and the Homestead Road have continuously had a high level of use. The plaintiffs say access is not an issue, as three roads around the property eliminated the required use of the two private routes. yesterday. He made the trip from Seward in fifteen days. He reports that in one party bound for this district there are forty men. With reference to the strike on the government railroad at Anchorage, Mr. Bristol says that there is now a most hopeful outlook and that the residents of that city are looking forward to a prosperous summer.

One member of the mediation board appointed by the Secretary of Labor to adjust the difficulties of the laborers and the engineering commission had arrived on the scene, and had advised the men to return to work at the old scale of 37½ cents per hour pending the settlement of the controversy, and that the men had agreed to do this. The member of the mediation board practically assured the strikers that the demands of the men for 50 cents an hour would in all probability be granted. Trains had resumed operation on the railroad in consequence of this assurance. Arthur Shonbeck, the Anchorage business man, formerly of this district, left for the Outside to purchase goods on March 13. He had started a branch store at the town of Matanuska*, and the goods for the new enterprise already had arrived.

The Trail is in first-class condition with the exception of the coast end and the weather at present is excellent for traveling. *according to the Dictionary of Alaska Place Names by Donald Orth, Matanuska “was established as a railroad station about 1914. A town site was surveyed in 1916, because this was the junction of the main railroad line and the Matanuska branch to the coal fields.” Although there is no longer a town there, it is still listed as a “location” on the Alaska Railroad and is about 5.5 miles southwest of Palmer. From the Past… Fat Bike Expo Right-of-way court case “Iditarod Pioneer” March 25, 1916 MANY PERSONS ON TRAIL FROM SEWARD TO IDITAROD The arrivals over the trail from Seward during the past few days have been numerous. Many miners and laborers are on the trail, most of them on foot, and these usually leave for the creeks after a short stop in the city.

Among those who are expected hourly are J. E. Riley, Des McKenzie and R. M. Goebel. At the Halfway roadhouse last night, on their way here were Henry Shepard, Sam Hanawald and Nick Peterson. Fred Peterson and brother were with the Riley party. W. M. Bristol, a well-known Otter Creek miner, was among the arrivals By Caitlan Dowling As a kick-off to the Iditarod Trail Invitational, a 350 mile bike ride from Knik to McGrath, the Alliance participated in the Fat Bike Expo in Anchorage on February 26 and 27. Bikers, Fur Rondy goers and history buffs alike learned about the latest in fat bike technology, the history of fat biking and the history of the Iditarod National Historic Trail. Alliance president, Judy Bittner and Kyle Kider at the Alliance booth at the expo, next to Trail Administrator BLM Alaska’s booth.