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Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance, PO Box 2323, Seward AK 99664 http://www.Iditarod100.org IditarodHTA@gmail.com The Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance is an equal opportunity program provider and employer. The Iditarod Historic Trail Alliance promotes 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 and developing partnerships that foster stewardship, commitments and support. Forest Service 10-Year Trail Shared Stewardship Challenge The Forest Service is inviting agencies, employees, partners, and volunteers alike to share in the leadership of achieving sustainable National Forest System trails through implementation of the 10-Year Trail Shared Stewardship Challenge.
The Trail Challenge was officially launched in February last year by Forest Service chief Vicki Christiansen. The Trail Challenge focuses the energy of employees, partners and volunteers over the next decade to achieve a more sustainable trail system that is socially valued, economically viable and that supports ecological resiliency. Main outcomes of the Trail Challenge include better trails that are easier to access, an adequate trail workforce and good trail information to inform decisions and communicate about trails. A big part of that work will be engaging and sharing leadership with local communities and stakeholders in trail priorities and institutionalizing equality, diversity and inclusion principles in all aspects of the collective work.
Visit the Forest Service Trail Challenge web page for more information: https://www.fs/usda.gov/managing-land/trails/10YTC From the past… “Seward Weekly Gateway” September 3, 1910 ANTON EIDE TELLS OF THE IDITAROD Anton Eide, Superintendent for the Alaska Road Commission, reached Cordova from the Iditarod three days ago. He was sent to the gold camp by Major Richardson to make a reconnaissance in reference to trails needed in that country and left there August 4. To the Cordova Alaskan Mr. Eide gave the following facts concerning the new district: Mr. Eide says that a good small camp is assured, although at present everything is very much overdone.
He estimates that there are 2500 people in the Iditarod and Kuskokwim, the four principal towns being Iditarod City, Discovery City on Otter creek, Flat City and Dikeman, and sizes up the situation as follows: Of the kind of mining that consists in taking out gold, there is comparatively little going on. Development work in general, but in most instances, this is confined to opening the ground, stripping and other preparatory work for the mining that will be done next year. Flat Creek is the banner creek and apparently possesses four and one half miles of pay streak. It gives promise of being a very rich producer. Otter creek has a mile of ground that looks like a pay streak, but she is unquestionably spotted and a ticklish gamble. Willow has a mile of narrow pay streak that will go $2 to the foot, in all probability.
Black is counted a good creek but the work there is in the preliminary stages. Granite has good pay but is considered chiefly from a 1 The Tripod July 2021 hydraulicking standpoint. Bonanza and her tributaries are showing signs of life that may add a large area to the producing district. Iditarod City seems destined to be the main town of this camp, ten miles from Discovery Otter by wagon road. This road can be made an excellent highway. The town contains about 600 people and at the present time 150 houses and tents. It boasts several large business concerns, large warehouses, a big dock and a fine waterfront. It has a two-story hotel, a telephone line, many restaurants, lodging houses, clothing and general merchandise establishments, hardware stores, a tin-shop, blacksmith shop, two saloons running, several buildings, a sawmill, a courthouse and a jail.
There is also a restricted district and a cemetery, but there is no one living in the latter place at present. Otter City, at the mouth of Otter creek, also makes a bid for fame with a well selected townsite, fifty comfortable log cabins along the waterfront, several business concerns, and a waterway to the creeks that is carrying freight every day. She claims the cheapest and best means of transportation to the diggings and the fight with Iditarod City and her road will carry over into the next season. On the creeks Discovery City is the main Discovery City business center at the present time with a large number of mercantile concerns established there. One Above constitutes a small community, Boulder City, the ideal location for the creek town, has been overlooked, and Flat is putting in a strong bid as the chief center next year.
From the mouth of Boulder to One Above on Otter there is an almost continuous string of cabins and tents, the former predominating, and clustered in bunches that constitute the separate towns. There are probably 300 dwellings and business houses in these combined communities. There are over 1000 tons of food supplies and machinery in the camp and 5000 tons reported coming from the outside. Much of the latter will be landed at Dikeman, the allsummer head of navigation and will be brought to Iditarod city by small steamers. Dikeman will be a warehouse town. It is figured that freight will be transported from that point to the diggings over the winter trail, a distance of approximately thirty miles. Iditarod City and Otter City are and will be outfitting points for a wide area of country where a great deal of prospecting will be done this winter.
Outfits are now proceeding to the head of the Iditarod and crossing to the Kuskokwim, and from the reports received it appears almost certain that many creeks will be opened up that will pay tribute to the present camp. #HikeUnited21 Outdoor Advocacy Project, Women Who Hike, In Solidarity Project and Latino Outdoors Project are sponsoring #HikeUnited21, to get people out on trails during the month of August, any trail, any distance and it can be with friends, family or alone. The hope is to get at least one group together from every state, banded together under the hashtag #HikeUnited21. There is no financial obligation to become a #HikeUnited partner, just a commitment to spread the word and be part of the movement. For more information go to: #HikeUnited21 2