The Checkpoints
Paul Gebhardt (Alaska)
McGrath 2001

McGrath checkpoint 2001
Nils Hahn (Germany) - McGrath 2001

Takotna 2001		 Dog resting in McGrath 2001

Cindy Gallea (Montana) - Takotna 2001
Mike Williams (Alaska)
leaving Takotna 2001
McGrath 2001

Teams bedded down in McGrath 2001
Replacement sleds in McGrath 2001
The Checkpoints
  checkpoint population   distance
1. Anchorage 254,849 The race starts at 10:00 a.m. Saturday in downtown Anchorage at 4th and "D" streets. 20 miles
to Eagle River
2. Eagle River 29,595 The mushers are met here by their support crews. Teams are unharnessed and loaded into dog trucks for the drive to Wasilla, thus avoiding open water on the Knik River and the often snowless Palmer Flats. 29 miles
to Wasilla
3. Wasilla
(Wah-SILL-a)		 4,635 The restart on Sunday is often held in Wasilla. From here to Knik the mushers follow a trail frequently used by snowmachiners. 14 miles
to Knik
4. Knik
(Kuh-NIK)		 272 Mushers pass the Iditarod Trail Committee headquarters and museum in Knik. 97 miles
to Yentna
5. Yentna
(YENT-na)		 8 This checkpoint is at the home of the Gabryzack family located on a switchback of the Yentna River. 34 miles
to Skwentna
6. Skwentna
(SKWENT-na)		 90 This checkpoint is located at the confluence of the Yenta and Skwentna rivers at Joe and Norma Delia's log house, also known as the Post Office.  From here the trail passes through swamp and forest.  All grades are moderate or gentle. 45 miles
to Finger Lake
7. Finger Lake 2 The checkpoint is at the Winter Lake Lodge. The trail from here is steep and treacherous, winding through heavy timber and sidehills. Travel is uphill to the summit. Once over the summit, the mushers head downhill through Dalzell Gorge, described as "the most singularly terrifying thing on the whole race". Snow up to 10 feet deep in not uncommon. 30 miles
to Rainy Pass
8. Rainy Pass 2 The checkpoint is at the Rainy Pass Lodge. 48 miles
to Rohn
9. Rohn
(RONE)		 0 This checkpoint is a cabin near the confluence of the Kuskokwim River's south fork and the Tatina River. 93 miles
to Nikolai
10. Nikolai
(NICK-o-lye)		 125 Nikolai is the first of the predominately Native villages mushers pass through in the race.   Most residents here are Athabascan Indians.  The checkpoint is at the Community hall. 48 miles
to McGrath
11. McGrath 479 Located at the confluence of the Kuskokwim and Takotna Rivers, McGrath is a regional hub with a full-service airport. 23 miles
to Takotna
12. Takotna
(Ta-COT-na)		 51 This checkpoint is located at the Community Center along the banks of the Takotna River. 38 miles
to Ophir
13. Ophir
(OH-fur)		 0 Here the race route splits. On even numbered years, it follows the northern route to Cripple. On odd numbered years, it follows the southern route to Iditarod. Now a ghost town, Ophir was founded in 1908 after the discovery of gold nearby. 90 miles
to Iditarod
     or
60 miles
to Cripple
The checkpoints on the southern race route
  checkpoint population   distance
14. Iditarod
(eye-DIT-a-rod)		 0 Now a ghost town, Iditarod is the half-way point on the southern trail.  Nothing remains of the bustling mining town of ten thousand people. Between 1908 and 1925, about $35 million in gold was taken from the region. 65 miles
to Shageluk
15. Shageluk
(SHAG-a-luck)		 139 This checkpoint is along the southern route on the banks of the Innoko River.  Shageluk is an Athabascan Indian community. On clear March nights, the temperature can drop around -20F to -30F degrees. 25 miles
to Anvik
16. Anvik
(ANN-vick)		 82 Mushers reach the Yukon River here at Anvik. 18 miles
to Grayling
17. Grayling 208 This checkpoint is in the southern route. Mushers travel along the Yukon River with the prevailing wind in their faces. 60 miles
to Eagle Island
18. Eagle Island 0 This checkpoint along the southern route was once home to the Conaster family.  From Eagle Island the trail follows the Yukon River to Kaltag. 70 miles
to Kaltag
The checkpoints on the northern race route
  checkpoint population   distance
14. Cripple 0 Cripple, now a ghost town, is the half-way point of the northern route. The checkpoint is merely a tent on the Innoko River. The temperature ranges from +10F to -55F degrees.  Some $35 million in gold was mined in Cripple between 1908 and 1925. 112 miles
to Ruby
15. Ruby 187 Mushers reach the Yukon River here at Ruby.  Ruby was founded in 1911 when a minor gold rush occurred and the population boomed to over a thousand, but since the 1920's fewer than 200 people, mostly Athabascans, have lived here year-round. 52 miles
to Galena
16. Galena
(gull-LEE-na)		 527 Galena is also an Athabascan village. Galena is the hometown of the last living participant of the 1925 diphtheria serum run, Edgar Nollner. 52 miles
to Nulato
17. Nulato
(noo-LAH-toe)		 359 Founded in 1838 by a Russian trader, Nulato is an Athabascan village and one of the few Native villages where dog mushing hasn't been abandoned for the convenience of snowmachines. 42 miles
to Kaltag
  checkpoint population   distance
19. Kaltag
(KAL-tag)		 234 At Kaltag, the southern and northern routes converge, so the mushers pass through the village every year. Kaltag is the last Athabascan Indian village before mushers cross an invisible boundary into Inupiat Eskimo country.  From here, the trail leaves the Yukon River and heads into the Nulato Hills to reach the Bering Sea. 90 miles
to Unalakleet
20. Unalakleet
(YOU-na-la-kleet)		 882 Unalakleet is the first checkpoint along the west coast, and sudden storms off the Bering Sea can be brutal. Unalakleet is an Inupiat Eskimo community. This is one of the few checkpoints on the trail where mushers change sleds exchanging their freighting sleds for lighter-weight racing sleds.  From here the landscape is windblown and hard. 40 miles
to Shaktoolik
21. Shaktoolik
(Shak-TOO-lick)		 199 From here mushers cross the frozen sea ice of Norton Bay on a trail that's all but invisible during storms.  This is one of the windiest stretches of the trail. 58 miles
to Koyuk
22. Koyuk
(Coy-uk)		 258 At the head of Norton Sound, Koyuk is the northern-most checkpoint.  48 miles
to Elim
23. Elim
(EE-lum)		 281 On the coast of the Bering Sea in windswept territory, local residents are poised to watch for travelers and if necessary will find lost mushers and get them back on the trail. Elim is an Inupiat Eskimo community. 28 miles
to Golovin
24. Golovin
(GULL-uh-vin)		 148 Another Inupiat Eskimo community, Golovin is located out on a spit.  To and from this checkpoint mushers must cross the ice. 18 miles
to White
Mountain
25. White Mountain 209 Mushers are required to take an eight-hour layover here.  White Mountain is an Inupiat Eskimo community. 55 miles
to Safety
26. Safety 0 This is the last checkpoint before reaching Nome. 22 miles
to Nome
27. Nome 3,576 As the leading mushers approach, spectators line the street.  The event is televised state-wide. Post-race interviews and picture taking sessions of the champion with the lead dogs draped in yellow roses. Nome stays on alert until the last of the mushers crosses the finish line.  
The 2001 Iditarod trip including the McGrath checkpoint was arranged by www.iditarodtours.com

 

 

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