Alaska Man Monday: Some Iditarod News, Bear Attacks, and Travel Musing

Having recently spent some time in Colorado, even the more beautiful parts of the state (that doesn’t include anywhere in the Denver metropolitan area) with the aspens in full golden glory, it’s all the more pleasing to be back in the Great Land. Loyal sidekick Rat and I got rained out of our grouse-hunting trip, but a guest in our camp proved to have been in the Navy for some years, so a couple of pleasant evenings were spent swapping war stories for sea stories, and that's always good fun.

Visiting folks and seeing my old stomping grounds is great. But home is home.

Now this is interesting; there is now (finally) an Iditarod Hall of Fame.

The historic Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race will soon have a Hall of Fame to “celebrate the people and dogs who have defined Alaska’s greatest tradition,” the Iditarod Trail Committee announced Monday.
The Iditarod Musher Hall of Fame’s inaugural class will be inducted at the Legends of Iditarod Gala in October.
The class will feature six of the sport’s most iconic and successful figures: Rick Swenson, Libby Riddles, Susan Butcher, Martin Buser, Jeff King, and Lance Mackey.
“This Hall of Fame allows us to preserve and honor the legacies of mushers and dogs who have given everything to the trail,” Iditarod CEO Rob Urbach said in a press release. “We are excited to share this historic evening with our community, supporters, and fans of the race.”
The induction ceremony is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Oct. 23 at the Alaska Aviation Museum.

The Iditarod is, of course, an old Alaska tradition, and while one shouldn’t mess with tradition, one can celebrate it. The Iditarod mushers and their dogs are dedicated and tough, and run a great race through rough country and harsh conditions. I’d say they’ve earned a Hall of Fame. See the linked articles for bios on the initial six inductees. Maybe next year’s race will yield one or two more.

Alaska Man score: 5 moose nuggets. Mush!

In other news, we’ve had another bear attack, this time in Seward.

A man and woman were taken to a Seward hospital after fighting off a bear Wednesday night, according to Alaska State Troopers.
According to AST, troopers received a report of the attack from the hospital around 9:11 p.m. The pair said they were attacked by a brown bear a quarter mile up Exit Glacier Trail in Seward. The report says they sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
The National Park Service was notified and the trail is closed until further notice. Local biologists, AST and Wildlife Troopers will assess the area “at first light,” according to the report.
The victims reported seeing only one bear, according to troopers spokesperson Tess Williams.
Authorities hope to collect hair samples and DNA at the scene and will interview the hikers if they are willing to talk, according to Jeff Selinger with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Yes, bears can be dangerous, and what’s more, they can be really unpredictable. Brown (grizzly) bears usually give humans a middling-wide berth, but they aren’t really afraid of people so much as they are cautious around them. They are a big, strong, tough, thick-skinned apex predator, though, and if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time, one of these big beasts may just decide to chew on you for a bit.

Fortunately, the human victims in this case are going to be OK, although I bet they’ll have some remarkable scars to brag about later.

Alaska Man score: 2.5 moose nuggets. Points for the people being OK; subtracting some because the bear, having once attacked humans, will have to be destroyed, and that’s a little sad.

Now, let’s take a look at my adventure in Colorado.

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