School and Library Presentations

I am delighted to visit schools and libraries to do an Iditarod presentation. I have native treasures to show, my gear from the trail, my sled dog and her gear, stories from the trail and if time allows, a CD with kennel training pictures, trail pictures, puppies and start and restart pictures. I adore sharing my enthusiasm for the Iditarod and, as a former teacher, enjoy the aspect of "teaching" while performing! I have brochures to send if you are interested. Please contact me at...................

aufderheyde@comcast.net

Here's to exciting and motivating learning through the teaching of the Iditarod, The Last Great Race on Earth! It is truly a "hook" for all ages.

"Finney"
Creator of the Teacher on the Trail Program, First Teacher on the Trail in 1999

Teacher on the Trail Program

The Teacher on the Trail Program was initiated in 1998 by Andrea Auf der Heyde “Finney”, of Rogers Elementary School, Bloomington, Indiana. I created the program because my school focused on Lifeskills, which were an integral and crucial part of the school’s educational curriculum. My elementary school was a C.L.A.S.S. school, which means Connecting Learning Assures Successful Students. I believed real life experiences incorporated in teaching make a lasting impression on the students' learning and inspire creative and self motivating learning.

I contacted Lois Harter at Iditarod Headquarters, and presented my proposal for my Teacher on the Trail Program. After a trip to AK to defend my proposal, I had to wait for a decision from the Iditarod Trail Committee. In the summer of 1998, I was informed that I could begin the Teacher on the Trail Program. I assured ITC (Iditarod Trail Committe)that I would indeed raise the money to fly to AK, pay for my housing while in AK, purchase all my gear for the Trail, purchase my cameras and computer, and be prepared for the weather and temperatures on the Trail. I received a wonderful surprise when Ronald McDonald House Charities chose to be my financial sponsor, thus making my educational dream a reality. I was passionate about being able to go out on the Iditarod Trail so I could send back reports of how I the mushers and dogs were using Lifeskills to achieve their goal of making the journey to Nome. I wanted students to understand how in life we constantly set goals, prepare for those goals, and use Lifeskills to achieve the goals. The Lifeskills that I stressed were perseverance, effort, organization, patience, initiative, sense of humor, cooperation, flexibility, problem solving, curiosity, common sense, courage, integrity and caring. There was no doubt that all of the Lifeskills would be used to be successful in the sometimes perilous and challenging journey to Nome.

I have been extremely delighted and proud that ITC embraced the educational value of the TOTT Program, and has allowed my vision to continue over the years. The Iditarod Sled Dog Race is an incredible teaching tool and through the TOTT Educational Program teachers around the world are learning the tremendous impact it has on all academic areas and grade levels. The enthusiasm, excitement, and passion that it generates from students and teachers is simply amazing. I deeply appreciated the opportunity to have my dream come true. As an educator very much involved in my own life long learning, it is fufilling to know that my dream continues to enrich the lives of students who also have been captured by the mystique of the Iditarod Sled Dog Race and the lure of the beautiful state of Alaska.

Jr. Iditarod

The Jr. Iditarod is held each year on the last weekend in February. This race is for 14 to 17 year old male and female mushers. The mushers meet at Iditarod Headquarters on Friday night to get their starting number and bib, and to hear about trail updates. The start of the race depends upon the weather, but seems to always be in the Wasilla area. It is about 150 miles long and includes an overnight at Yentna Station. The mushers must feed and care for their dogs and remain outside until their time to leave. After all the work is done and the dogs are napping, the mushers gather by a bonfire and tell their "tales of the trail". They must take a mandatory eight hour layover at Yentna Station.




The race reflects the relationship that has developed during the training and caring of their team. The number of dogs on the gangline for the Jr. Iditarod is ten. They cannot finish the race with less than five dogs on the line. Many of the young mushers go on to run the big Iditarod when they turn 18. It is a wonderful way to see a little more of the Alaskan wilderness and to bond with the dogs they have trained.




It is great to see that there are young adults from not only Alaska but the lower forty-eight, who participate in the Jr. Iditarod. Besides the material objects, gear, sled, gift certificates, etc. given the winner, a scholarship for further schooling is awarded also. The winner also participates in the Ceremonial Start of the Iditarod in Anchorage. He/She is flown to Nome to see the finish of the race. Many of the Iditarod mushers’ children participate in the Jr. Iditarod, and that is fun to watch! It is certainly not just a male’s sport for there are many females who have entered and have won the race and done quite well.

Iditarod

The Iditarod Sled Dog Race is held every year on the first weekend in March. You must be at least 18 years old to be in the race. The Iditarod begins in Anchorage and ends in Nome. It is said that the race is 1,049 miles long, but that is because Alaska is the 49th state, and the race is actually about 1,150 miles. There is a ceremonial start in Anchorage on Saturday, where folks who have won a bid to ride in the sled of a musher, ride out of Anchorage to Eagle River, the first checkpoint. They are called “Idita-riders”! There is a lot of media coverage and many visitors speak with mushers and take pictures of them, and their beautiful dogs. This is NOT the official start.



The race has two different routes in the interior. On odd years the race goes south through the villages of Iditarod, Shagaluk, Anvik and Eagle Island. Even years the race travels north through the villages of Cripple, Ruby and Galena. The little native villages enjoy having the teams, volunteers and media spend time in their village. The schools are closed and the children, who have made wonderful drawings for the teams, like to collect autographs from the mushers!



This race is called “The Last Great Race” and commemorates the brave run to deliver the serum to the children who had diphtheria in Nome. The Iditarod is run over part of the trail used by the dog teams that transported the medicine to Nome. Balto was the dog who pulled the sled with the medicine on it into Nome, but Togo was a dog who ran the longest distance through incredible storms and over sea ice. Both should be honored equally for their determination and effort!

On Sunday the actual race begins sending out each team at two minute intervals. This restart usually begins in Wasilla and mushers begin the race with 16 dogs. It is quite exciting to see and hear because the dogs are barking and leaping into the air to begin their journey to Nome. Each musher wears a bib with his/her number of their starting position on it. A group of “dog handler” volunteers help to hold the dogs in the chute until the count down is over. Along the way they must stop for an eight-hour layover on the Yukon River and then in White Mountain checkpoint. They also must stop for a twenty-four hour layover so that the difference in the start times evens out. They are not allowed to finish the race in Nome with less than five dogs on the gangline. They look forward to crossing mountain ranges, weaving down hair-pin turns, going down into a gorge, traveling through a burned out area dodging stumps left by the fire, racing into head winds on rivers, and then facing the storms and strong winds along the Bering Sea. The mushers know they are off on an incredible journey through the beautiful and challenging wilderness of Alaska, with 16 powerful, pounding canine athletes! To just feel a bit of what they experience while out on the Trail, would be a generous gift. The time they spend with their beautiful and courageous dogs in the extreme elements of an incredibly magnificent environment is a vacation like no other! And those dogs….what super stars that are born to run and love every moment. Man and his best friends take on the challenges of a journey using the lifeskills of perseverance, courage, flexibility, effort, problem solving, organization, responsibility, cooperation, patience, caring and even sense of humor, to achieve the goal they have been training for, just a marathoners do. What a run, what a journey and what a ride!

Annui

Annui (ah-noo-ee) was born on June 21, 1999. Annui had four brothers who were Happy, Sandy, Freckles and Balto. Annui’s mother’s name was Topaz and her father’s name was Sandman. Her grandfather was Argie, who was featured on a video entitled, Dogs of the North, An Alaskan Epic, and who was the patriarch of Plettner Kennels for many wonderful years. Argie was one of Lynda Plettner’s main lead dogs and raced until he was 12 years old. Sandman is Argie’s son and had the same desire to run and pull, and had many of the same wonderful qualities as Argie. Both had an incredible work ethic! Argie is no longer at the kennel in body, but his loving, strong spirit is always present. Sandman is still there and tolerates many novice mushers, such as me, as they learn the ins and outs of mushing and is a faithful leader taking us out onto the surrounding trails and always leading us back to the kennel.



I earned Annui by working at Lynda Plettner’s kennel during the summer of 1999. She generously gave me Annui because I had taken care of the litter and actually took the place of their mom as they grew up. Lynda knew I was especially drawn to little Annui, the only female in the litter.
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Annui returned with me the next summer at the age of one. Along with working for Lynda, we also introduced Annui into the thrill of being hooked to a gangline and pulling. Even though she had been away from the kennel for about 10 months, she responded to her training without any hesitation. She and her brothers were hooked up single file, and her dad took them out on the trail as their lead. Annui learned how to run in her space, run through a culvert, run through a large area of water, run with a partner (on the left side of the gangline because she is a “lefty”), and best of all, run in lead with her dad Sandman. He taught her the “gee”, right, and “haw”, left, commands, and she now responds to the commands, and goes right or left when asked.

Annui’s brother Balto was sold to a family, and he is now living in Germany. Brother Freckles was bought by a musher who attempted the Iditarod two times, made it her third time and he is now part of her kennel. Another musher bought her brothers Happy and Sandy, and the two boys ran the 2004 Iditarod. Sandy sustained an injury ¾ of the way through the trip and was dropped, but Happy ran all the way to Nome. When I saw him in Nome, he was resting, but he raised his head and thumped his tail recognizing his human mom. Later when I would check on him, he would sit up and look my way as soon as I entered the Nome dog lot. Happy became ill when running his second Iditarod and I saw him and said my goodbye the summer of 2005. Sandy is still with musher Sue, and lives his life enjoying roaming free at Sue's kennel. Annui and Happy looked a lot alike with the same coloring and markings.

Annui likes to play in the snow and run with the wind. Her favorite snow sport is soccer and she likes to play fetch anytime, outside and inside! She has decided that she is a hunting dog, and attempts to catch squirrels, rabbits and birds. She is never successful but enjoys the run! Annui was raised in my classroom when I brought her from Alaska, so she is especially fond of children. She loves to come to school with me and looks saddened when I leave home without her. She went to canine school and has learned her obedience commands. We continue to practice them, which is very important because she is a big dog. She likes to go to schools and libraries so she can dress up in her harness and booties. I have a piece of the gangline that I can hook her up to, so the children can see the space in which a dog runs when part of a team. I also have a sled that she pulls when we have a good snowfall!

Annui is a very gentle and loyal dog. She can run free because when she was a pup, I took her mom out of the crate and I became her mom by feeding her food and water, and cleaning her area. When she runs free she will look back to see if I am coming. She has the eyes of a wolf but the heart of a marshmallow. She loves her life of sitting on her loveseat and looking out the front window. She watches the squirrels as they tease her, and tolerates the taunting of the neighborhood cat as it s-l-o-w-l-y crosses the street and walks across HER front yard! She loves her freedom, especially when snowflakes are falling and the wind is whistling. She has a smile on her face as she frolics and dances with the wind. Her roots are in Alaska, but her heart is with me. We are lucky to have each other!

Plettner Kennels

Lynda Plettner, who is an twelve time Iditarod finisher and recipient of the coveted Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award, is owner and operator of the Plettner Kennels in Big Lake, AK. It can be found off the Parks Highway north of Wasilla, Home of the Iditarod. While working under her tutelage for two summers, I learned about the raising and training of the Iditarod Sled Dogs and the incredible amount of dedication it takes to manage a kennel and prepare for the Iditarod race.

The first summer I learned about the daily jobs involving the care of the dogs and the tasks that are required to maintain a topnotch kennel. I was constantly reminded of the importance of keeping the dog areas clean and the dogs watered. Eventually I was given the joyful, but a bit stressful job, of gaining the pregnant moms' trust, feeding them and cleaning under their cages, and then making certain the babies were kept on a healthy track. These puppies would hopefully become super stars of the kennel, so the proper care was of utmost importance. Keeping the areas clean and germ free was a constant task. The pure joy came when the babies began to recognize me! As I approached their kennels, I would sing or speak to them, and I could hear them scampering around in their cages. As a result of my commitment to my tasks and to the kennel, Lynda “paid” me by giving me one of the puppies that I had fallen in love with!She was worth more than any amount of money.



Plettner Kennels is a training ground for future Iditarod mushers. Lynda leases teams and provides the training, because her trails could actually take you all the way to Nome. She has had a number of rookie mushers cross under the burled arch in Nome. Lynda is a tough instructor but she knows her stuff when it comes to dog training, and she has high expectations of her “students”. She is a hard worker and expects that out of her volunteers, employees and mushers.



The kennel offers sled rides in the winter, and tours of the kennel and rides on a wheeled cart in the summer. Folks can play with babies and puppies, see her future stars, mingle with her A-team, receive explanations about her sled, gear and equipment and hear wonderful, funny and exciting tales from the trail. Lynda even lets you try to bootie or harness the dogs. It is a fun visit for everyone!

Finney has a blog!

Welcome to Finney's first blog.