By Keegan Fritts
In 1925, a daring sled dog relay delivered life saving serum to children in the village of Nome, Alaska. This event is now commemorated each March by the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, which began in March 1973. The third year of the Last Great Race, my Father and Mother, Rob and Cyndy Fritts, who were new residents to the Skwentna, Alaska community, assisted Joe and Norma Delia at the Skwentna Checkpoint. While the Delias and my parents have since passed on, their legacies and traditions continue at the Delia Outback cabin, which has been the Skwentna Checkpoint for 47 years.
As a first generation Alaskan, this tradition is rooted within my heritage. The Skwentna Checkpoint is one of very few checkpoints that is orchestrated and operated entirely of a team of volunteers that have become family, stretching from Tacoma and Fox Island, Washington to right at home in Big Lake and Eagle River, Alaska. The group that assembles the first weekend in March typically totals 37 volunteers, 6 veterinarians, 4 Iditarod Trail Committee (ITC) Communications, and depending on the count of mushers, 1-2 Race Judges. The Skwentna Checkpoint and the well oiled group of volunteers facilitate the Delia's Hospitality by welcoming on average 68 - 85 mushers (2020's race had 58) and their dog teams (up to 16 dogs per team) during the 12 hours they are with us in Skwentna. During this 12-hour time period, imagine the energy of 1,000 - 1,400 eager K-9 athletes all parked on a frozen river in a herringbone pattern, awaiting their next high caloric snack.
Planning for the following year’s race begins in November, and life is all things Iditarod by January. Each November I reflect on the serenity that one can find on Joe Delia's trap line which makes up a segment of the Official Iditarod Trail as it bends off the Skwentna River up trail towards Finger Lake.
To read more about the Iditarod and the Skwentna Checkpoint, I recommend reading Terrie Henke's Eye on the Trail: Behind the Scenes at Skwentna, as Terrie has done such a beautiful job of captivating this special experience.
