Iditarod: Day 2

Iditarod: Day 2

3/5/26

Anchorage

Sled Doggos Pet: 0, but I did touch meet a bunch of mushers

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My alarm went off at 4am (6am CO time) but ignored it because it was “vacation”. My brain missed the memo because I was very much awake. I tried snoozing but it only lasted another half hour before I was getting itchy to move. Anchorage was still very dark outside and looking up the coffee places nearby informed me that they were closed for another couple hours. Up before coffee places?! This was new for me.

I did some yoga and read in bed to burn some time. I made room coffee in their knock off keurig until about 6:30am. It was still very dark outside and looking at the weather app, it said -1. But my caffeine addiction was raring its ugly head so I decided this would be a good morning to use as a “dress rehearsal” for the ceremonial start morning where I would be outside for a very long time. So I bundled in layers and walked to the coffee spot on my recommended list, Kaladi Bros.

Damn, that coffee was goooood. It could seriously give Bardo a run for it. (Bardo is our local Lakewood haunt that we get nearly every Sunday.) Needing some food, I looked at the recommended list and Fire Island Bakery, you’re up to bat.

By the time I got to the bakery the hot sandwiches were gone but I was able to get a melty croissant thing that was super satisfying. Since I didn’t have any volunteer obligations until the afternoon I figured a walk along the coastal trail (also on my list) would be a good opportunity despite the overcast sky.

I attempted to access it from a nearby park but there was a giant retaining wall that looked a bit precarious to scale down in all my layers. It also landed on a busy road and then there was a fence to clear. So I back tracked to an official entry point. With the overcast sky and the snow and ice, the actual water line and coast was hard to differentiate. It was a pleasant walk nonethe less, despite the bitter cold. It reminded me a bit of the Strand in LA with some bougier houses along the path.

By the time I got back to my hotel I was very, very cold. I pushed the nagging dreaded thoughts of the ceremonial start morning to the back of my head and took the hottest shower the hotel would allow…it wasn’t very hot. To attempt to further warm myself, I crawled into bed and read some more. There may have been napping. In my defense, the night was going to be a late one.

Around lunch time I crawled out from my napping cocoon of blankets and had some leftover pizza. It was much better reheated with the congealed cheese. I got ready for the Musher’s Banquet that I would be volunteering at that evening and walked over to the convention center. I had a fair bit of time before I needed to arrive so I hit up the Irish bar across the street first. Liquid courage and all that.

The banquet was … chaotic. A bit disorganized but I volunteered for worse. It seemed there was a lot of people for a few set up tasks that would have been smoother and faster with just a few people to tackle them. After setting up we had several tasks throughout the night. I first had to greet people at the door and direct them to the registration desk. One lady dressed in rather expensive looking clothes sported a very impressive black eye. Is this town just ready to rumble or is it just me?

Prior to the dinner, donors could spend extra money attending a meet & greet with the mushers. There is an impressively large number of super fans. I was able to sneak in and introduce myself to one of the mushers, Ryan Redington. A surgeon I worked with in Minnesota saved one of his dogs a few years back and has remained friends with him and his wife. They took a picture of us for their Facebook page. (click his name for the link to the page)

Once most of the guests had arrived for check in I was stationed at a new registration table upstairs in case someone had missed the very large registration sign downstairs and need to check in prior to entering the event room for dinner. We got a single person, so I was mostly chatting with other volunteers.

Once dinner started, they did a presentation while people ate followed by an auction for fundraising. I was then a “spotter”. If you have never been to an auction (me, I had never been to an official auction prior) they have staff spread out to spot any bidders. It was my job to look for any bidders and wave a light saber to alert the auctioneer of a bid so it wouldn’t be missed. While it wasn’t overly technical (my section was full of nonbidders, thank god) it was definitely anxiety-inducing. I was thankful when that part was over.

As dinner finished, the attendees then could go to the auction table to pay for silent auction items. I next became a “runner”, where I would walk, ain’t no one running with that many people in the way, to retrieve the item for the attendee. By the time the event was over, I was exhausted. I debated getting an uber back to the hotel but looking at the app, I would have waited longer than it would have taken me to walk. Was I nervous walking downtown in the dark, no. There were plenty of lights and sticking to the main roads was easy and busy enough. I think people get danger built up more in their heads than truly exists. That said, I have always listened to my gut, but my gut was tired and wanting my hotel room so we power walked to stay warm.

Long shift on the feet

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