Checkpoints
Anchorage (start)- This start is for television and audiences and sponsors. You cannot run a team from Anchorage to Nome becayuse outside of Anchorage there is a freeway system that cannot be stopped. Gary hooked up and got his team ready too early before it was his turn to go, so the dogs were very excited and wanted to run. when it was finally their turn to start the race, the dogs started on the count of three(instead of 5). Paulsen didn't use Cookie as the leader dog, that wsas a huge mistake. The dogs didn't make the turn of the race and ran all over, and ran through people's yards.
Knik- This is where the race actually starts. The restard went fairly well for Paulsen. He trusted Cookie to know where the trails were, and where to go, because he had no idea if his team was on the trail anymore.
Skwentna- As time went by, Paulsen started following tracks and these tracks led to a cliff and then he realized that his team was on a trail that the snowmaker machines made. Paulsen noticed that other teams followed Paulsen's lead, and they were all on the wrong trail. When the teams stopped to turn around, a moose came and started to stomp on another teams lead dog, and killed it.
Finger Lake- Paulsen got to the Finger Lake checkpoint and realized that he was just like a dog. While he was cooking his own meat, the dogs meat accidently cooked both meats together, but Paulsen didn't care because he was so hungry so he ate the meat anyways.
Rainy Pass- Happy Canyon wasw a very steep and dreadful hill on this route. Paulsen trusted Cookie with his life, Cookie led the way and then the team dropped over a cliff, that was the start of HAppy Canyon. Paulsen's team landed flat on the ice of the River below the cliff. As Paulsen was recovering the jump he met another musher, then took off shortly after that to the next checkpoint.
Rohn River- Along this route was a trail called the Burn. the Burn was a major part of Rohn River. The weather was 30 below degrees. As the team went through the trail they ran into a team and a musher showed Paulsen buffalow's that were playing a game on the ice, they stayed and watched these buffalow games for a little while, then he went on with the race. Paulsen started hallucinating, and he was starting to talk to people that weren't really there. there was a moose that attacked Paulsen's team. He tried killing the moose, but he then realized that he wasn't with his team anymore. He then woke up to his team all settled down and sleeping, he had been hallucinating about that whole situation.
Nikolai- Paulsen was running in the high thirties out of 70 teams. this run was simpler than the others. Paulsen just thought about his life the whole time on his way to the next checkpoint, McGrath.
McGrath- At this checkpoint Paulsen ate at a little cafe, and he ordered 5 plates of eggs and bacon, he ate all the plates without feeling a dent in his stomach, but he stopped ordering because he felt embarrassed. He realized that he didn't have much money on him because he forgot to send some to each checkpoint, but the cook said it was free because he was a musher in the Iditarod.
Ophir- gary's team arrived at Ophir at dark. The wind was bad and on the way he and his team could barely walk anywhere because of the strong winds. They had to run 180 miles until their next checkpoint. Their team followed the wrong route, and eleven other teams followed Paulsen's team, they all crashed eachother. Paulsen met a man, then later saw him getting mad at his dog, and Gary saw him pull out his gun and kill his own dog because he wasn't cooperating with the musher. Gary badly wanted to fight with the musher, but then he realized that it wasn't his job, and that it wouldn't cahnge anything, so he went onward to the next checkpoint.
Iditarod- Gary could not stop thinking about how much he hated that man who killed his own dog. This is all what Gary thought about on his way to the checkpoint, this made the route very quick. Gary explained the town of iditarod to be a ghost town. He told an official what he had seen, with the musher murdering his own dog, so then that man was immediately diqualified. Gary was not at this checkpoint for long because his dogs wanted to keep running.
Shageluk- Gary ran into a team of dogs without a musher, and then saw in the distance a girl came out of a bush and said she needed her privacy of going to the bathroom. At the chekpoint, Shageluk, a little kid gave Gary three bowls of moose chilli. Gary was very satisfied with the food.
Kaltag- The wind was way too cold, it was 60 below. Paulsen had put on all of the clothes he had brought, but he was still very cold. He thought that he had frost bite on him, he mad esure that the dogs didn't have any signs or suspissions of the start of frostbite on their feet or anywhere else on them. Gary had to frequently stop along this trail to put ointment on the dog's feet.
Unalakleet- Gary was riding along the trail, and saw in the distance a fire and went over to stop for the night. A man walked up and Gary realized that this man was cheating because a guy on a snow machine came up with a pizza, so he asked for some pizza too. The guys gave him some pizza because they didn't want Gary to snitch on them for the fact that they were cheating. If these teams got caught, then they would all be disqualified.
Shaktolik- Gary went to a house with five other mushers in a room, and they were all quiet so Gary asked why they were, and one guy said that you can die out on this run. Gary went out and started the run and almost fell in the water because the ice was very thin in a certain area where he went over. Gary yelled "Gee around" to get his dogs to go around the thin ice, then he was fine on the rest of the route.
Koyuk- When Gary got to the checkpoint a checker asked him if he'd seen anyone out on the trail that he had just ran. Gary said that he hadn't but the man he saw and talked to at the last checkpiont was the one who was missing, but then later they found out that he had completely missed the checkpoint at Koyuk, and had gotten disqualified.
White Mountain- People have scratched at the White Mountain checkpoint because this is said to be a very difficult run (50 miles from Nome). Gary was bouncing off moguls and flying through the air. Gary made it throught the run, and the pass throught the mountain was a lot better for Gary than it has been to others.
Port Safety- Gary could see the lights of Nome from safety checkpoint. Gary didn't want to stay at the checkpoint for long because him and the dogs were very eager to get to Nome.
Nome (finish)- A crowd of people were waiting by the finish line. There were lights and cameras and reporters and Gary's wife and son, and the mayor of nome welcoming him. A reporter asked Gary, "What have you got to say?" and Gary responded to "I'm foing to come back and win this race".