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The first mile and a half of this leg is on city streets lined with thousands of spectators. The next six miles run east and south through the city greenbelts and parks on the extensive system of bike/ski paths. After crossing Tudor Road on an overpass, the trail winds east for several miles in a large wooded park area on the Tozier Track sprint dog trails; the Iditarider drop off point is about halfway through this part.

The trail then crosses onto the Fort Richardson army base and follows a maneuver road north for the next five miles, eventually crossing Ship Creek and Arctic Valley Road and onto the army's Moose Run Golf Course. Then it generally parallels the east side of the Glenn Highway frontage road northward to the military firing ranges behind the highway weight station, about four miles.

From the firing ranges it picks up another old road northeast through the woods, then cuts north through the forest directly to Hiland Road, about two miles. After Hiland Road, the last couple of miles are through a new subdivision behind the state correctional facility and then down to the Eagle River State Campground, across Eagle River, and finally up the hill on the frontage road to the VFW post, which is the checkpoint.

From the starting line in downtown Anchorage the trail runs down the middle of 4th Avenue on a lane of snow about 10 to 20 feet wide brought in by the city street department. The biggest problem here is the crowds, which can unnerve inexperienced dogs. You're also dragging one or two sleds and three people (you, your Iditarider, and your handler) with only 12 dogs.

Some drivers use one big sled instead of a regular sled and a "tag sled." Regardless, you must have one other person besides yourself (not counting your Iditarider). With one sled, both drivers share the runners while the Iditarider is in the basket; after the Iditarider gets out, the second driver can hop in the basket if he or she wishes. Don't go the single-sled route without checking first with race officials because the sled has to be a certain minimum size. And you can take your Iditarider all the way to Eagle River if you want, but make sure you check with race officials first.

If you're using a tag sled, your second-sled driver should do most of the braking for the team--you don't want to step on your brake on the front sled and then have your second sled smash you from behind. The lead sled is more difficult to handle with a tag sled because you can get "clotheslined" across turns sometimes and not have much control. A reliable leader is essential here to keep the team headed in the right direction.

After a few blocks the trail makes a hard right turn onto Cordova Avenue; this is an easy place to spill the sled. The trail runs south in the center of Cordova Avenue for about 12 blocks, then drops down a half-block hill to Mulcahy Stadium, home to Alaska League baseball in the summer. Behind the stadium, the trail joins the 200-mile Anchorage bike/ski path network and greenbelt system, heading east along Chester Creek.

The trail is usually in good shape in the greenbelts, running through the woods and occasionally through culverts under major streets. Inexperienced leaders can balk at the culverts. At Northern Lights Boulevard the trail starts to swing south and crosses the busy thoroughfare on a pedestrian/bike bridge; there is a sharp left turn at the south end of the bridge.

The trail then winds through the woods past Alaska Pacific University. Look for the "muffin stop" run by local well-wishers on this stretch as the trail heads south along a powerline behind a residential area--and be ready to grab a couple of fresh-baked heavy-duty munchies as you go by. The trail will turn right (west) off the powerline to follow the south shore of University Lake. Watch for a sharp bend to the right about halfway along the shore--a number of sleds slide off the inside of the curve every year and spill.

After the lake, the trail heads south under an underpass, past the new Alaska Native Medical Center, and then flies over Tudor Road on a big curved million-dollar pedestrian overpass. (The sides are high enough to block the dogs' view, so you shouldn't have any problems getting them to cross it.) Be watchful coming down the ramp off the overpass; in some years it may have a dropoff.

You'll run east along the south side of five-lane Tudor Road for part of a mile. Watch for a couple of sharp turns as the trail leaves the road to work back south and east into the woods and onto the Tozier Track system of dog trails in the huge undeveloped area called Centennial Park. After about eight miles from the start, the trail comes up a hill to a culvert under the Campbell Airstrip Road; this is where the Idita-Riders used to get off, but now they stay aboard for another mile or so.

After Campbell Airstrip Road, the trail wanders eastward for a few miles through the beautiful woods south of Tudor Road; this part of the trail is usually good with some gentle hills. At about the ten-mile point it crosses onto the heavily wooded Fort Richardson military reservation; watch for a couple of potentially poorly marked turns with berms here as the trail runs for half a mile south along a cleared powerline right of way before turning left (east) onto the fort.

This open area is the new pickup point for the Iditariders. It's more open than the previous disembarkation point and the potential for canine traffic james is much reduced. There will be handlers to help control the teams. This is a good time to check your booties, many of which will probably have been shredded on the trails out of downtown.

Once past the Iditarider dropoff and on the Army base, the trail follows an unplowed maneuver road for six miles or so; this section is usually wide and fast with a few hills. Watch for one nasty downhill right-hand switchback about three miles after entering the base. (There are always plenty of people there to see how you do.) Beginning about five miles after entering the base, the road is occasionally plowed; there may be rocks and bare spots. There will be a very long straight stretch, steadily climbing eastward up Ship Creek Valley. The new 18-hole addition to the Army's Moose Run Golf Course will be on your left. Watch for the very sharp switchback to the left as the road dives down to cross Ship Creek and then heads back northwest toward the older part of the golf course.

Watch the markings carefully after the Ship Creek bridge; the trail leaves the road and cuts left over to the golf course. The crossing of Arctic Valley Road and onto the golf course can be tricky and is at an angle with a couple of turns. There are always lots of people here and they can help get your team back on the trail if you miss the turn. (Anyone can help with an uncontrollable team.)

Once on the golf course, the trail follows the cart path northbound for a mile or so, leaving the course and picking up a sometimes hilly trail along a powerline right-of-way headed toward the Army firing ranges along the Glenn Highway. This stretch parallels the Glenn Highway frontage road and is always a favorite spectating location; expect to see hundreds of people.

A few miles past the golf course the trail crosses the parking lots at the firing ranges, also a popular viewing area. Past the firing ranges the trail runs east for half a mile alongside the last range, then makes a sharp left; watch for the turn. The next mile is through the woods on an old road, followed by another sharp left turn (northbound).

The next third of a mile is hazardous, running straight up and down several short, sharp hills on a very narrow cut through the trees; the back side of the hills can have two-foot-deep gouges where previous mushers have stood on their brakes to keep their teams under control. Your second-sled driver must be very careful to avoid ramming you from behind on the downhills.

The trail then comes out onto four-lane Hiland Road; crossing guards will stop traffic while teams cross on a lane of snow. On the north side of the road, the trail may run right or left, but will soon wind up in a new subdivision, where you will run along the roads behind the Hiland Mountain Correctional Facility. Eventually you will pass onto a narrower trail and drop onto the road down to the Eagle River state campground.

You will hit the road with a sharp right turn and start immediately down a long sweeping hill to the campground. The snow cover on the road is often sparse since the road is well traveled for the first half-mile to the turnoff to the prison. Try to stay in whatever snow there is when heading down the grade to the campground; brakes don't work very well on the asphalt pavement. (By the way, the inmates at the prison care for some of the dropped dogs from the race every year until they can be picked up.)

At the foot of the campground, the trail jumps off the road to the right and over a berm onto Eagle River; the river crossing is usually no problem. Watch for a sometimes tricky log bridge across a small creek on the north side of the river (bypassed in 1999). After the little creek, the trail pulls up onto the frontage road again and climbs straight up the steep hill to the Eagle River VFW Post, which has been the first checkpoint on the race since the initial Iditarod in 1973.

After you get the dogs taken care of, go inside the VFW and grab your bowl of moose stew and cornbread; you can get as many refills as you can stand. Don't forget to drink at least two quarts of liquids (Tang has been the unofficial race beverage for years)--you're already starting to get dehydrated whether you realize it or not. Then go home and take care of any last-minute things you need to get done--tomorrow morning is the restart, and then you'll be well and truly on your way to Nome.

Historical Note:

In the early Iditarods there was no restart. The mushers and their teams continued on up the Glenn Highway from Eagle River and crossed the Knik River on the highway bridges before doubling back down the west side of Knik Arm to the old town of Knik and the actual Iditarod Trail. The highway was only a narrow two-lane affair then, and traffic wasn't bad. By 1980, the state Department of Transportation decided that dogs and cars couldn't safely share the bridges any more and wouldn't issue the permits. Since there was no other way to cross the usually-open, glacier-fed Knik River, the mushers had to load their dogs at Eagle River, truck them over to the Knik area, and then restart from there. They had four hours from the time they pulled into Eagle River until they left the restart. The actual restart point varied, but eventually wound up in Wasilla.

The original Iditarod Trail, by the way, never went to Anchorage, although it did pass through Eagle River. It began at Seward, followed the future line of the Alaska Railroad to Girdwood, then jumped over Crow Creek Pass into Eagle River Valley. It probably passed not too far from the current checkpoint at the VFW post. When the Alaska Railroad (then called the Government Railroad because it was being built by the Federal Government) passed through a tent construction camp called Ship Creek--later renamed Anchorage--and headed out toward Wasilla in 1915 and 1916, the real start of the trail moved to Knik, where it remained until the end of the glory days of the dog teams in the 1930s.

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