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This leg follows the ancient Kaltag portage, a relatively straight valley angling southwest through the coastal mountains; the route has been used for millennia by Natives. It is normally a well-used snowmachine highway. It marks the major transition from the inland river environment to the Bering Sea coast. Conditions can be vastly different at opposite ends of the portage, and the east wind is a constant threat on the western half (although in 1999 the west wind was howling at the east end of the portage).

The distance to Unalakleet is actually about 80 miles. Plan on 10 to 15 hours for this trip, depending on whether you want to camp along the way, and for how long. (By this stage of the race your team may be able to make it without a major rest.) If the weather gets bad, though, this trip can easily take 18 or 20 hours. There are two excellent resting spots on the trail, fifteen miles apart: the Tripod Flat cabin is 28 miles from Kaltag, and the Old Woman cabin is 15 miles farther on, about 37 miles from Unalakleet. Both are snug log cabins maintained by BLM and the local villages and can provide welcome refuges in case you encounter a storm.

The trail climbs for 15 miles from Kaltag through mostly wooded country to the summit of the portage, about 800 feet above sea level. Then it descends slowly into the valley of the Unalakleet River, staying mostly in wooded or semi-wooded country with some excursions across taiga and open areas until Old Woman, then running across mostly open tundra on the south side of the river valley. The trail drops back down onto the Unalakleet River about 9 miles out of town, making a couple of short portages across river bends before crossing the frozen lagoon into Unalakleet.

Check the weather carefully before leaving Kaltag. In a few years the race has actually been shut down because of storms on the coast, or drivers were at least advised not to leave Kaltag. Watch conditions closely as you work your way to the sea, and be prepared to hole up in one of the shelter cabins if conditions turn bad, which they can do out here with breathtaking swiftness.

On this stretch of trail the primary markings will be permanent four-inch metal reflectors on trees, or on wooden tripods in open areas. Most of the reflectors are yellow or gold, but many have weathered to various shades of off-white; they still reflect well, but may be hard to spot during daylight. You might want to keep your headlight on in twilight periods to help you pick out the reflectors.

The permanent reflectors often mark a corridor rather than a specific track; this corridor can be a hundred yards wide, and there are multiple markers in many sections. The exact hard-packed trail will usually be marked with standard Iditarod trail stakes. This can be a major factor on the western end of the trail where it runs for miles across open tundra and the wind can drift everything in within minutes. When the trail is drifted over, you'll want to try to follow the trail stakes because that's where the packed trail is. (You don't want to be floundering through unpacked open snow with your dog team if you can avoid it.)

For 2000, the Iditarod National Historic Trail, Inc. (INHT), a non-profit corporation that works closely with the Bureau of Land Management, installed mile markers on the western end of the trail, beginning at Old Woman Cabin and continuing on to Nome. The markers are only on those stretches of trail that correspond with the original Iditarod and reflect the mileage of the original 977-mile Iditarod Trail (or more correctly, the Seward-to-Nome Mail Trail). The mileages are from Seward. Regardless, they will give you a good measure of how far and how fast you are going. 

You'll leave Kaltag toward the airport (which lies a mile west of town) and then run along the right (north) side of the runway for a mile. The trail then works southwest up the valley of the Kaltag River through woods and occasional open areas, slowly climbing. After about ten miles the trail begins to climb more steeply in places, eventually angling up the south side of the valley to the summit of the portage, 800 feet above sea level and 15 miles from Kaltag. There may be some narrow stretches with some sidehill in the last few miles to the summit, along with a few moderate grades, but normally nothing too serious. This stretch of the trail has been hit increasingly hard by Iron Dog snowmachine racers. In 2000 much of the trail from Kaltag to the summit was badly mogulled and rutted.

Once past the summit you'll drift southwestward along the north side of the valley, slowly descending. The trail will pass through a mix of wooded areas, taiga, and open stretches, occasionally dropping down to cross small streams (all of which should be well frozen). At about the 20 mile point you'll head across a two-mile open area. This is the divide between the Yukon drainage and that of the Unalakleet River. Shortly afterwards you'll enter an area of pothole lakes and the trail will go over what appear to be sand dunes. At 25 miles you'll come out onto a long, gently sloping flat area; this is Tripod Flat.

At the far end of Tripod Flat will be a standard wooden BLM sign pointing to the Tripod Flats cabin, a hundred yards off the trail in the trees on the left. The access trail makes a loop for easy-off, easy-on. The cabin has a good stove and bunks and is open to all comers. If you stop there, just be sure to replenish the firewood before you pull out. (This is basic Bush etiquette--the next person to use the cabin may need fire RIGHT NOW!)

Immediately after the Tripod Flats sign, the trail will cross a bridge over a 12-foot-wide, 6-foot-deep gully with open water. There are no railings on the bridge, so try to stay in the middle. The bridge reportedly collapsed during the 2000 race, but will probably be repaired for 2001. After the bridge the trail runs up and over several ridges in generally open country. You'll notice the Unalakleet River flowing in from the right (north). It will swing southwest and will become the chief river in the portage valley you're following.

The trail will stay on the south side of the river, running across low hills and ridges and dipping down to cross some side creeks and rivers. About five miles after leaving Tripod Flat you'll dip sharply into the treeline of Ten Mile Creek for a quarter mile of tight, twisting trail. Be careful here--you can wreck badly.

A few miles after Ten Mile Creek the trail will run fairly straight along a low bluff close above the Unalakleet River. In this area you'll begin to see Old Woman Mountain, with its distinctive flat top. The trail will slowly work its way down toward the river, where it will swing around the base of a low ridge to the left. Watch for a hundred yards of overflow and glaciered ice up to a couple of feet thick. This can be a tricky area.

The trail will then start back up over some gentle ridges directly toward Old Woman Mountain. After a few miles of short hills and generally open running, you'll drop onto a series of beaver ponds and looping sloughs of the Old Woman River. After about a mile, the trail will jump sharply left off a slough into the trees--don't miss this turn, because the slough joins Old Woman River just ahead and there is almost always open water at the junction.

Once in the trees, the trail winds tightly for a hundred yards and crosses in front of an old plywood shack. This is the original Old Woman cabin, 15 miles past Tripod Flat and 37 miles from Unalalkeet. It's still usable and has a good stove, although it's a bit the worse for wear and has been mildly trashed over the past few years. If you stop here, make sure you leave something (such as food) for the Old Woman when you leave. You don't want her ghost chasing you to Nome and throwing bad luck your way.

After the old cabin, the trail winds for another 50 yards through the trees and drops quickly onto Old Woman River. In 1999 there was serious, hip-deep overflow here for a day or so--be cautious for the next mile while running on the river. (You'll certainly be warned of any problems before you leave Kaltag.) The trail normally runs up the river for a hundred yards, onto the right bank around a bend, and then back onto the river for another hundred yards. As you round the bend on the river you'll see the first of the new mile markers on a sturdy tripod to your right--Mile 665.

Immediately after Mile 665 you'll cross the river to the west bank, run through a few hundred yards of trees, and then pop out onto the tundra. As soon as you come out of the treeline and onto the tundra you'll see a BLM sign for the new Old Woman cabin, just off the right of the main trail. It also has an easy off, easy on access trail. This relatively new log cabin is similar to the Tripod Flat cabin, and even has an outhouse.

By the way, none of the cabins on this trail has water readily available; you'll have to melt snow for your cooker if you want to feed the dogs a proper meal. Caution: Firewood can be hard to find at the new Old Woman cabin without an expedition into the woods. You might consider bringing firewood (or maybe a few easy-lighting artificial fire logs or even a ten-pound bag of charcoal) with you from Kaltag. You may want fire in a hurry here if you're wet or cold.

As soon as you leave the new Old Woman cabin, the trail will run on the open tundra, staying a mile or two south of the greenbelt along the Unalakleet River. The new mile markers will steadily count up toward Unalakleet, which is Mile 700. You'll cut through some straggly treelines along creeks flowing in from the south, but mostly you're out in the open. This stretch of trail (all the way to Unalakleet) is notorious for wind and drifts and sudden snowstorms. There are also some patches of light overflow and glaciering. Watch carefully for the markings, which are fastened on wooden tripods every few hundred yards.

At night you should be able to pick out the flash of the Unalakleet airport beacon (green, then white), or at least its reflection. As long as you can see the beacon flash, you'll know it's not snowing between you and Unalakleet. In this respect you'll be like the early airmail pilots, flying at night in all kinds of weather from one airway beacon to the next.

You'll cross one relatively large stream flowing in from the south, the Chiroskey River, at Mile 683. It has a significant treeline and you'll cut through a mile-wide wooded stretch in the process of crossing it. There's an old sign along this stretch that says 20 miles to Unalakleet--it's actually about 18 miles.

After the Chiroskey you have eight more miles on the tundra before the river makes a 45-degree right turn (Mile 690.5) and drops back down onto the Unalakleet River for the final run into town at Mile 692. (This is the last mile marker until Mile 697, three miles from Unalakleet.) IMPORTANT! This stretch of trail is treacherous in bad visibility or when the wind is blowing and there's any snow to move around. Be VERY careful to go from trail marker to trail marker if conditions get bad.

One you're back on the river you actually have about 10 miles to go--the current trail winds around on the river and is a bit longer than the original. You're not home free yet, although you're much better off than out on the open tundra. The weather can still be bad enough to keep you from finding your way to town. Watch for patches of glare ice and overflow on the river. The trail makes a couple of portages to stay to the north side of some bends. There are plenty of trees along the river if you need shelter, as well as a number of cabins, several of which are inhabited (with dogs). A couple of miles after dropping onto the river you'll pass what looks like a town on the steep hill to the right of the river--this is a summer fish camp for people from Unalakleet.

After the last shortcut through the trees, you'll pass Mile Marker 697 and then cut up a low hill. From the top you'll see Unalakleet sitting on its barren spit across a frozen lagoon. The snow is usually very sparse for the last few miles into town, and the last mile across the lagoon is often on glare ice. If the wind is blowing (the town's name means Place Where the East Wind Blows) it can be an interesting skate.

The checkpoint in previous years was in the old semi-abandoned Covenant School gymnasium, which was opened up for the race every year. For the past couple of years the checkpoint has been at the Bingo Hall next to the Native Association building. In any case, follow the markers carefully across the lagoon and you'll end up in the right place. The checker and his assistants will meet you and guide your team to the parking area.

There is a kitchen at the checkpoint to serve mushers and the relatively large contingent of race personnel here. Unalakleet is a major logistics hub for the race and the Iditarod Air Force bases out of here for its work along the coast. Take your sleeping bag in with you after you've got the dogs taken care of. You can hang your wet gear in the boiler room to dry. There is usually hot water available for dog food and even showers if you want one.

Unalakleet has a couple of well-stocked stores and a restaurant. It's the biggest town between Wasilla and Nome, with about 800 people. You're about 275 miles from Nome and this a good place to plan your strategy for the next few days. For the most part, the country from here to Nome is like nothing you've ever seen before--meaning generally bleak and windy, and that's on the good days--and you need to be prepared for anything.

The Kaltag Portage has been in use for as long as 6,000 years, and even the original Iditarod was a relative newcomer. It is likely that dog teams in one form or another have been running over the Kaltag Portage for hundreds of years. For certain, there were people living at both ends of the portage well before the birth of Christ, and trade was commonplace between the Yup'ik and Inupiat of the coast and the Athabaskans along the Yukon.

The "modern" trail from Kaltag to Unalakleet was built a decade before the actual Iditarod Trail as part of the Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System (WAMCATS) telegraph line. The Army began work on the line in 1900 from Fort St. Michael (at the present-day town of the same name on the Bering Sea near the mouth of the Yukon River) to Fort Gibbon (now the town of Tanana). After the initial survey, a sled trail was built to facilitate construction of the telegraph line, which was finished in 1901.

The sled trail quickly became the main winter trail from the Yukon River to the Bering Sea and was the mail route from interior Alaska to the booming gold district at Nome. After the Iditarod Trail was surveyed and built from Seward to Iditarod in 1910, an extension was laid out to Kaltag to link up with the already-existing WAMCATS trail over the Kaltag Portage. The resulting system of trails became known as the Seward-to-Nome Mail Trail.

The trail from Kaltag to Unalakleet closely followed the telegraph right-of-way in most areas, although it deviated in some sections where following the wires would have meant steep grades or difficult terrain. Once such area is the first fifteen miles from Kaltag to the summit of the portage, where the sled trail took a different alignment from the telegraph line, following gentler grades and keeping to more open country above timberline.

The current trail to the summit, however, basically follows the old pole line rather than the sled trail. According to several people in Kaltag, when the current trail was re-constructed some years ago, the work was done by people from Unalakleet on snowmachines, who followed the old telegraph line down from the summit rather than the sled trail. This resulted in a trail that looks more like a Roman road than a good dog trail. The original route is still there and will proably be re-opened within the next few years to provide an alternate to the snowmachine-mangled telegraph trail.

On the original trail, there were roadhouses at Ten Mile, Twenty-Two Mile, and Old Woman, and a shelter cabin at Whaleback, on the Unalakleet River. As the gold rush traffic dwindled, the roadhouses closed, but the buildings remained for travelers to use as shelters. The cabin at Ten Mile is now gone and only parts of the walls remain at Twenty-Two Mile. The Whaleback cabin fell into the river in the late 1970s. There are plans to reconstruct the cabin at Twenty-Two Mile.

The legend of Old Woman Cabin goes back many years. Apparently an old woman did live in a cabin near Old Woman Mountain before white men came to the area, and when she died her ghost is said to have stayed in her cabin. Travelers who stopped there began to leave gifts of food to keep the spirit from following them and giving them bad luck. As subsequent cabins were built in the area, the old woman's ghost moved into each one. More than a few mushers have reported unexplained occurrences in both the old and new shelter cabins, including strange noises, drafts of air, and lanterns swinging for no apparent reason. All Iditarod veterans know to leave something for the old woman when they head west to Unalakleet.

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