The first Iditarod almost didn’t happen.
In this special series opener, Dr. Robert Forto sits down with Iditarod veteran Rod Perry to tell the real story behind the 1973 race. Rod ran in the inaugural Iditarod and shares firsthand insight into the meetings, the skepticism, and the last-minute efforts that made the race possible.
You’ll hear how Joe Redington Sr., Tom Johnson, et al., pushed forward when others walked away, why 1973 was the only year the race could have worked, and how the U.S. Army played a critical role in putting in the original trail.
Rod also breaks down the true history of the Iditarod Trail itself, explaining how multiple historic routes combine to form today’s race.
If you care about Iditarod history, sled dog racing, and the roots of modern mushing, this episode sets the foundation.
Questions
Favorite Music:
50s-60s rock, maybe someone like Elvis, but not the Rolling Stones.
Favorite Piece of Gear:
Well, you know, a well-dressed man in my day wasn’t dressed, until he put his wallet in his pocket then and his jackknife. If I’m going out and all into the outdoors, I have, a private little, mixture that I make up a dynamite fire starter that’ll start when it’s stopping wet.
And, and get anything going. So I always have that in my pack.
Robert: And you said private, so we’re going to keep it private. You don’t have to, you don’t have to divulge all the secrets.
Rod: I was going to say my kids were always asked what was in it. And I told them, just tell them there’s Wolverine sweat in the formula.
Robert: You’re sort of like Colonel Sanders in the Kentucky Fried Chicken. You’re keeping it close to the vest.
Favorite Snack:
Well, out on the trail, I, I like to take a balanced meal. you just need to have a fairly balanced diet over a trip that long. But then, doggone, I found I needed a lot of calories. So sometimes I had what my body needed as far as nutrition, but I had throw it out a balanced bite and great big fist size chunks of fudge, the homemade fudge. And also my mom had this wonderful, wonderful concoction made of all kinds of dried fruit, about every kind you can think of ground together with nuts and whole oranges peel and all and then bound together with that orange juice and honey. And
And so what I find is a lot of times things like freeze dried food and that lacks a lot of vegetable material. Yep. And, and, and it lacks fat, but anyway, that was pretty much, and then as far as stops along the way, I’ll throw you an unusual one. I have a lot of trouble getting enough sleep at my age. So if I’m, if I’m traveling now, not necessarily way back in the day, but I’m traveling now. What I’m doing is I’m buying some smoke and hot peppers. and, I eat those babies and then I’m sweating and the tears are coming down sometimes and, my mouth’s burning up and I ain’t going to sleep.
Robert: So you’re just munching on them like carrots then.
Rod: Yeah. Yeah. Just nibbling right through a jar of them.
Robert: Do you have a favorite pepper? Is it a jalapeno is a poblano? What is it?
Rod: Poblanos are too mild. I like to those two for other things, but I usually get jalapenos.
Robert: Okay.
Rod: Maybe even a little bit of ghost pepper in there or something.
Robert: Rod, I’ve been doing this for a long time. I think we’ve been doing this podcast 15, 16 years now, and I don’t think anybody has said they just drive down the road, popping peppers. So that, that’s a new one for me.
Rod: I’ve heard that breath spray sprayed in your armpits do a pretty good job too of keeping you awake.
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📸 Photo Credit: Jeff Schultz
Copyright: © 2022 Jeff Schultz/schultzphoto.com
Secondary Keywords
- First Iditarod 1973
Iditarod origin story
Rod Perry Iditarod
Joe Redington Sr
Iditarod founders
Early Alaska mushing
Sled dog racing history
Alaska Dog Mushing Podcast
Iditarod Trail history
Anchorage Mushing District
Long-distance sled dog racing
