Mushers stream out of Willow as the real Iditarod racing gets going

When gasoline-powered machines that buzzed above the snow began replacing sled dogs as the preferable mode of transport across wintertime Alaska in the latter half of last century, something of a revolt against technology began to germinate. Founders of the modern Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race decided 40 years ago to preserve something of the tradition dog mushing symbolized for the refugee from Outside and the Alaska sourdough alike — the fortitude, work ethic and self-reliance required of a life in the Last American Frontier.Read more here: http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/mushers-stream-out-willow-real-iditarod-racing-gets-going?page=full