The Sandpoint-Bonner County man is entering the Iditarod Trail dog sled race as one of only two competitors from the Gem State to take part in the legendary Alaskan event.
Jed Stephenson, an emergency department nurse at Bonner General Health, has spent more than half his life mashing in one way or another. In March, he will put his years of skill to the ultimate test by running his 50th Anniversary Iditarod. Stevenson and his team travel from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska where he runs a team of 14 dogs and in a week he travels nearly 1,000 miles.
Stevenson says he fell in love with the sport at the age of nine after reading “Dog Songs” by Gary Paulsen. The story follows an Inuit boy in Alaska at a time when Native Americans are forced to embrace modern culture and put their own culture aside. A young man seeks out and learns the traditions of his people, including mashing. Stevenson said he was hooked.
“From then on, I knew I wanted to be a dog hauler,” Stevenson said.
Stevenson began his dog sledding career at the age of 15 under the tutelage of a man named Billy Snodgrass who emailed him. Snodgrass agreed for Stevenson to visit him in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where Stevenson worked with Snodgrass’ training dogs. After graduating from high school, Brigham, Idaho, Rexburg, when he attended Young University, Stevenson said he would spend his winter holidays in Jackson and take dog sledding tours with Snodgrass.
“That’s really what I learned,” Stevenson said.
Taking everything he learned from Snodgrass, Stevenson moved to Alaska after college to continue chasing his dreams. Stevenson has trained with Linwood, a reputed musher who has completed the Iditarod more than 20 times, and has said his job is centered around mashing. He enjoys training in the winter and dog sledding tours outside of Juneau in the summer.
Stevenson, who has competed in six sled races and finished third last year at McCall, is off to Alaska to prepare for the Iditarod after completing his eighth race. To do. While there, Stevenson said he had to prepare a “drop bag.”
“Iditarod has 22 checkpoints along the route, and as you go through each checkpoint, you get a ton of supplies flown in for you,” Stevenson said.
Bushplane delivered resupply points are the only chance racers have to resupply for themselves and their dogs, Stevenson said. He said one of the things that makes the Iditarod so challenging and unique, he said, is that the trail is off any road. A veterinarian will be stationed at each checkpoint to ensure the team is healthy.
“These dogs burn up to 10,000 calories a day, so it’s a way to get them all the food they need,” says Stephenson. Basically, part of racing is keeping a healthy team. Start with 14 and if a dog is injured, leave it at the veterinarian’s checkpoint. “
Because the health of his team is so important, Stevenson said he wanted to understand what his dogs were experiencing physically. I ran a marathon.
“I decided to run a marathon and decided to run basically as long as I asked my dogs. I ran an ultra marathon.
Being a very difficult race, Stevenson said there are many factors to qualifying to compete on the Iditarod. He said he would need to obtain a sign-off from a race official certifying that he had good judgment in caring for the dog.
In addition to team health, Stevenson must contend with the harsh Alaskan wilderness. Aside from cold temperatures and harsh weather conditions, he also has to contend with Alaskan wildlife. But Stevenson is most wary of moose, he said.
“I worry about moose all the time, I mean, every day. When I go out in the mountains, I always run into them or walk them on the road, so moose are always a concern,” Stevenson says. .
Stevenson once said he encountered a moose during a race—the animal was set and ready to attack. Couldn’t inflict injury.
Stevenson, who is married with eight-year-old twin boys, said that while competing comes with all kinds of risks, his “hobby” has brought a sense of responsibility to his family. He said his wife has been supportive while his sons look after the 16 kennel dogs.
Having received good advice and education, Stevenson said he would tell young mushers or those who want to become mushers to follow the same path they chose. Find ways to work with mushers and breeders and learn from them.
“You make a lot of mistakes in the beginning so you can kickstart much earlier,” said Stevenson.
In most cases, the inexperienced masher spends a lot of time understanding what Stevenson said breeding is important. Stevenson said the challenge is what he’s seen his friends fight for 10 years.
“He just stumbled, trying to figure out what dog munching was. It probably took him ten years to figure out ‘what a good pedigree is.’ And if you can get it right the first time, you’ll save a ton of time,” says Stephenson.
Being a masher and competing in the Iditarod was a childhood dream for Stevenson. Having realized that, he said what he wants most now is for his sons to get value from his dreams.
“The biggest thing for me is to show my kids that dreams are not only worth chasing, but that they are probably one of the most important things to pursue in life.” [showing them] It’s really important to me that no dream is too big. It gives permission to dream big, have fun, and be ambitious in life. ”