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Susan McBeth

Travel by the Book

Fast Into the Night by Debbie Clarke Moderow

he largest and most sparsely populated U.S. state has dream of running the Iditarod.
held intrigue since it was purchased from the Russian Meticulously related, Fast Into the Night offers readers a
Empire in 1867. Quickly dubbed “Seward’s Folly” when glimpse of the overwhelming logistics involved in planning for,
TU.S. Secretary of State William Seward negotiated the and running, this punishing eight to fifteen day endeavor, in-
icebox acquisition for a cool seven million dollars, 150 years cluding management of a starting field of sixteen dogs, nearly
later, confusion still reigns as to its two tons of food, drop bags, clothing,
identity with respect to the “lower forty- thousands of dog booties, life-saving
eight” as Alaskans refer to the rest of tools and medical supplies. Yet, what
the continental U.S. really determines race success is the
While it is not popular knowledge musher’s relationship with her dogs,
that the state flag was designed by a and even the best equipped racer, as
thirteen-year old boy, or that Alaska has Debbie soon discovered, may not be
more coastline than the other 49 states enough.
combined, or that Juneau is the only The real story in Debbie’s book, is
state capitol that is not accessible by not the Iditarod, although fascinating,
road, it probably comes as no surprise or even in Debbie’s quest to run the
that the official state sport is dog mush- race, which she first attempted at the
ing, including the grandest representa- age of 47. She had trained her select
tion of all, the grueling Iditarod. team - Kanga, the team leader, along
Legend has it that the race evolved with Juliet, Lil’ Su, Piney, Creek, Nacho,
from a life-saving sled dog relay that Zeppy, and Taiga - on many occasions
occurred in January, 1925 when the in preparation, and never had she en-
children of Nome were suffering from countered any substantial problems
a deadly outbreak of diphtheria. Their that would lead her to believe they
survival depended on obtaining a batch were not capable of completing the
of anti-toxin serum that was only availa- biggest race of her career as a dog
ble 1,100 miles away in Anchorage. The musher. Yet that is precisely what hap-
wintery, ice-choked harbor and subzero pened.
temperatures precluded sea and train Just 200 miles short of the finish
transport leaving the only reliable alternative: sled dogs. Three line, her beloved dogs balked and in a moment, all the prepara-
weeks later, the life-saving serum was delivered. tion, the training, the harsh terrain and weather conditions that
In reality, the idea of a race was conceived of to commemo- they had endured up to that point seemed for naught. Yes, she
rate the important role of dog teams in Alaska state history, was disappointed that they did not finish the race. After bat-
after the introduction of iron dogs (snowmobiles) led to mass tling injuries, hallucinations, raging storms, and bouts of self-
abandonment of dog teams. Various iterations of racing devel- doubt during those first fatiguing 900 miles, this was noth-
oped, but in 1973, the iconic Iditarod Sled Dog Race was born, ing compared to the crushing realization that Debbie had lost
and has now become the most famous sled dog race in the touch with her beloved dogs.
world. So why would anybody want to run an 1,100 mile sled Applying the same fierce determination she used to train for
dog race in the midst of an Alaskan winter, through some of the Iditarod in the first place, Debbie embarked on a mission to
the harshest conditions on Earth? get at the heart of the breakdown to see if a second race was in
Perhaps Debbie Clarke Moderow’s memoir, Fast Into the their future. The book will take you along thru the treacherous
Night (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 2016), can shed some light. trails, the hostile landscape, the dark and barren wilderness,
After reeling from a near-death fall into an icy crevasse upon the icy and pristine beauty of the trail, but where it really takes
her initial arrival in Alaska, followed by several miscarriages, a the reader is into the mind of this fiercely devoted dog musher
friend condolently gifted her with Salt, a retired Iditarod sled who finally comes to understand that what her dogs need is
dog. The bond that developed between the two quickly turned her truth and that, without that, none of them would ever win. ~
to Debbie’s passion once the family invited other dogs into by Susan McBeth
their lives, and her newfound hobby eventually turned into a

18 WDT MAGAZINE SPRING 2017