Carole and Roger Huntington
When the Iron Dog first started, Carole and Roger Huntington owned a snowmachine dealership with gas pumps along the Yukon River in Galena. It was only natural then that their shop would serve as a checkpoint for racers coming through the village. Carole said those early years were primitive compared to today’s races. Back then, racers trickled in over a 36-hour period, driving a rag-tag collection of sleds not made for the conditions. During that time, racers would refuel, eat and get much-needed sleep before racing onward.
Carole was born and raised in Nome, went to a parochial boarding school in Unalakleet, and as an adult lived in Fairbanks, where she met and married Roger Huntington. The couple moved to Galena 41 years ago, and 10 years ago moved to Kokrine Hills Bible Camp. For 13 of their Galena years, the Huntingtons’ shop and home was a respite from racing. The pair has served their community for decades – Carole has been director of a social services program, was on the local school board for 15 years and was president of the State School Board Association, among other roles. Roger has been on the board of directors for Doyon, the mayor of Galena and city manager, as well. So feeding racers, communicating with Iron Dog officials and giving the racers a place to sleep was a natural undertaking for them.
During the race, Carole and her friends and family would prepare big hot meals like clam chowder or a full turkey dinner to make sure racers had plenty to eat.
“I had mattresses all over my floor and in my house,” she said. “Sometimes the living room in my house would be like a bunch of logs lying all over the room, sound asleep.”
She also communicated with race officials via long distance calls, relaying important race information and trail updates from checkpoint to checkpoint. That first year, the phone bill topped $600, so the following year, Iron Dog supplied Carole with a toll-free number for checkpoint-to-checkpoint communication.
“The problem was, they also shared that number with the racers’ wives,” Carole said. “We couldn’t get through on that line at all because the ladies were on there constantly.”
Also a problem in the early Iron Dog days was the weather. Snowmachines then couldn’t handle the cold temperatures they can withstand today. One time, Carole said the temperature plummeted to minus 55 degrees and colder, and the machines wouldn’t function. There was no trail to Ruby and beyond, and because the snow was like sugar, it was impossible to set one.
So Iron Dog officials asked Northern Air Cargo to come get the sleds and riders, and fly them to McGrath. She said it took countless hours to remove fuel from the sonwmachines so they could be safely loaded on the big planes.
Another time, she was so cramped for space, one disgruntled racer was relegated to an empty dog sled sitting for sale in her shop.
“He didn’t like that too much,” she said. “He was used to an urban lifestyle.”
After 13 years as the primary checkpoint in Galena, Carole said the community stepped up and she was thankful for the help. She was younger then, she said, and the long, sleepless hours were OK. Today, at 75, she is happy that a younger generation has embraced the race as well. The Iron Dog is a much-anticipated event in the villages, and more and more racers from bush Alaska are dominating the race.
She also wants to see the Iron Dog-village relationships strengthened through partnerships and mutual respect. Without the volunteer help in villages, the race couldn’t happen. Iron Dog recognizes this and thanks Carole, Roger and all the countless volunteers along the Iron Dog trail who pitch in without asking and help support the race.
The Huntingtons commitment to the World’s Longest, Toughest Snowmobile Race, as well as the people in their community, is noted. We thank them many times over for their time and energy over the years.