Walter, Here is our musher letter for posting. We had an awesome time doing the Iditarod this year! Thanks for all you do to enable us to enjoy such an online project! Sincerely, Joan Sveen

Dear Hans Gatt,

Congratulations, Mr. Gatt, on your results in the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod! As Canadians we were very proud of your achievements as we cheered you on the whole way. You should be ecstatic with your placings, too, in winning the Yukon Quest, and in your great finish in the Iditarod. We are amazed that you did the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod back to back!

While you were running the Iditarod, we were doing a lot of activities to help us learn about it. Firstly, we read books and articles about different topics, and did projects on what we had learned. Some of those topics were the history of sled dog racing and the trail, the mushers, the dogs, and the rules and regulations. The class chose skits, books, and Hyper Studio, to make presentations on what they had learned. Both grade 6 classes made a mural of the trail (pictures, facts, maps, and other things) to inform the whole elementary about it. Both classes also ran a mini-Iditarod race. We did that by pulling a sled with someone in it around the school grounds. By doing this, we gained a better sense of what the dogs and the mushers go through, both mentally and physically, and we look up to you for all the hard work and the effort that is put into the race! During that time we made sure we checked up daily on your progress, plotting it on our map.

Another treat we had was a guest speaker who was a vet on the trail of the Yukon Quest. This was Dr. Warren Webber, a veterinarian from Okotoks, a town nearby. He had slides and a video on the Quest and spent an afternoon telling us all about the race. He spoke very highly of you and your dog team!

We learned many valuable things about the mushers, dogs, and dog sled racing. One of the many things we learned was how mushers and dogs have such a powerful relationship. Dogs and mushers must learn to trust one another through anything. You have to be both mentally and physically fit to be able to compete in the Iditarod. First of all you must be mentally fit because there are so many distractions such as hallucinations. You must make wise decisions. This is hard while running the Iditarod because of the pressure that is on you, the elements of the North, and last of all sleep deprivation. Secondly you must be physically fit so you can finish the race in good time and shape. You must be able to handle the freezing cold. All in all we have learned that dog racing is very hard to compete in and it takes a certain type of person, one of whom must be very dedicated and determined, to be able to complete these types of races.

Throughout our class we had a few questions to ask you. One of the most common questions was did you use the same dogs in the Iditarod as you did in the Yukon Quest? Another one is, if you did use some of the same dogs, how tough was it on your dogs and on you to participate in these two races in a row, both physically and mentally? Which of these two races do you believe is the harder one? There are various reasons for people running in the Iditarod. Why did you decide to run these races? Do you have any other jobs or hobbies that will help you raise your income besides winning in the Iditarod? Many people believe that the race of the Yukon Quest has spirit. What do you think about this?

We look forward to hearing about you in future Yukon Quests and Iditarods! We send our best wishes and good luck in your upcoming races!

Sincerely,

The grade 6A students from Strathcona-Tweedsmuir