Ruby's First Avenue was a hub of activity during 1912.
As Iditarod mushers and their teams head out of Willow on Sunday, March 8, and race toward Nome, they will follow a path steeped in history-a story written by Native traders, gold rushers and the evolution of the Alaska frontier. The northern route, used during even-numbered years like 2026, passes through remote villages and towns that each tell a unique tale of adaptation, ambition, and survival.
After leaving Willow, teams thunder past checkpoints at Yentna Station, Skwentna, Finger Lake, Rainy Pass, and Rohn. Then not far after the Alaska Range, mushers arrive in Nikolai, an Upper Kuskokwim Athabascan village that's seen centuries of movement and trade. Originally hosting a trading post and roadhouse during the region's gold rush, Nikolai sat astride the historic Rainy Pass Trail. This connection linked miners, prospectors, and trappers from goldfields at Ophir to the ports of Cook Inlet.
Next, the mushers race toward McGrath, located deep in Alaska's interior. It emerged as a vital meeting point and regional supply center for surrounding villages. Founded as an Athabascan camp, it grew with the arrival of large riverboats and steamers, becoming indispensable for miners exploiting the region's gold resources. The changing river course forced McGrath's relocation in 1933. By World War II, it boasted an airstrip that played a crucial role in the Lend-Lease program transferring equipment from America to Russia when both nations fought against the Nazis.
The teams then pass through Takotna, Ophir, and Cripple on their way to the Gem of the Yukon, Ruby. Perched on high cliffs above the Yukon River, gold was discovered there in 1906 and drew a wild stampede of fortune-seekers. By 1913, Ruby had electric lights, hotels, newspapers, and riverboat service-a metropolis that briefly rivaled Fairbanks. The largest gold nugget found in Alaska's history, nearly 300 troy ounces, was discovered nearby in 1998.
Galena, which began as a Koyukon Athabascan fish camp, is next on the trail. A supply depot for the surrounding lead ore mines gave the town its name. World War II transformed the area with the construction of a major military airfield; it then became a Cold War outpost, bringing growth, infrastructure, and new jobs.
Mushers then move on to Nulato, a hub for trade between the Koyukon and the Inupiat long before Europeans arrived. With the gold rushes and Russian traders came both prosperity and hardship with epidemics, uprisings, and famine costing many lives. Nulato adapted and evolved with gold-seekers, missionaries, and modern settlers coming and going.
Kaltag, which marks the end of the famed Kaltag Portage-a centuries-old trading route connecting the Yukon River to the Bering Sea at Unalakleet-follows next. Scarred by epidemics and food shortages, the village was formed by survivors of three neighboring communities.
Mushers move on to Unalakleet, which became a vital trading center at the end of the Kaltag Portage. It saw Athabascan traders meet coastal Inupiat in exchange networks that spanned Alaska. Russian posts, missionary settlements, reindeer herders from Lapland, and, later, the U.S. Army all left their mark. Its active local economy and blend of cultures make it one of the region's most dynamic villages.
The route then sweeps through checkpoints at Shaktoolik, Koyuk, Elim, Golovin, and White Mountain -each with rich Native traditions and histories rooted in subsistence, trade, and adaptation to the harsh Arctic world. Safety, which grew out of a roadhouse to service travelers during the early 20th century, is the final checkpoint before the last 22 miles to Nome.
These secluded communities, trail markers, checkpoints, and cabins all whisper stories of ancient migration, gold fever, hardship, and hope that make the Greatest Race on Earth more than a competition. It is a journey through living history.
This column features stories researched for Aunt Phil's Trunk, a five-book Alaska history series written by Laurel Downing Bill and her late aunt, Phyllis Downing Carlson. Along with Bill's latest book, Pioneers From Alaska's Past, the books are available at bookstores and gift shops throughout Alaska, as well as online at www.auntphilstrunk.com and Amazon.
