Ebook Back of the Pack: An Iditarod Rockie' Musher's Pilgrimage to Nome, by Don Bowers

Ebook Back of the Pack: An Iditarod Rockie' Musher's Pilgrimage to Nome, by Don Bowers

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Back of the Pack: An Iditarod Rockie' Musher's Pilgrimage to Nome, by Don Bowers

Ebook Back of the Pack: An Iditarod Rockie' Musher's Pilgrimage to Nome, by Don Bowers

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From the Back Cover

Don Bowers has accurately captured this marvelous transformation in Back of the Pack, and has beautifully conveyed the poetry and sense of awe and respect that come with it. He faithfully shows us the joy and work and heartbreak and intensity of learning how to drive dogs, culminating in an incredible journey to Nome in the 1,100-mile Iditarod Sled Dog Race. Before he could make it to the finish line on Front Street, he discovered that he and his dogs were capable of far more than he ever thought possible. Don's story is a true-life example of learning how to "Dream big and dare to fail." Norman Vaughan After reading Back of the Pack you'll watch the rookies heading down Fourth Avenue at the start of the Iditarod with a much better insight. Don draws a clear picture of what it's like to be a neophyte musher. Anyone with an interest in dogs--or who just likes a good read--will thoroughly enjoy it. This may be the best book yet about the Iditarod. Phil Meyer, D.V.M. (20-year Iditarod and Junior Iditarod race veterinarian)

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About the Author

Don Bowers lives at Montana Creek, Alaska, in a cabin he built himself. Born in 1948 in Fort Smith, Arkansas, Don is an Air Force Academy graduate with masters degrees from the Air Force Institute of Technology and Alaska Pacific University. For most of his Air Force career he was a C-130 Hercules transport pilot, flying Hurricane Hunters in the Caribbean and Spectre gunships in Southeast Asia as well as "trash haulers" all over Alaska. Don arrived on the Last Frontier in 1975 and became involved with the Iditarod as a member of the volunteer Iditarod Air Force. Upon retirement from the "real" Air Force, Don set about to run the Iditarod with his own team, even though he had virtually no experience as a musher. He is a certified elementary teacher as well as a commercial pilot in Talkeetna during summer. Don is the author of Alaska Airmen's Logbook for Alaska, Northwest Canada, and Russia, published by the Alaska Airmen's Association.

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Product details

Paperback: 396 pages

Publisher: Publication Consultants; 1st edition (March 3, 2008)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 1888125241

ISBN-13: 978-1888125245

Product Dimensions:

6 x 0.9 x 9 inches

Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)

Average Customer Review:

4.7 out of 5 stars

15 customer reviews

Amazon Best Sellers Rank:

#1,733,407 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Subtitled, "An Iditarod Rookie Musher's Alaska Pilgrimage toNome", the author, Don Bowers, shares his 1994 and 1995experience in running a team of sled dogs on the 1,100-mile run fromAnchorage to Nome in the race that has been sometimes called the"Last Great Race on Earth." He was 48 years old, a bachelor,with no previous experience in dog mushing. However, he was a pilotwho lived Alaska and had worked as a volunteer in previous races. Heknew many people who had run the race before him and they allencouraged him to do it.Every March, since 1967, between 50 and 80dog sled teams set out on the trail, which can take up to three weeksto complete. Most are not competing for the front-runner prize.Merely finishing the race is a personal goal for many. The trek isdifficult, requiring stamina, endurance and the ability to make quickdecisions in constantly changing conditions.The temperature canvary from 40 degrees above to 65 degrees below zero and there arestorms and flooding, drifting snow and heavy winds. In some placesthe trail plunges down 200 feet or more, twisting between trees and atthe edges of steep drops. At other places, there are long emptystretches over slick icy rivers. The sled often spills, the dogs gettangled and sometimes they find themselves miles and miles off theregular trail.Mostly, they prefer to travel at night when theweather is cooler and the dogs are more comfortable. The musher wearsa single beam headlight if the night is dark. Other times the moonand stars reflect off the snow. And, on rare occasions there is aspectacular display of flashes and colors in the northern sky.Themushers stop at about 20 checkpoints over the course of theirtravels. These are mandatory rest stops which often are no more than atent or a cabin with a place to put a sleeping bag. A few of thecheckpoints are towns with a place to purchase a meal. Mostly though,the musher must rely on the 50 or more large bags of supplies weighing2000 pounds or more which he or she personally packed and had shippedto these checkpoints. This includes huge amounts of food for the 16hungry dogs who must be tended to and rested at each of thesestops.The Iditarod Trail was actually used as a mail route duringthe boom time of Alaska's gold rush. And the dog teams of that daydid not have the advantages of modern technology. There were nohelicopters charting their progress. Or airplanes to fly their foodto various checkpoints. There was little if any shelter. And theconditions for the dogs were certainly not humane.I can't helpthinking of Jack London's "The Call of the Wild" and"White Fang" which depicted the life of a sled dog at theturn of the century. In those days dogs were whipped, beaten withclubs, and often starved as the food they were given had to be huntedfor as the mushers went along the trail. They lived and died in theirharnesses and it was a constant fight for survival.Modern dogs arenever beaten. The dogs are trained to respond to simple verbalcommands and whips are never used. They are well fed and rested andchecked by a vet at every checkpoint. If they are injured they areflown by helicopter to a place they can be cared for. A musher mightstart out with 16 dogs, but is allowed to finish with as little as 7if necessary.I enjoyed the book tremendously, even though DonBowers is no Jack London. This is his first book and he is not aprofessional writer. He's good at descriptions of trail conditionsand details of the race. He's also good at discussing his ownpersonal challenges. I really did empathize with him when a viruskilled some of his dog pups. And I held my breath during his mostscary outdoor challengers. I also have a lot of admiration for hisadaptability and sheer determination to finish, no matter what.Bythe end of the book I had really accepted his style of writing, whichis probably like his personality, which tends to be introspective. Andsometimes I felt he went on a little too long about some detail. Imust say also that I yearned for deeper characterization of the peoplearound him. There was a woman named Lisa and a man named Andy whowere also "back-of-the-packers". They met at checkpointsand helped each other during the long trail. I wanted to know moreabout them and wish he would have included a few personal details anda little characterization.I did get to know his dogs though. Eachone was a distinct and interesting personality. I'll never forget"Socks" one of the leaders, who was able to sense the trailwithout any markers. Or the time the team refused to move because thefemales were in heat. His love for his dogs really came through.Ithank Mr. Bowers for writing the book and definitely recommend it. Ittook me to Alaska, put me right on the sled and made me feel I waspart of it all. Quite a departure for a woman who lives in New YorkCity. It was a great read and I loved being part of the adventure.

I loved reading about the trials and tribulations of getting ready and running the Iditarod. It’s like being on the back of the sled every step of the way. Hated for the book to end.

A very good book if you have a beginner's interest in dog sleds or have ever been intrigued by Alaska, Dog Sleds or the outdoors.The author can be a bit wordy and long winded, particularly in the first half of the book, but it is well worth it anyway.The last half of the book describes the race and his experience in great detail and really puts you there.Easy reading. I couldn't put it down for the last 100 pages.

This is a poignant and entertaining addition to the musher library.

I knew nothing about the Iditarod before reading this. It was easy and fun to read and helped me understand the challenges of the race.

This is a well written book by someone who didn't expect to win, just the love of the race.

My husband loves books on Alaska and the Iditarod and this book was no exception. It kept his interest and that is hard when he does not enjoy reading

He describes his failures, of which there were many, as well as his triumphs. It changed my views towards dog sledding.

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