The Chronicle of a Musher, His Adopted Sled Dogs, and Their Pursuit of an Alaskan Dream In 2009 the Serum Run '25 Expedition set out to retrace the original 1925 route across Alaska to deliver lifesaving antitoxin by dog teams to Diphtheria stricken Nome. To prepare for the arduous journey, Washington state musher Von Martin meticulously assembled 1,200 lbs of supplies, trained his team of twelve huskies for hundreds of miles, and made the long midwinter drive to Alaska. What he did not anticipate was the worst Alaskan winter in decades. Cut off from the expedition's support party and faced with an impassable trail, Von Martin and the Serum Run '25 mushers are forced into a heartbreaking decision for their expedition and their faithful dogs. Join Von Martin as he shares his heartfelt story through journal excerpts, photographs, and narratives, all the exhilaration, hardship, and life lessons learned from his huskies during an attempt to cross the Alaskan wilderness by dog team.
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About the Author
Von Martin, an emerging author of books and stories about sled dogs, was born at Camp Pendleton Marine Base in Oceanside, California. He is a member of the Pacific Northwest Writer's Association and is a graduate of the University of Hawaii where he was also an instructor in Anthropology. Von's professional careers have also included work as a skilled carpenter, musician, singer, writer, and reporter. Von is the Vice-President of the Northwest Sled Dog Association and has logged thousands of miles with his own dog team throughout five western states, British Columbia, and Alaska. In 2009 Von Martin participated in the Col. Norman Vaughan Serum Run '25 Expedition - a midwinter 800 mile journey by dog team across the frontier of Alaska. Von is currently employed as a construction news reporter and works from his rural log cabin home in southwest Washington where he also enjoys caring for his 17 sled dogs. Von is married to Judy, a native of Washington state. Von's first book, "A LONG WAY TO NOME - The Serum Run '25 Expedition", describing the 2009 attempt to retrace the original 1925 relay route of anti-toxin delivery by dog teams to Diphtheria stricken Nome, will be published in December 2009. His second book, "A DOG CALLED SHAKESPEARE - Fallen Canine Hero of Shackleton's 1914 Antarctic Expedition", will be his first installment in a series of books chronicling the legacy of the remarkable dogs employed during the early polar expeditions. Publication date to be determined.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Long Way To Nome,
This review is from: A Long Way To Nome: The Serum Run '25 Expedition (Paperback)
Beyond the adventure of the journey, this is a story of relationships.
Von's ability express in writing the bond that exists between musher and dog team is a gift to both the mushing and non-mushing communities. The relationship between Von and his dogs is not uncommon amongst mushers, being able to share it in mass, is. This book is a bridge to those that don't understand what compels people to immerse themselves in the mushing lifestyle. Von paints a vivid picture of the dedication, love, trust, compassion and heartbreak of being a musher. Three cheers!!! Don Duncan 2007 & 2009 Norman Vaughan Serum Run participant
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
"Wolfie, we're going to Nome, girl.",
This review is from: A Long Way To Nome: The Serum Run '25 Expedition (Paperback)
When Von Martin set out to retrace the historic 1925 Serum Run across Alaska, in the company of seven other mushers and eleven accompanying snowmachiners, he became part of a traveling community which would rely on themselves and each other for the next three weeks as they faced an unforgiving trail and the worst Alaskan winter in decades. Through journal excepts, narratives and dozens of color photographs, Von Martin shares the trials and tribulations, the joys and excitement, the delightful camaraderie and difficult decisions of the 2009 Serum Run `25.
A Long Way To Nome: The Serum Run `25 Expedition, is described on the title page as `The Chronicle of a Musher, His Adopted Sled Dogs, and Their Pursuit of the Alaskan Dream.' The word `chronicle' in the subtitle seems almost an understatement to anyone who reads Von's book, because this is not simply a chronicle, but an engaging diary, an inspiring and informative expedition log, an invaluable record of a historic undertaking, a testament to the intrepid mushers and their snowmachine-riding escorts who braved the trail from Nenana to Nome under the most impossible conditions imaginable. But it begins as a love story... Wolfie was an Alaskan Malemute who rocked Von's world from the moment he met the month-old baby sled dog. For nearly 13 years, racing across three western states with her, winning championships, entering dog shows and visiting classrooms, Von grew to love his big friend and, through her, the sport of mushing. They traveled hundreds of thousands of miles together in Von's pickup truck, each trip beginning with what he describes as Wolfie's "soaring wolf-like howl." Years after Wolfie crossed over the Rainbow Bridge, Von and his wife Judith were still running sled dog races and adding to their kennel when Von came across the website of a longtime friend and fellow musher, Don Duncan, who shared a Robert Service poem titled `The Spell of the Yukon,' and these lines caught his imagination: The strong life that never knows harness; The wilds where the caribou call; The freshness, the freedom, the farness - O God! how I'm stuck on it all. Don had announced his plans to travel to Alaska for the 2009 Serum Run, which, unlike the more famous Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, was an educational and commemorative event in which a handful of dog teams retraced the original 700-mile route of the 1925 Serum Run relay from Nenana to Nome. Founded by Colonel Norman Vaughn, a famed adventurer and the principal dog driver for Admiral Byrd's 1928 Antarctic Expedition to the the South Pole, the Serum Run `25 honored the courageous mushers and their heroic dogs who carried Diptheria anti-toxin through one of the coldest winters on record. Their story was detailed in the 2005 book `The Cruelest Miles,' by Gay and Laney Salisbury (2005, W. W. Norton & Company). On a hot July day in 2008, I climbed the stairs to my wife's home office. Clutched in my hands was the Serum Run `25 expedition application and instruction documents. Neatly placing the one inch thick stack of papers upon her desk, I turned to Judy and calmly announced, "As of this moment I have absolutely no idea how this would be possible, but this is something I really want to do." Judy's response was to encourage Von to follow his dream, and so began the preparations which led to his trek to Alaska, which led to the writing of this book. Von introduces the canine members of his team - Teek, Boomer, Chewbacca, Grits, Blackjack, Birch and all the rest - how they came to join his kennel, and how and why they were selected for the Serum Run expedition. He explains the weeks and months of planning, training and outfitting which preceded the trip, and details his preparations for the week-long drive up the Alaska Highway with his dogs. And then he writes: With nearly all our plans in place, and just days remaining to organize and load 1,200 pounds of supplies onto the truck and trailer, I turn my attention to the fulfillment of a four year old promise. Taking Wolfie's tin of ashes from its place in the cabin, I bolt her old dog tag to the front of the round, four pound tin that contains her remains. "Wolfie Martin - Lead Dog" her tag reads. To guard the precious cargo against the eight hundred miles across Alaska by dog sled, I pack her tin inside two heavy zip lock freezer bags. Before carrying her out to the truck, my eyes catch sight of her collar looped over her portrait above the fireplace. Removing it from its place, I shove it into my pocket just for good luck. In a few days we will be on our way. I am as ready as I can be. "Wolfie," I mutter aloud, "we're going to Nome, girl." Update: On May 19th, 2010 Von wrote on his blog: "On May 16th my dogs and I were honored to be selected for Col. Norman Vaughan's 2011 Serum Run `25 Expedition in Alaska! We're headed to Nome!" The 2011 Serum Run `25 expedition is slated to begin Feb 20th, 2011 from Nenana, Alaska. (This review first appeared at Northern Light Media: [...])
5.0 out of 5 stars
real life stories of perserverance,
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: A Long Way To Nome: The Serum Run '25 Expedition (Paperback)
I was also a participant in the 2009 serum run attempt and although we did not make it to Nome because of Mother Nature, the attempt was the true experience of what it is like to try and achieve a goal.
All of us were extremely frustrated but it made up stronger and more cohesive as a group with many different personalities that are causing friction with decision making. But in the end it is the safety of the dogs which dictate what decision must be made as to whether to continue a journey or not. A must read for all those who love to live vicariously through what others are attempting. Enjoy
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