‘Leapfrogging them all the way to Nome,’ Iditarod fans follow the Iditarod by plane

UNALAKLEET, Alaska (KTUU) - For over a decade, Woodsen Saunders and his wife Danica, have been following the Iditarod by air, beginning at the official re-start all the way to Nome. It’s a tradition that began when the two married and Saunders’s wife told him she had always dreamed of seeing both the start and the end of the famed sled dog race.

“I was like, ‘Well, why would you just want to watch the start and finish? Why not just follow the race all the way to Nome?,” Saunders asked.

That sparked an idea, which has now become a family tradition. First, the couple traveled the Iditarod trail in their small Super Cub. A commercial pilot by profession, Saunders loved piloting his family to remote checkpoints to witness the Last Great Race up close, like few ever get the chance to experience.

However, over the years, as their family grew from two to six, the Saunders came to the conclusion it was time to upgrade the Super Cub to a Cessna 185.

“It’s fun. And we get air vents, that blow in our faces ... and eating gummy bears,” said 8-year-old Atlee Saunders,” the couple’s oldest daughter.

For Atlee, she also looks forward to an early birthday celebration along the trail each year, something the family is celebrating in Unalakleet this year complete with a birthday cake all the kids can share.

Saunders said they used to closely follow the leaders from checkpoint to checkpoint. After having several children, he and his wife found it more comfortable to slow their pace along the trail.

“Our mantra has been more nights in less places. So we usually spend 2-3 nights somewhere,” Saunders said, “and just constantly leap-frogging all the way to Nome.”

This year, Saunders’s wife and two of his daughters were unable to make the trip due to the active winter flu season. That opened up an opportunity to invite some family friends along for the ride, turning this year’s Iditarod trip into a last-minute ‘dads trip’. Sanders invited his friend Gabriel Peppers and two of his children along for the journey.

“When he messaged me that night, ‘Hey do you want to come?,’ It was a scramble, but we knew there was no other opportunity like this that’s going to come up again,” Gabriel Peppered said. Then he told his kids about the adventure to come. “They were jumping up and down, yelling, super excited, couldn’t believe it. Like Christmas all over again.”

Pepperd’s son, Everest, summed it up best at the Tanana checkpoint.

“Trip of a lifetime,” he exclaimed with confidence.

Pepperd’s older son, Soren, says Dallas Seavey is his favorite musher, even if the six-time champion is not participating in the Iditarod this year. Soren is pulling for Dallas’ father, three-time race champion Mitch Seavey, this year.

After seeing the race up close, he said he too may want to become a musher someday.

“I mean, it sounds like a fun adventure and challenge,” Soren said.

The kids passed the downtime along the trail riding in a snowmachine sled and building a snow fort as a windbreak for Iditarod teams in Tanana. They all agreed they would definitely encourage others to consider a similar experience, assuming you have a pilot as a family member or close friend.

“It’s actually more fun than you think,” Atlee said. “You just got to try it out. Instead of just sitting in a house.”

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