Midsummer Update: The Iditarod Trail

The Iditarod Trail: From Resurrection Bay to Norton Sound, by Helen Hegener, published in March, 2026 by Northern Light Media, was selected as Editor’s Choice for New Pages, the premier guide to the independent press.

Founded in the early 1970s as a print publication, NewPages provides online news, information, and guides to literary magazines, independent and university publishers, graduate and undergraduate creative writing programs, independent bookstores, alternative periodicals and newsweeklies, writing conferences and events, and more.

The book was also reviewed in June for the Anchorage Daily News and the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner by respected Alaskan author and literary critic David A. James. James’ review begins with the trail’s well-earned reputation thanks to the famous race which takes place each winter, but notes that not many people know more about the route and its history: “Ask them why the race exists, and they might mutter something about honoring the frantic 1925 scramble to bring serum to Nome amidst a deadly diphtheria outbreak, perhaps mention a dog named Balto, and otherwise a offer blank stare. Beyond that, even many Alaskans would struggle to cough up much more.”

“Diving into this void of knowledge is Alaska’s most perpetually productive popular historian Helen Hegener, owner and publisher of Northern Light Media. Her latest volume, “The Iditarod Trail: From Resurrection Bay to Norton Sound,” examines how the route came to be and what’s happened along it since. Which is to say, quite a bit.”

There has indeed been a lot of history along the Iditarod Trail, and that led to the route being among the first four trails selected when the National Historic Trails were formally named under the 1968 National Trails System Act.

David James continues in his review: “As with her other books, Hegener breaks down the history she’s sharing into thematic chapters that could stand alone as magazine articles, making the book easy to pick up at one’s leisure. She packs those pages with plenty of her own writing, reprints long passages from contemporary accounts by those who lived in the periods being covered, and includes hundreds of photographs that add immeasurably to the telling.

“Though not an academic historian, Hegener’s a stickler for accuracy, and the end result is a book that serves as both a history and, because of the included historical narratives, documents, references, and photographs, a compendium of materials for those wishing to search further into the story.”

The Iditarod Trail: From Resurrection Bay to Norton Sound, by Helen Hegener, is available at bookstores and gift shops throughout Alaska. Published in March, 2026 by Northern Light Media. ISBN 9798252387352. 6” x 9” b/w format, 408 pages, over 200 photographs, indexed, bibliography, annotated references, extensive online resources. $29.95 plus shipping from any bookseller or directly from Northern Light Media.

Also from Northern Light Media, Alaskan History Magazine brings interesting and in-depth articles about the history of Alaska and its northern neighbors to readers in a “no advertising - all history” format. Every 64-page issue features well-researched articles, book excerpts, historic photographs, maps, and images, presenting a look at several topics, events, people and places which played a role in the history of the North.

The current issue features the story of the 'Tanana Chief,' a sternwheeler which plied the waters of Interior Alaska, told by the great-granddaughter of one of its builders, J.E. Orme, who journeyed north with the ship in 1898 in search of Alaskan gold. Mary Lynn Roush shares her great-grandfather's letters to his sister, which includes the rescue of one of Alaska's earliest explorers, Second Lieut. J.C. Castner of Edwin F. Glenn's 1898–1899 military expedition, who had been presumed lost for months.

Also included is the 1889 voyage of the U.S. Revenue Cutter 'Bear,' as seen through the eyes of the ship’s surgeon, Dr. James Taylor White, from the book by Alaska historian Gary C. Stein.

The story of the Eskimo lad, Emiu, known as 'Split-the-Wind' for his fondness for fast dog teams, is included. An Eskimo guide for Vilhjalmer Stefansson’s expeditions, the Seattle Times named him “the greatest musher the country ever produced.”

The great 1912 eruption of Novarupta in the Mount Katmai region, the largest volcanic eruption of the 20th century, includes the official report of Capt. K.W. Perry of the Revenue Cutter ‘Manning,’ which was in port at Kodiak at the time of the eruption, and sheltered over 400 people, providing fresh water from her evaporators (which were an innovation at the time).

Plus the visit of then-Senator John F. Kennedy to the 1960 Alaska State Fair, and several pages from a 1929 brochure for the Alaska Steamship Company.

Alaskan History Magazine

The full color, 64 page Northern Light Media books catalog is available to read online free in a flipbook format, with a two-page spread describing each title. A wide range of books by many different authors has been published by Northern Light Media, from the history of Denali National Park and Preserve to the construction of the Alaska Railroad to living aboard a commercial fishing tender to the historic roadhouses of Alaska to the great sled dog races like the Iditarod, the Yukon Quest, and the All Alaska Sweepstakes, and all are collected in this easy-to-read catalog. Check it out!

Thanks for reading!

Helen