Iditarod legend's daughter arrives at tribute's end

IN NOME: Tekla Monson honors mother Susan Butcher with 700-mile dog sled trip.

By KATIE PESZNECKER
Anchorage Daily News

Published: March 19, 2007

 

Tekla Monson, the 11-year-old daughter of Iditarod legend Susan Butcher, finished her own 700-mile dog sled tour in honor of her mother, pulling under Nome's burled arch early Saturday evening.

 

Butcher died Aug. 5 at age 51, after a lengthy battle with leukemia. The death of the four-time Iditarod finisher hit Alaska hard.

At the pre-Iditarod banquet for mushers and race fans in Anchorage, Butcher's husband, Dave Monson, told the hundreds gathered about the planned trip. He said they planned to leave some of Butcher's remains at Old Woman Cabin, one of Susan's favorite spots.

The cabin is rumored to be haunted, Monson said. He told the mushers that when they passed there, if they felt a strange something in the air, they should remember Butcher is there, sizing up their dog teams.

Tekla and Monson set out from Manley Hot Springs near Fairbanks with a group of dog teams and snowmachiners who carried gear. They followed the Yukon River to Kaltag, then jumped on the Iditarod trail to Nome.

Monson told a reporter for the Cabela's Web site that their entourage got warm welcomes in various villages along the way. People wanted to meet Tekla and bring the travelers gifts, he said.

"They'd bring out little treasures," Monson told Cabela's. "It was, say, a signed photo from '86, something she gave 'em or just to say their son was born the day she came into Ruby first or that she shared cheesecake with my uncle when she was first here."

Tekla also made an appearance at the ceremonial Iditarod start in Anchorage, driving a team in the No. 1 spot as a tribute to Butcher.