Buy-A-Mile has officially reached the third Iditarod checkpoint, Finger Lake! We can't thank everyone enough for helping us get to where we are now, and supporting us in where we are going (Rainy Pass is up next!) Read on to find out more about Finger Lake and the preceding trail from Skwentna (courtesy of Iditarod.edu):

"The distance from Skwentna to Finger Lake, population 2, is 45 miles. Roughly, it’ll take four to six hours to cover the mostly uphill route but the trail isn’t too tough. The teams will run across rivers, lakes, swamps and wooded areas.

Finger Lake is a tent checkpoint that’s located at the eastern edge of the Alaska Range in snow country. It’s not unusual to have TEN FEET of snow on the ground! Lots of humans fly out to Finger Lake to watch the race. Kirsten and Karl Dixon who run Winter Lake Lodge provide hospitality for Iditarod spectators. The real name of the lake is Winter Lake, but the lake is shaped like a two-mile long finger so many old timers and for Iditarod, the checkpoint is known as Finger Lake.

Winter Lake Lodge is a luxury summer lodge. Folks go there for wellness, cooking classes, hiking, fishing, kayaking, rafting, mountain biking and dog mushing. There are lots of birds, flowers and berries that are rare to other places.

Action picks up at Finger Lake/Winter Lake Lodge early on the second day of the race and because it’s early in the race, the action is intense. Teams arrive in a steady stream, one right after the other. Most teams stay and rest during the “heat of the day.” Mushers have to carry enough food with them from Skwentna to feed their dogs at Finger Lake, as there are no musher bags flown out to Finger Lake. Dogs are very happy to eat a tasty meal and then snooze while the temperature tops out in the early afternoon."

We're looking forward to racing on toward Rainy Pass, the fourth Iditarod checkpoint!!

Photo courtesy of Iditarod.edu