HUMAN

Name: Jerney Simkowski

Age: 25

Residence: Talkeetna, Alaska

Occupation: Hunting, fly fishing and bear viewing guide

Years involved with the Iditarod: This is my first year

Iditarod Role: One of the trail breakers

Current Location: Nome, Alaska

Date of Photo: March 15, 2022

Temperature: 6F Outdoors & 68F Indoors at Iditarod Headquarters

What, who or how and when did you first get involved with the Iditarod?

I got involved with the Iditarod because of my cousin, Jake. He was a trail breaker for, I think, six times. And then Spencer Pape was my landlord, and he’s a one of the other trail breakers, and they got me involved in Iditarod that way.

What is your Why? Why are you here TODAY and involved with the Iditarod?

I’m here today and involved with the Iditarod because one, is my cousin did it and it sounded really cool experience from them and I wanted to volunteer as well. And then I helped Dallas Seavey and Chad Stoddard out at the Seavey kennel in Talkeetna, so that was one of the big reasons. I thought it’d be pretty cool to be here when he finished his race.

Tell me about just one of your most memorable Iditarod experiences.

One of my most memorable Iditarod experience was going to Cripple this year. We ended up having to bring a Tundra II that we tied on the back of a Siglin and had to drag it for about 140 miles. And I had it the whole time. It was pretty cool. And then we got there, Tyrell Seavey was there and he was racing it all around that checkpoint. It was pretty cool.

What in life do you know for sure?

 What I know for sure in life is, is I’ll probably trail break again. That was a lot of fun.