HUMAN

Name: Mike & Christy Moore

Residence: Anchorage, Alaska

Occupation: Retired

Years involved with Iditarod: 8 years

Past Iditarod Roles: Mike: I was a pilot, I hauled a race marshal for a few years, and then I became the first Chief pilot for Iditarod. Christy: Checker, head checker at Knik, head checker in Anchorage. Let’s see. Logistics coordinator, ham operator.

Current Location: Settler’s Bay Lodge in Wasilla, Alaska
Date of Photo: March 1, 2022

Temperature: 68 F Indoors

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

Mike Moore:
I first got involved with Iditarod through Larry Thompson. We worked together. And he needed a pilot and a plane. So the first year I helped haul dog food and then flew the race judge as far as Rohn, and then I had to get back to town for work.

Christy Moore:
I got involved with Iditarod probably in 1978, 79. I was a checker at Knik and then I went to downtown. The person who first got me involved in this was Joe Redington. My neighbor who wanted me to run the Iditarod. And I’m like, “no, I’m a sprint musher.”

What was one of your most memorable Iditarod experiences?

Mike Moore:

One of the most memorable Iditarod experiences, moments, I had lots of them, but one that really sticks out in my mind was… I don’t remember what year it was. I think it was ’79 or ’80 and Colonel Vaughan was running and Kitchener was the race manager and he and I were in McGrath. And we’d gotten word that Colonel Vaughan had crashed and was injured between Farewell and… well, McGrath, but it was actually Nikolai. And so I walked up to him and said, “Hey, you want to go for a plane ride?” He looked at me and smirked. He knew exactly what I was up to. He said, “sure.” So we took off from McGrath. I found him. The wind was blowing just right, and there was a little beaver pond that was really small. And we landed on it, picked him up. And the people from Nikolai had showed up to take care of the dogs, and we flew him back to McGrath so he could get medical attention. And he was glad to see us. But that’s one of many.

Christy Moore:

One of my most memorable Iditarod experiences was when I was checker at Knik, and Bud Smith comes in and he’s got, I think something like 20 dogs. And then he has dogs underneath, and the race marshal called me and said, “hold him there.” And I went “Really? Sure, okay. You’re not going anywhere, buddy.” And that was it.

What does the 50th running of the Iditarod mean to you?

Mike Moore: Makes me feel like- being it’s the 50th, Iditarod makes me feel really great that I was able to participate and help further the experiences and the wellbeing of all the dogs. I really enjoyed hauling the dogs on the trail. I could get about eight of them in my Cub. And they were usually fairly well behaved, but all I had to do was do a little maneuver with the airplane to quiet them down in the air if they got too excited or I needed to quiet them down. It was great. I just loved the way they took care of the dogs and it just meant a lot to me.

Christy Moore:
Knowing this is the 50th, Iditarod makes me feel very grateful that I was able to help promote the race in the very beginning, and that it’s reached its 50th year.

What do you know for sure?:

Mike Moore:
What I know for sure in life is that I’m terribly in love with my wife and we met on Iditarod Trail. In fact, we had our honeymoon on the Iditarod trail and at Ruby, was it Ruby?

Christy Moore:
I was going to tell that one.

Mike Moore:
I think it was Ruby. We pitched a tent and it was about-

Christy Moore:
Iditarod?

Mike Moore:
No. Anyway, Emmett Peter’s dog, Innoko.

Christy Moore:
The Innoko Lodge.

Mike Moore:
The Innoko Lodge. We slept in a tent and Emmett Peter’s lead dogs came in and slept with us in our tent that night. And it was about 20 below. They were welcomed. It was cold.

Christy Moore:
That was really funny when Emmett Peter’s sled dog, his lead dog, came into the tent. I thought Mike was going to be amorous. And then all of a sudden I thought, “wow, did he eat fish?” And I opened my eyes and here was the dog with his nose right in my face. And I went, “Emmett? Get your lead dog out of here.”