Why Did Joe Pick the Iditarod Trail?

Thanks to Chris, we all know that the Iditarod Race started as Joe Redington Senior's idea. He wanted to make sure that people continued using sled dogs even though the snow machine was invented. But... how did the trail come to be?
Joe wanted his race to be the longest sled dog race in the world. No one knew how far dogs could go, but Joe knew Native Alaskans, gold prospectors, and even mail carriers used sled dogs to travel far acroos the Alaska wilderness.
Right by Joe's house was an old mail trail that led to the town of Iditarod. Joe used the trail all the time with his dogs to visit his friends and to go camping. This trail was used to carry mail back in the days of the Gold Rush. Using a trail with a history would certainly make the race more interesting. Joe decided the trail ought to be part of the race--and it is!
The race only uses part of the original Iditarod Mail Trail, but the race is named after it. The Historic Iditarod Trail goes from Seward in the south all the way to Nome. Click on the title of this post to learn more.
By Mrs. A.