Sled dog lighter sled dogs." Outside of Alaska, dog-drawn carts were used to haul peddler's wares in cities like New York. In 1925, there was a diphtheria outbreak in Nome, Alaska. There was not enough serum in Nome to treat the number of people infected by the disease. There was serum in Nenana, but the town was away, and inaccessible except by dog sled. A dog sled relay was set up by the villages between Nenana and Nome, and 20 teams worked together to relay the serum to Nome. The serum reached Nome in six days. The Iditarod Trail was established on
Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race of those in the back of the pack. After Ophir, the trail diverges into a northern and a southern route, which rejoin at Kaltag. In "even"-numbered years ("e.g." 2016, 2018) the "northern" route is used; in "odd"-numbered years ("e.g." 2017, 2019) the "southern" route is used. During the first few Iditarods only the northern trail was used. In the late 1970s, the southern leg of the route was added. It gave the southern villages a chance to host the Iditarod race and also allowed the route to pass through the trail's namesake, the historical town of Iditarod. The two routes