The Red Lantern

Sled dogs were often used to carry mail throughout Alaska. Dog drivers relied on roadhouses to stop at between villages. Word was relayed ahead to other roadhouses that a dog team was on the way. A kerosene lamp was hung outside the house to help the mail carriers locate their next stop along the trail. The lamp was not extinguished until the musher safely arrived. Beginning in 1986, Chevron USA continued the tradition by hanging a red lantern on the burl arch in Nome. The lantern is lit at the start of the race and not extinguished until the last musher has crossed the finish line. This last musher across the burl arch becomes the winner of the Red Lantern (Fuerst 17).