Author, adventurer, biologist and ordained minister- Jonathan Nathaniel Hayes has in depth conversations with leading voices on issues ranging from adventure in the outdoors, history, faith and science.
Urtha Lenhar: Personal Iditarod Reflections from someone who was there on day one
🐾 NEW EPISODE — The Explorer with Jonathan Hayes
The third and final installment of our Iditarod EDU Speaker Series is here — and it's a big one.
Urtha Lenhar was there on day one of the Iditarod. He went on to finish the race himself, spent forty years as a teacher (twenty of them in Nome, Alaska), and now leads the nonprofit Seppala House Project — restoring Leonhard Seppala's historic home into a museum.
This talk covers the birth of the Iditarod, what it took to run it, the fight to preserve a piece of mushing history, and everything in between.
This one's personal — I led the carpentry team on that Seppala House restoration myself, and you can hear it in how we talk about it.
Catch up on the whole series: my talk on the Centennial Seppala Expedition, Kat Langlais on what it really takes to win the Can-Am Crown, and now Urtha closing it out.
🎧 Listen now — link in bio
🌐 MushMaine.com
📱 Follow us: Mush Maine
✉️ jonathannathanielhayes@gmail.com
Share this with someone who loves this history as much as we do. #Iditarod #SeppalaHouse #MushMaine #TheExplorerPodcast
25 Jul 2026
Kat Langlais: What It Takes to Be a Winning Musher
Part 2 of our Iditarod EDU Speaker Series is here, and it's a game-changer.
Kat Langlais is the first — and only — woman to win the Can-Am Crown 250. In this talk, she breaks down what it really takes to be a winning musher, from her perspective. Spoiler: it's not what you think.
I opened this series with a talk on the Centennial Seppala Expedition, and we'll close it out with the one and only Urtha Lenhar. But this one? This one is going to stick with you.
🎧 Listen now — link in bio
🌐 MushMaine.com
📱 Follow us: Mush Maine
✉️ jonathannathanielhayes@gmail.com
23 Jul 2026
Retracing the Great Race Against Death: Live before the Iditarod EDU Conference
Would you mush 750 miles alone through -40° temps to honor a 100-year-old legacy?
I did. New episode of Explorer breaks down the whole journey — Norton Sound, the Blowhole, on the Yukon I'll never forget, and a feeling in Nome I'll never forget.
🎧 Now streaming
Follow: Mush Maine on social media or
email
jonathannathanielhayes@gmail.com
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