I loved her too much to see what might happen to her. She was probably my favourite out of our litter. It would really break my heart to see her leave me forever if not get killed. She deserves a wonderful life as much as anyone, but I just wasn’t quite sure how to give it to her.  

When she was going to leave to join the wolf pack, how were you feeling about letting her go without possibly seeing her again?

Again it was a very hard decision because as I said, I loved her too much and she was one of my favourite children; but I knew that she had to go because she really needed to know where she truly belonged, and this was it. If she didn’t belong with humans, she belonged with the wolves. She was certainly capable of becoming a part of a wolf pack because she had wolf instincts and she knew exactly what to do to survive in the wild. She was able to hunt and she liked the taste of raw meat, which is what wolves eat, of course. She also had leadership instincts, which gave her the right to lead the pack after original leader Nava could not continue because of his age. The other wolves also accepted her as a part of them. This was everything that my daughter ever wanted: A welcoming home and a wonderful life; and because she had finally found her true belonging, I knew that I had to let her go. Besides, this was her destiny in the first place as Nava called her out as the one who was wolf and did not know to lead the wolf pack to the caribou, where life was waiting for the pack. All that mattered to me was to see each of my children happy. Whatever is best for my children I will let them have it. I would still love to see my beloved daughter’s face again one more time; but as long as she is happy, I am as well.

You mentioned Nava, the old leader of the pack that your daughter joined. From what our sources have told us, is it true that he is indeed related to your mother Aniu?

Yes, it is true. Nava told me that he was in fact the brother of Aniu. They were in the same litter, and when he was old enough, Nava decided to run away and join another wolf pack because some of the other wolves in his own pack were not treating him very well. Nava was very wise and very loyal and he knew how to make a good leader. Therefore the wolves in the pack that he joined picked him as the alpha, and he continued to lead them over some years. It was that time when he was old and the wolf pack’s food was declining when he sent for Aleu and I. Yes, it was him who sent Aniu to bring us to the pack, because Aniu saw what Aleu was going through and she guided her towards her destiny. Ever since my mother passed on she has been able to guide not only me, but my family as well; to show them who they really were and help them to find where they belonged. Anyway, I see now why she was sent to the pack that Nava was leading, because Nava was related to my mother, and he wanted his grand niece to help lead his pack towards their destiny. It all makes sense, really. So the bottom line is that I am in fact Nava’s nephew; “Uncle Nava” as he was known to me; and it was that family burden that helped my daughter to find out who she was and where she truly belonged.  

When you returned to Nome and you told Jenna everything about what happened with you and Aleu, how did she feel about it?

At first she was very surprised that we had traveled a long way to help Aleu reach her destiny and the fact that she had become apart of a wolf pack. At the same time she was feeling a bit sad about loosing her daughter; let alone the fact that she never even got to say goodbye to her in the least. She was feeling it hard to have to let her go and possibly never see her again, just like me, but she was also happy at the fact that she finally found her home and she was going to have a wonderful life. At least Jenna was happy for her daughter. She always said that children have got to be free to live their own lives. She is a very understanding person, and that is another reason why I love her. We have both learned to accept that she is gone but also enjoying her life with wolves, and we have moved on. Besides we still have our other five children, and we will always see them around town.

About a year after you returned from your “wolf quest”, your son Kodi became a new member of the mail sled team. How did you feel about that?

I was feeling very proud of him for what he had accomplished. All his life he was passionate about racing, and when he was young we would always run up and down the beach. I would teach him how to run properly and train him to become fit and strong, which would give him the endurance that he would need for long-distance sled running. He kept practicing on the beach day after day from when he was a pup to adolescence to finally maturity.

Even in my absence he wouldn’t stop trying. He stayed extremely committed to his hard work, and all that hard work eventually earned him a spot on the sled team. I would have to say that Kodi was my other favourite out of our litter, because he wanted to make me proud by following in my paw prints, both in racing and loyalty. He remained loyal to his friends and family, was committed to important duties, and was determined to help others. From what I see in him, he has made me even more proud of him than I could ever be. You always want your children to honour the family’s legacy, and Kodi has done just that. I know that one day he will carry on in my place and fulfill our legacy when I am gone. He will always be my favourite son.

You seemed fascinated by the bush plane when it came into Nome. What was it about the plane that made you so interested?

It was like nothing that I had ever seen before. At first sight I had no idea what it was or how it could fly like a bird, but it just seemed like the greatest feeling; looking down on the world. Being able to fly through the clouds and seeing the earth from the sky is like an opportunity that you may only get once in a lifetime, and that it is just so special in that sense. When I took that flight in Duke’s bush plane, it was amazing. You just get the best views of the world and the feeling of soaring through the clouds just makes your spirit soar, and you feel free. It is almost impossible to describe. There is nothing that I could ever compare it too.

When you first got the news that there was going to be a race between the dog sled team and the bush plane to determine which of the two would deliver the mail and they asked you to lead the team, what were you thinking at that point?

I was feeling a little uneasy about leading at first, because I saw the bush plane fly and I chased it, only to have it outrun me by miles. That plane was so fast and there was no way to keep up with it. At the same time I knew that the team was counting on me because they were afraid of loosing their jobs. They thought that if air mail was the way of the future and they no longer delivered the mail, no one would want to use them any more. It especially meant a lot to Kodi because he was proud of his job and he really wanted to keep it; plus he was counting on me because he looked up to me not just as the town hero, but a loving father. He thought that if anyone could keep his hopes up, it was me. Not to mention that he looked to me for love and guidance growing up. The truth is that if we lost the race I wouldn’t be able to look my son in the eyes because I would feel that I would have let him down, and goodness knows how he would have reacted. However, I went to Jenna and she told me that I didn’t have to be a hero; I just needed to be there for my son. She said that Kodi loves me because I am his father, and that was all he needed from me. Whatever happened, he would always have a hero for he would always have me. Plus when the race would be over, I would have accomplished all that I was capable of. At the end of the day you can only do what you can do, really. After she told me that, it gave me the confidence to enter into the race and lead the team, no matter what the outcome. As long as I was there for Kodi and trying my very best for him, it was all that was important to him. He certainly had confidence in me along with the sled team and all the people of Nome, so that certainly put some motivation in me as well. Regardless of the outcome, I was willing to make everyone proud; just like I did on the serum run in 1925. Again, this was for my son Kodiak.

That same night that you went to see Jenna, you met and befriended the bush pilot, Duke. How do you feel about him?

He is basically a real gentleman. He appears very friendly to everyone and is the type of person who everyone would want as a friend. The first time he met me was the first time that he landed his plane in Nome. Immediately he seemed to recognize me the moment he saw me: The Great Balto who saved Nome. I was wondering where he found out about me, but it must have been pretty obvious considering I was known around the world. Plus even if I wasn’t “The Great Balto”, he didn’t jump to conclusions when he first saw me, meaning that he didn’t judge me when he saw that I was part wolf. That is another thing that I like about him: The fact that he doesn’t judge others on the outside before he sees them on the inside as well. He really seemed to like me for whom I was, and he saw that I was very fond of his plane. He also shared the same passion about flying as I did. He said that nothing can beat being up in the clouds, soaring free. All in all, he is another human friend of mine, and probably the nicest human I have ever known.

What was race like heading to White