Working Dog Sled Team in Denali, Alaska

Working Dog Sled Team

The chosen ones

Dog Mushing in Alaska

   We couldn't come to Alaska without checking out some the national sport, dog mushing. Denali happens to have the only working dog sled team in any national park so we figured this would be a great place to start. They do a couple of demonstrations with the dogs daily out at the kennels so we jumped on a free shuttle from the visitors center to check it out. 

  After five minutes we were at the kennels. We were able to spend time with the dogs before the demonstration. They are all Alaskan Huskies, although they come in many colors, patterns, and only some had the typical blue eyes. Apparently they are bred based on demeanor, ability to work in a team, and pulling power. They were all so calm and definitely enjoyed a good pet or scratch which we whole-heartedly obliged.

  When it was time for the sled demonstration we all gathered into the stands and one of the park rangers gave us a bit of history or dog sledding, why it is still used in the park, and some interesting stories about their assignments in the past. The most famous story is about a relay of dog sledding teams used in the winter of 1925.

  "The Iditarod Trail, now a National Historic Trail, had its beginnings as a mail and supply route from the coastal towns of Seward and Knik to the interior mining camps at Flat, Ophir, Ruby and beyond to the west coast communities of Unalakleet, Elim, Golovin, White Mountain and Nome. Mail and supplies went in. Gold came out. All via dog sled. Heroes were made, legends were born.  In 1925, part of the Iditarod Trail became a life saving highway for epidemic-stricken Nome. Diphtheria threatened and serum had to be brought in; again by intrepid dog mushers and their faithful hard-driving dogs.  Throughout the years, the sled dogs were important to day to day life in the villages and throughout Alaska.   All of these examples and more are a part of Alaska’s history.

   Joe Redington had two reasons for organizing the long-distance Iditarod Race:  to save the sled dog culture and Alaskan huskies, which were being phased out of existence due to the introduction of snowmobiles in Alaska; and to preserve the historical Iditarod Trail between Seward and Nome.  These reasons were his life’s work."

   Another fun story they told was about a personal friend of the ranger's got his F-350 stuck in snow on the side of the road one winter. He couldn't get out even with the help of his friends' big trucks with winches. So what did they do? They called in two dog sled teams to the rescue. These dogs are able to go through terrain where snowcats and snowmobiles get hopelessly stuck, and working together as a team do some pretty amazing things. 

Heidi the dog musher?

   Perhaps the best part of the demonstration was when they chose dogs to strap in and be a part of the sled team. The dogs could sense this coming and the energy level of the kennels shot up exponentially. Seeing how excited the dogs were to pull was so fun. The barking didn't stop until after the demonstration when the chosen dogs were unharnessed and let run back to their kennels. After the show we spend a little more time interacting with the dogs before jumping on another free shuttle to explore deeper into Denali National Park.

www.daimartamarack.com