Mush!

"This is Tonto. He's pretty vocal - they all are when they know they're going to get to pull." Mushers know their dogs.

Fun Today - Serious 100 Years Ago

A dog sled ride is something you do for fun in the mountains today. But mushers and their dogs provided winter freight transportation in Alaska 100 years ago. There was a serious pandemic in the making in the severe winter of 1925 that would need their services.

1925 Serum Run to Nome

In January 1925, in the remote town of Nome, Alaska on the Bering Sea, Doctor Curtis Welch saw several children sickening with what at first looked like tonsillitis. But he quickly realized it was diphtheria, which we now know has a 20% risk of fatality in children and adults over 40. Welch had no fresh diphtheria antitoxin on hand to kill the diphtheriae bacteria that cause it, since the shipment he ordered in 1924 never arrived. Without the antitoxin, the disease would spread first among local children and then as a pandemic, potentially affecting thousands of Alaskans.

So Welch sent a telegram to other major towns in Alaska and the US public Health Service in Washington D.C., alerting them to the danger and requesting a mail delivery of the antitoxin. An Anchorage hospital had 300,000 units of the stuff. But there was a problem - trains didn't go all the way to Nome, and the port was icebound in winter, so inaccessible by steamship.

Sled dogs and equipment haven’t changed much since 1925. Image from True West Magazine.

A mail relay was proposed. Dog teams would run the 674 mile route in shifts from the last train stop at Nenana, following the Tanana and Yukon Rivers and the gale-whipped coast of Norton Sound to Nome. 20 teams made the run in -50 to -62 degree temperatures, some of the dogs dying and their mushers suffering frostbite. Mushers wrapped the antitoxin serum in fur and kept it warm during the entire journey to keep it effective. Teams got the serum to Nome in 127 hours and 30 minutes (less than 5 1/2 days), a half-day faster than expected. Because of those dedicated mushers and their dog teams, deaths were held to 5-7 children.

Born to Run

Today's Alaskan huskies are smaller than the large dogs first used to run freight. The earliest sled dogs came from much beefier breeds like Bernese Mountain Dogs, because of the strength needed for heavy loads. Today's dogs are bred for speed in races like the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod, which starts in Willow (north of Anchorage) and traces the original 1925 serum route through the Alaskan interior and along the coast to Nome. (In 2021 the race will take a different route to Iditarod Flat before turning around and retracing the route to WIllow.)

Photographing Mushers

My dog photography business has been pretty well shut down by COVID-19. (I'm still available for socially-distanced sessions on location outdoors.) Instead, I decided to photograph dogs at work and play as a personal photographic project. An email reply to my inquiry about shooting working dogs and their sports came back from Monarch Dog Sled Rides near Colorado's Monarch Mountain Ski Area. They'd said they'd love to have me photograph their dogs and rides. YES!!

Session Offer -

Click to book an active photo session with your furry best friend - in a gorgeous outdoor location.

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A couple days after a spay operation for our Sheltie Jessie and teeth cleaning for our Berner Taylor at Animal Care Center of Castle Pines, we were on our way through the mountains to Salida, Colorado. Monarch Dog Sled Rides has a hand-lettered sign advertising their rides, visible on a snowy spur road off the main highway, a couple miles below the ski area. We'd rented an SUV in Salida instead of driving our RV, so it was easy to park on the spur. As I walked over, I was greeted by enthusiastic barking from 24 or so Alaskan huskies ready to pull.

Sled Dog Care

Before the ride, mushers talked about the 1925 Serum Run to Nome and the evolution of modern dog sled racing in the Iditarod and Yukon Quest, dog sled racing's biggest events. They also talked about their dogs' seasonal schedules, pulling sleds in Colorado for the winter and heading to Alaska for summer sled dog camp during the offseason.

The mushers talked in loving terms about their dogs, and the care is very clear in the gentle way they treat them. That care continues when dogs are no longer as vocal or as eager to pull. They're retired to adopting families, and as well-socialized as they are, they make excellent companions.

The dogs were gentle enough for paying customers to harness up.

Here We Go - the First Ride Begins

I'd been so busy shooting preparation - harnessing and hitching dogs up, checking harnesses and lines - that I almost missed the first ride. As it was, I got no good start shots of that 1PM ride. So I walked down the trail to a spot breaking out of the trees and giving a great background view. A little later I heard the remaining dogs barking at one point, and hustled back up to the start. But no, they were going to return on the trail I'd just walked back up. Thankfully, I had also planned to shoot the 3PM ride, knowing it would probably take me the first ride to figure out what to shoot.

No, Really, I’m Going To Get It This Time

I spoke with the mushers about their routes this time, and figured I really wouldn't be able to follow or keep up with dog sleds going 8-12 mph on a 4-5 mile loop. I'd covered sled and dog prep with the 1PM ride, so I walked down the trail to my chosen spot with the great mountain background. Then I waited...

The team burst around the corner with some mild barking. I kept shooting until they'd passed me. Then I started walking back up the trail. But low and behold, a second team glided out of the woods! So I scampered back to my spot, knelt down and shot that team until they passed me by.

Then it was time to walk back up to the finish area. I once again chose a spot and waited. I got both teams with another outstanding mountain backdrop through the trees.

From the pictures, it was obvious everyone had a great time. We're definitely going to look into a ride, either at Monarch or outside Durango (a little closer to us).

Team 2’s fast finish - 10 enthusiastic dogs pulling

Shot Notes

Gaiters are really important if you're walking through snow. They'll keep your pants dry and keep snow out of your boots. The trail was packed hard enough so I didn't need the snowshoes I brought with me. I didn't even think about trying to photograph from cross-country skis, though I've XC-ski raced a couple times and ski-toured a lot in Northern California.

For me, this was like shooting a mountain bike race. I used two camera bodies to quickly shift viewpoints. On one I had a 35mm f/2 for some mildly wide views, and the other with excellent autofocus tracking and a 70-200mm f/2.8 zoom for narrower-view action. I thought about using fill flash, but didn't for most shots. There was plenty of reflected light from snow, even in the shadows. And dog teams were too far away most of the time for flash to be useful.

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The 2021 Iditarod race begins Sunday March 7 at 2 pm in Willow, Alaska. The ceremonial start in Anchorage has been canceled due to COVID-19 concerns. 47 teams have signed up to race the 850 mile course to Iditarod Flat and back to Willow.

Thanks to Deanna at Monarch Dog Sled Rides for allowing me to photograph her rides.

More Information

Alaska Public Media (March 4, 2021), The Iditarod starts Sunday and it will look a lot different this year. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/yhr2wf3r

Alaska State Archives (nd), Serum Run of 1925. Retrieved from https://archives.alaska.gov/education/serum.html

Dan Sullivan (2.27.21), OP-ED: EVEN DURING A PANDEMIC, THE ICONIC IDITAROD CONTINUES. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/2t6p2ew4

Iditarod The Last Great Race (nd), Musher List. Retrieved from https://iditarod.com/race/2021/mushers/list/

Iditarod The Last Great Race (nd), OFFICIAL RACE MAP 2021 GOLD TRAIL LOOP. Retrieved from https://iditarod.com/race-map/

Medscape (Jan 18, 2019), Diphtheria. Retrieved from https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/782051-overview#a6

Monarch Dog Sled Rides (nd), FAQ. Retrieved from https://monarchdogsledrides.com/faq

Resha Sled Dog Equipment (nd), Harness Information. Retrieved from https://www.reshaequip.com/shop/harnesses

The History of Vaccines (nd), Balto. Retrieved from https://tinyurl.com/2c3dv5w3

True West Magazine (August 2008), The Great Race of Mercy. Retrieved from https://truewestmagazine.com/article/the-great-race-of-mercy/

Wikipedia (ND), 1925 serum run to Nome. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1925_serum_run_to_Nome