Meet The Mushers: Katrina Pawlaczyk

Cute co-ed Katrina is a canine competitor. Or at least she wants to be. Kat is from Brockport, New York, and was attending the University of Toronto until she decided to ditch school to take up mushing. She’s been training with Lynda Plettner and qualified for her first Idiatrod run by placing 9th in the […]

Meet The Mushers: DeeDee Jonrowe

When I think of the rugged musher type braving the harsh elements, I don’t think of anyone named DeeDee. Yet, she’s one of the top female mushers in the world. DeeDee took up the sport in 1979 and entered her first Iditarod Trail Race the following year. During the 1990s she was a regular top […]

Meet The Mushers: Melanie Gould

Whenever Melanie is out on the trails, some idiot is sure to exclaim, “There’s Gould in them tar hills.” Actually, that probably doesn’t happen because I’m the only idiot who would do that. Mel is a native of Alaska who moved away to Colorado for six years before returning to her home state in 1998. […]

Meet The Mushers: Lynda Plettner

Lynda is a longtime veteran of mushing and the Iditarod who carries the unofficial title of grandmother that has run the most Iditarod races. Go, Granny, go! Lynda moved to Alaska from Palm Springs, California, and entered her first Iditarod Trail Race in 1990. Her best finish was in 2002 when she placed 13th. Lynda […]

Meet The Mushers: Aliy Zirkle

Aliy is a New England Yankee who came to Alaska in 1990 for a job with the US Fish and Wildlife Service. A trained biologist, she started mushing in 1993 and entered her first Iditarod Trail Race in 2001. Last year she placed 11th, he best finish yet in The Last Great Race. She and […]

Meet The Mushers: Judy Currier

Judy is a reformed accountant who left the rat race behind in 1995 when she moved to Alaska to run dogs and open a bed and breakfast in Two Rivers. Her Paw Print Bed & Sled offers three guest rooms, a shared batch, and a relaxing sitting room. Judy entered her first Iditarod in 1999 […]

Meet The Mushers: Bryan Mills

Bryan hails from Marengo, Wisconsin, which is near Ashland in the northern part of the state. He’s only the second person from Wisconsin to have finished the Iditarod Trail Race after placing 53rd in his rookie attempt last year. He’s a real go-getter, that Bryan, having trained his own team for the race. You can […]

Meet The Mushers: Gerald Sousa

Jerry was born and raised in California but moved with his family to Alaska in 1971, so I guess he’s pretty close to being a native of the Last Frontier. He’s been running dogs since 1978 and entered his first Iditarod in 2001. Jerry’s best finish in the Last Great Race was 16th in 2004. […]

Meet The Mushers: Ramy Brooks

Okay, just close up shop and go home, ’cause there’s no way anyone can compete with Ramy. Check out these facts:

He was born in Alaska and raised on the Yukon River; he’s part Yupik Eskimo and part Athabascan Indian.
His great grandfather, Arthur Wright, was an interpreter for Hudson Stuck, the Archdeacon of the Yukon, and […]

Meet The Mushers: Gary Paulsen

I’ll admit it, Gary intimidates me a bit. See, Gary is a published writer. Not like me with the Web site and the blogging and all, he’s had books published. You know, made of paper and printed with ink, sold in bookstores. Books. He gets paid real money to do that. Gary writes young adult […]