Mushers are the epitome of tough. Spending days on end camping in winter wilderness, faced with countless challenges — primary among them keeping the dog team safe and healthy.

The 1,000 Mile Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race was canceled this year due to Covid-19, but the shorter Summit Quest 300 was still held. Eighteen mushers started the race, 12 finished.

Frostbite and hypothermia are perhaps the most obvious environmental risks, with temperatures of 40 below or colder not uncommon throughout Interior Alaska. Staying dry can be difficult when teams encounter overflow, which occurs when flowing spring water can’t penetrate frozen ground, and instead percolates up in a slurry of ice and water. Ornery wildlife — moose, wolves and caribou — pose serious threats to teams. Snowmachines or cars striking a dog team happens about once per year throughout Alaska, and simple falls, whether due to challenging terrain or sleep deprivation, have resulted in serious concussions in recent years.

But when things go well, the results are a glorious fusion of synergy between the dogs and the musher in some of the prettiest country imaginable.

Fairbanks-based Deke Naaktgeboren mushes out of Circle City Checkpoint during the Summit Quest 300 in Interior Alaska. Feb. 15, 2021.

Fairbanks-based musher Deke Naaktgeboren travels along Birch Creek en route to a second-place finish during Interior Alaska’s the Summit Quest 300. Feb. 15, 2021.

Summit Quest 300 champion Dan Kaduce cruises along Birch Creek in Interior Alaska. Birch Creek — notorious for being long, circuitous and cold — lived up to its reputation with temperatures around negative 50 this year. Feb. 15, 2021.