Nightmare On Husky Street
An indeed traumatizing experience for any musher out there!
Every time I hook my dogs up to the sled and get ready for a run, I make sure that the towline, ganglines, and necklines are all properly secured. I check the sled for any damages and potential breaks. I check my dogs’ harnesses and make sure everything is tight and in order. Last but not least I tie myself up to the sled before I take off, making sure that whatever happens, I am not losing my team.
I have heard a few stories of sleds falling apart due to rough trail conditions, tow lines breaking, mushers falling off their sleds from lack of sleep after spending hours and hours on the trail. A horror, a shocking and indeed traumatizing experience, to be left stranded behind while watching your dog team disappear before your very eyes. Thankfully this has never happened to me, but more than a few mushers have already experienced this.
A musher in particular who ran the Yukon Quest last year in 2020 happened to fall asleep on his sled. He woke up only to watch his team roll away before his very eyes, disappearing in the distance. Luckily his team got picked up by one of the locals not too far from where the next checkpoint was located. He, himself, found a ride by one of the other contenders who passed him by and was brought safely to the next checkpoint as well.
