People sometimes ask which musher is my favorite – speaking of the old-timers, not my currently-racing friends. It’s a tough choice, as there were some amazing mushers in Alaska’s history (and I write about many of them in my newest book, Alaskan Sled Dog Tales), but one which is always near the top of my list is Arthur Treadwell Walden, author of “Dog-Puncher on the Yukon.” Here’s an article about him, and a great photo which I don’t remember seeing before:

“Part adventurer, part showman Arthur T. Walden of Wonalancet, New Hampshire, dazzles the crowd with his sled dog Chinook at the Winter Carnival in Portland in this photograph published on the front page of the Evening Express on February 11, 1922, the same year that the intelligent, loyal canine led Walden’s team to victory in the first Eastern International Dog Derby, a 123-mile race. Then 5 years old, Chinook, bred from a mastiff stray and a descendant of Admiral Robert Peary’s Greenland husky Polaris, was on his way to becoming the most famous dog in America. His future achievements would include leading the first dog team ascent of Mount Washington, a treacherous undertaking that many had considered impossible.”