For those wanting to give it a try, winter -- prime mushing season for obvious reasons -- is the perfect time. And getting into it is pretty straight forward, said Scott Maruskie, a longtime sprint-distance musher and vice president of the Alaskan Sled Dog and Racing Association. Frontiersman file photo - Cleveland, OH 
Dream of mushing? Here's how to get started.
It’s a quintessential Alaska activity and sport — but arguably nowhere in the state is it more embedded in the local culture than in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. But mushing, dog sledding and racing dog teams is more than just a hobby. For most mushers it’s a lifestyle, and many people move to the state just to take a crack at it.
But if you live in the Valley and are interested in giving mushing a try, it can be hard to know where to start. Mushing lessons aren’t a standard offering. Schools don’t typically have dog sled teams. So how do you break into the sport?
For those wanting to give it a try, winter — prime mushing season for obvious reasons — is the perfect time. And getting into it is pretty straight forward, said Scott Maruskie, a longtime sprint-distance musher and vice president of the Alaskan Sled Dog and Racing Association. All you have to do, he said, is ask a current musher to teach you.
“Find a musher that is involved in it and is willing to take you under their wing and let the kids get involved from the ground up, and that includes going out and scooping the poop and feeding the dogs and taking care of them,” he said.
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