During my first year in Alaska I had the opportunity to follow two 1,000-mile sled dogs races, the Yukon Quest and the Iditarod. These are images from those races and other encounters I've had with dog mushers in the state. Here is more about following my first race.
Courtney Agnes, 15, feeds dogs at the home of her grandfather, Wilson Sam, on Thursday, March 12, 2015 in Huslia, Alaska. Agnes has learned mushing from the late George Attla Jr. and her grandfather. Agnes won the six-dog division of the 2014 Junior North American Championships. ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER
Iditarod veteran DeeDee Jonrowe, of Willow, Alaska, shakes a hand warmer while she feeds her dogs in the dog yard near the armory on Sunday morning, March 15, 2015 in Koyukuk, Alaska. Jonrowe suffered from six frostbitten fingers earlier in the race. This is the first time Koyukuk has hosted the Iditarod as a checkpoint, although in odd years when the Iditarod runs its normal route, mushers pass Koyukuk on their way to Nulato. The Iditarod is a nearly 1,000-mile race that usually runs from Willow, Alaska to Nome, Alaska. Lack of snow on parts of the trail caused the race to begin in Fairbanks this year for the second time since it began in 1973. ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER
Hark, the group's lead dog, right, waits to go mushing while Noble Paws founder and director Steve Vick pets Ruby on Sunday, December 14, 2014. Vick and other mushers with Noble Paws were out Sunday to work out logistics of running their dogs at Musher's Hall. Noble Paws is a nonprofit organization that teaches people experiencing disabilities how to run their own sled dog team. ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER
Lance Mackey waves as he begins the Yukon Quest at Shipyards Park on Saturday, February 7, 2015 in Whitehorse, Yukon. ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER
Teams rest in the dog yard in Nenana, Alaska on Monday, March 9, 2015. Nenana is the first checkpoint in the 2015 Iditarod and is about 60 river miles from the start in Fairbanks, Alaska. The Iditarod is a nearly 1,000-mile race that usually runs from Willow, Alaska to Nome, Alaska. Lack of snow on parts of the trail caused the race to begin in Fairbanks this year for the second time since it began in 1973.ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER
Ray Redington Jr., Quest rookie and Iditarod veteran from Knik, Alaska, makes his way into the Dawson City checkpoint during the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race on Wednesday, February 11, 2015 in Dawson City, Yukon. Redington was the fifth musher into the city. Twenty-six mushers are competing in the 32nd running of the 1,000-mile trail between Whitehorse, Yukon and Fairbanks, Alaska. Dawson City is the fourth checkpoint in the race and is about 450 trail miles from the start in Whitehorse, Yukon. Redington was the fifth musher into the city. ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER
One of Quest veteran Ed Hopkins' snowy dogs sits in the snow while Hopkins checks into the Dawson City checkpoint during the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race on Wednesday, February 11, 2015 in Dawson City, Yukon. Twenty-six mushers are competing in the 32nd running of the 1,000-mile trail between Whitehorse, Yukon and Fairbanks, Alaska. Dawson City is the fourth checkpoint in the race and is about 450 trail miles from the start in Whitehorse, Yukon. ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER
Four-time champion Lance Mackey of Fairbanks, Alaska, makes his way over the Yukon River to the Carmacks checkpoint during the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race on Sunday, February 8, 2015 in Carmacks, Yukon. Twenty-six mushers are competing in the 32nd running of the 1,000-mile trail between Whitehorse, Yukon and Fairbanks, Alaska. Carmacks is the second checkpoint in the race and is about 177 trail miles from the start in Whitehorse, Yukon. ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER
Ryne Olson, a rookie from Two Rivers, Alaska, walks with her dog Supai while resting her dogs at the McCabe Creek dog drop during the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race on Monday, February 9, 2015 in McCabe Creek, Yukon. Twenty-six mushers are competing in the 32nd running of the 1,000-mile trail between Whitehorse, Yukon and Fairbanks, Alaska. McCabe Creek is about 35 trail miles before Pelly Crossing, the third checkpoint in the race. ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER
Cindy Abbott's dog Peanut looks out of his dog box in the dog yard before the start of the Iditarod on Hoselton Road in Fairbanks on Monday, March 9, 2015. Abbott is a Iditarod rookie from Irvine, California. The Iditarod is a nearly 1,000-mile race that usually runs from Willow, Alaska to Nome, Alaska. Lack of snow on parts of the trail caused the race to begin in Fairbanks this year for the second time since it began in 1973. ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER
The leader board in the Dawson City checkpoint shows Quest veteran of, Eureka, Alaska, Brent Sass as the first musher in at 3:01 p.m. during the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race on Tuesday, February 10, 2015 in Dawson City, Yukon. Twenty-six mushers are competing in the 32nd running of the 1,000-mile trail between Whitehorse, Yukon and Fairbanks, Alaska. Dawson City is the fourth checkpoint in the race and is about 450 trail miles from the start in Whitehorse, Yukon. ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER
Food bags for mushers in the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race sit out in the Carmacks checkpoint on Sunday, February 8, 2015 in Carmacks, Yukon. Twenty-six mushers are competing in the 32nd running of the 1,000-mile trail between Whitehorse, Yukon and Fairbanks, Alaska. Carmacks is the second checkpoint in the race and is about 177 trail miles from the start in Whitehorse, Yukon. ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER
Ben Jones, 81, feeds his two puppies at his home on Saturday, March 14, 2015 in Koyukuk, Alaska. Jones was the last musher in Koyukuk to have a dog team. In January of this year he sold all but the two he now keeps as pets. Jones began mushing when he was 7 years old and ran his first sprint race in 1951. ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER
New Zealand Iditarod veteran Curt Perano's dogs Block, right, and Tazer enjoy salmon at the checkpoint in the baseball field on Friday, March 13, 2015 in Huslia, Alaska. This is the first time Huslia has hosted the Iditarod as a checkpoint and it is the halfway point in the race. The Iditarod is a nearly 1,000-mile race that usually runs from Willow, Alaska to Nome, Alaska. Lack of snow on parts of the trail caused the race to begin in Fairbanks this year for the second time since it began in 1973. ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER
Quest veteran Brent Sass, of Eureka, Alaska, back left, smiles as he talks to his handler Josh Horst, left, Race Marshal Doug Grilliot, center, and his mother Chris Sass, right, while he eats in the Mile 101 checkpoint during the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race on Sunday, February 15, 2015 on the Steese Highway in Alaska. Twenty-six mushers began the 32nd running of the 1,000-mile trail between Whitehorse, Yukon and Fairbanks, Alaska. Mile 101 is the eighth official checkpoint in the race from Whitehorse, Yukon. ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER
Michelle Phillips greets Ed Hopkins' dog team after he checks in as the sixth musher into the Dawson City checkpoint during the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race on Wednesday, February 11, 2015 in Dawson City, Yukon. Hopkins and wife Phillips are quest veterans from Tagish, Yukon, and Phillips won the 2015 Yukon Quest 300 on Monday evening. Twenty-six mushers are competing in the 32nd running of the 1,000-mile trail between Whitehorse, Yukon and Fairbanks, Alaska. Dawson City is the fourth checkpoint in the race and is about 450 trail miles from the start in Whitehorse, Yukon. ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER
Kindergarten students from Jimmy Huntington School look at posters about famous people from Huslia hanging in the community hall on Thursday, March 12, 2015 in Huslia, Alaska. The community hall will be where mushers can eat food and talk to people. This is the first time Huslia has hosted the Iditarod as a checkpoint and it is the halfway point in the race. The Iditarod is a nearly 1,000-mile race that usually runs from Willow, Alaska to Nome, Alaska. Lack of snow on parts of the trail caused the race to begin in Fairbanks this year for the second time since it began in 1973. ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER
Quest rookie Ryne Olson, from Two Rivers, Alaska, pulls into the Eagle checkpoint in front of the old school house during the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race on Saturday, February 14, 2015 in Eagle, Alaska. Twenty-six mushers began the 32nd running of the 1,000-mile trail between Whitehorse, Yukon and Fairbanks, Alaska. Eagle is the fifth checkpoint in the race and is about 600 trail miles from the start in Whitehorse, Yukon. ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER
After finishing the Iditarod, Swedish veteran Mats Pettersson mushes his dogs from the Burled Arch to the dog yard on Thursday, March 19, 2015 in Nome, Alaska. Pettersson placed twenty-fifth in the race. Nome is the finish of the Iditarod, a nearly 1,000-mile sled dog race that usually runs from Willow, Alaska to Nome, Alaska. Lack of snow on parts of the trail caused the race to begin in Fairbanks this year for the second time since it began in 1973. ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER
Nicole Faille, Hugh Neff's girlfriend and one of his handlers, watches as Neff, the 2012 Quest champion from Tok, Alaska, feeds and beds his dogs after checking in at the Pelly Crossing checkpoint during the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race on Sunday, February 8, 2015 in Pelly Crossing, Yukon. Twenty-six mushers are competing in the 32nd running of the 1,000-mile trail between Whitehorse, Yukon and Fairbanks, Alaska. Neff was the first musher in and the second musher out of the checkpoint. Pelly Crossing is the third checkpoint in the race and is about 250 trail miles from the start in Whitehorse, Yukon. ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER
Quest veteran Dave Dalton, from Healy, Alaska, puts ointment on his dogs paws after arriving into the Eagle checkpoint during the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race on Saturday, February 14, 2015 in Eagle, Alaska. Twenty-six mushers began the 32nd running of the 1,000-mile trail between Whitehorse, Yukon and Fairbanks, Alaska and seventeen remain. Eagle is the fifth checkpoint in the race and is about 600 trail miles from the start in Whitehorse, Yukon. ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER
Quest veteran Mike Ellis, of Fairbanks, Alaska, and his team of Siberian huskies make their way down the trail near 30 Mile Chena Hot Springs Road, about 45 trail miles from the finish, during the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race on Wednesday, February 18, 2015. Twenty-six mushers began the 32nd running of the 1,000-mile trail between Whitehorse, Yukon and Fairbanks, Alaska. ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER
Fans watch Eddie Dayton, of Big Lake, Alaska, and his team race out of the starting chute during the first day of the Open North American Championship at the Jeff Studdert Racegrounds behind Musher's Hall on Friday, March 20, 2015. The mushers race a 20.9-mile route Friday and Saturday, and a 28.6-mile route Sunday. ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER
2015 Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey pets one of his dogs in the finish chute after winning the race under the Burl Arch on Wednesday morning, March 18, 2015 in Nome, Alaska. Nome is the finish of the Iditarod, a nearly 1,000-mile sled dog race that usually runs from Willow, Alaska to Nome, Alaska. Lack of snow on parts of the trail caused the race to begin in Fairbanks this year for the second time since it began in 1973. ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER
2012 Quest champion Hugh Neff, from Tok, Alaska, takes booties off his dogs in the dog yard at the Pelly Crossing checkpoint during the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race around 1:30 a.m. on Monday, February 9, 2015 in Pelly Crossing, Yukon. Twenty-six mushers are competing in the 32nd running of the 1,000-mile trail between Whitehorse, Yukon and Fairbanks, Alaska. Neff was the first musher into the checkpoint and the second musher to leave. Pelly Crossing is the third checkpoint in the race and is about 250 trail miles from the start in Whitehorse, Yukon. ERIN CORNELIUSSEN/NEWS-MINER