Klondike Musher rescued

WASILLA -- Musher Dave Armstrong and his dogs were back home licking their wounds this week after getting lost during the Klondike 300 Sled Dog Race, surviving an attack by wolves or wild dogs, and spending a disoriented night in subzero temperatures.

"I'm recovering," Armstrong said Wednesday morning. "The doctor said it's amazing I don't have some serious injuries."

He and other racers left the Tug Bar on Sunday for the first checkpoint at Yentna Roadhouse. Somewhere in the first two or three hours, though, Armstrong got off the trail and headed in the wrong direction for an estimated 10 miles.

"My headlamp went dead for a while, and then I saw some markers but they were the wrong markers. I hit Alexander Creek and I said, 'Something doesn't look right.'"

That's when he ran into canine trouble, either from wolves or wild dogs. They jumped two of his largest dogs and started a fight, Armstrong said.

"I fired two warning shots and they scattered. At that point I had 14 dogs going like hell and a light sled, and I went for the ride of my life. About the third turn I said, 'Hello, tree.'"

The impact knocked the rookie unconscious from about 1:15 a.m. Monday until 6 a.m.

"I was hurtin' when I came to. I made sure my dogs weren't hurt that bad -- they had superficial wounds -- and then it took from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. to get them over to where they found me. The dogs laid down four or five times. They were in shock."

Armstrong, 51, was last seen crossing Burma Road at 11 a.m. Sunday, said Jack Krill Jr., district chief for the Central Mat-Su Fire Department. For some reason, he wasn't noticed missing until about 3 p.m. the following day.

That's when emergency dispatch received a weak 911 signal saying a musher was in trouble on the Iditarod Trail, Krill said. Two private airplane pilots, Alaska State Troopers, snowmachiners, ham radio operators and other concerned volunteers began searching for Armstrong. Checkpoint personnel used ham radios to communicate with the pilots, Krill said.

Three snowmachiners found him about sunset east of the Susitna River at roughly the same place he veered off the race trail.

Armstrong, who was using the race as a tune-up for next month's Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, said it was a serious situation due to extremely low temperatures that delayed the race start by a day.

"I was cold," he said. "I was going into hypothermia, and I knew my team couldn't get me back to safety. That's why I called 911. If it wasn't for my Northern Outfitters gear I'd have been TKO."

Snowmachiners returned Armstrong and his dogs, meeting an emergency rescue vehicle near Point MacKenzie Fire Station late Monday. Armstrong was examined at Valley Hospital but didn't need to be admitted.

The 6-foot 4-inch, 280-pound Wasilla resident was raised in the Ozarks, where he worked with cattle dogs. He saw a TV program about huskies and got the mushing bug. He moved to Alaska in the early 1950s, saw the Yukon Quest start, and decided to get his own team.

Although his Quest plans are now on hold until next year, Armstrong is no less enthusiastic about the sport -- or the spirit shown by several Klondike 300 competitors.

"I've had several mushers say they'd help look at my team and help get me back on track," he said.

He also had hearty thanks for all who went looking for him.

"We can laugh about it now, but there was nothing funny at the time," Armstrong said.