In 2014, veteran Iditarod musher Karin Hendrickson was struck by a vehicle while training her dog team along the Parks Highway north of Willow. The collision snapped her gangline, sent 14 dogs running loose in the dark, and left Karin with a broken back. From the roadside, injured and in pain, her first words weren’t about herself—they were: “Go get my dogs.”

A multi-time Iditarod finisher who balances full-time work in environmental regulation with the relentless demands of training sled dogs, Karin’s life has been shaped by grit, discipline, and devotion to her team. With the help of fellow mushers who rushed to the scene, every dog was recovered. Karin faced months of recovery and the devastating reality of missing the Iditarod she had trained for.

In this episode of It’s Alaska, Karin reflects on the accident, the community that carried her through it, and why—despite everything—she was never ready to quit running dogs. This is a story about impact, endurance, and what matters most when everything breaks at once.

Hosted by Brad Erickson https://www.ericksonevents.com/
Produced by Upper 1 Solutions in the U1 Studios https://upper1solutions.com/