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Sled Dog Trails
Iditarod stories from Mary Shields in this trade paperback.
- GenresMemoir
127 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 1984
About the author
Mary Shields
15 books1 followerMary Shields is a pioneer in women's dogsledding as the first woman to complete the Iditarod, a 1,000-mile historic dog sled race between Anchorage and Nome Alaska in 1974.
As a college student from Wisconsin, Shields visited Alaska while working for Campfire Girls and fell in love with it. She moved to Alaska in 1965. Shields worked as a waitress and used the food scraps from her job to feed her dogs. Shields lived mostly alone though sometimes she would stay with her racing competitor, Lolly Medley, who finished the Iditarod shortly after she did in 1974. Shields didn't have children and was never married. During the 1974 race Shields said that at checkpoints men were betting when she would drop out and women were betting that she would finish. Hearing this just gave her motivation to be the first woman to finish. It took Shields 29 days to finish the race. She placed 23rd in the race. Ever since Shields competed, more and more women became inspired to take on this exhausting race. She wanted to prove that gender didn't matter.
Shields was often present at the start of the Iditarod races and gave speeches about her journey. She operates a kennel and gives tours of her home and kennel. Mary achieved the Women Who Dared Gratitude Award for daring to take on the Iditarod. Shields has written five books, including Small Wonders: Year-Round Alaska and The Alaskan Happy Dog Trilogy.
As a college student from Wisconsin, Shields visited Alaska while working for Campfire Girls and fell in love with it. She moved to Alaska in 1965. Shields worked as a waitress and used the food scraps from her job to feed her dogs. Shields lived mostly alone though sometimes she would stay with her racing competitor, Lolly Medley, who finished the Iditarod shortly after she did in 1974. Shields didn't have children and was never married. During the 1974 race Shields said that at checkpoints men were betting when she would drop out and women were betting that she would finish. Hearing this just gave her motivation to be the first woman to finish. It took Shields 29 days to finish the race. She placed 23rd in the race. Ever since Shields competed, more and more women became inspired to take on this exhausting race. She wanted to prove that gender didn't matter.
Shields was often present at the start of the Iditarod races and gave speeches about her journey. She operates a kennel and gives tours of her home and kennel. Mary achieved the Women Who Dared Gratitude Award for daring to take on the Iditarod. Shields has written five books, including Small Wonders: Year-Round Alaska and The Alaskan Happy Dog Trilogy.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
February 28, 2026
This book reminded me how much I loved the 1995 animated movie, Balto. That Spielberg story was a fantastical retelling of a real lead sled dog that helped a team deliver medicine to the Alaskan town of Nome in 1929 to prevent a diphtheria epidemic. The Iditarod trail and its eponymous dog sled race goes from Anchorage to Nome.
Mary Shields was the first woman to finish in the Iditarod race in 1974. This memoir dedicates a couple chapters to her retelling of the race, but that’s not her only arctic adventure. From her spontaneous arrival in Alaska, to her casual introduction to dog sledding, she continued seeking wonder in nature and found fellowship and romance with mushers who also considered this transport tradition a key to the Alaskan wilderness.
“Our wealth was our wandering.”
Mary Shields passed away in July of 2025 at 80 years old. A trailblazer in the truest sense!
Mary Shields was the first woman to finish in the Iditarod race in 1974. This memoir dedicates a couple chapters to her retelling of the race, but that’s not her only arctic adventure. From her spontaneous arrival in Alaska, to her casual introduction to dog sledding, she continued seeking wonder in nature and found fellowship and romance with mushers who also considered this transport tradition a key to the Alaskan wilderness.
“Our wealth was our wandering.”
Mary Shields passed away in July of 2025 at 80 years old. A trailblazer in the truest sense!
January 2, 2017
This book was recommended to me by a friend who works as a park ranger in Denali National Park. The Denali rangers use dog sleds to get around the park during the winter, and I knew she would be a great source of some dog-sledding book recommendations. Mary Shields was her first recommendation - Shields is in within my friends' real social network, having officiated a friends' wedding up in Fairbanks. Her reputation as being incredibly friendly, lighthearted, and just all around badass, proceeds her. I hope one day I can meet this awesome woman!
I am comparing this review to my recent review of Walden by Thoreau, where one of my criticisms was that Thoreau seemed quick to judge for someone who really only lived 'off the land' for a couple of years. Shields doesn't waste any time thinking about other peoples' decisions to live in the lower 48, or even Anchorage - she's too busy just admiring the beauty that surrounds her in the Alaskan bush. Shields strikes me as the type of person that doesn't have an unkind thing to say about anyone or anything. She just loves dogsledding, so much so that when she finished the Iditarod (the first woman to do it, coming in 22nd place), she said, "That was so much fun, I think I'll just dog sled all the way back!" Perhaps this is typical of dogsledders, but I think it does demonstrate Shields' passion and love for being outside as much as she possibly can. She is so incredibly comfortable in the outdoors, it is something to admire. The writing is simplistic in nature, mostly a recounting of events, but there is the magic of a storyteller in Shields as well.
Something that I have been drawn to by some female authors is a matter-of-fact approach to their story, I think represented well in Linda Greenlaw's "The Hungry Ocean", which is something along the lines of: "If I stopped to think about whether it would be hard to do what I do because I'm a woman, then I probably wouldn't have gotten as far as I have." There's something to be said about a woman who just does what she loves to do, without so much as a second thought as to what others, especially men, might think. Greenlaw made this passing comment, Shields never so much as mentioned any difficulty relating to her femininity. 1000s of miles spent in the interior of Alaska? No problem, as it should be! She's definitely added to my list of role models.
As for the introduction to the Alaskan way of life, the overall sense of the book brings to life the reasons I have fallen in love with Alaska. It's a small town in a huge, wild country.
I am comparing this review to my recent review of Walden by Thoreau, where one of my criticisms was that Thoreau seemed quick to judge for someone who really only lived 'off the land' for a couple of years. Shields doesn't waste any time thinking about other peoples' decisions to live in the lower 48, or even Anchorage - she's too busy just admiring the beauty that surrounds her in the Alaskan bush. Shields strikes me as the type of person that doesn't have an unkind thing to say about anyone or anything. She just loves dogsledding, so much so that when she finished the Iditarod (the first woman to do it, coming in 22nd place), she said, "That was so much fun, I think I'll just dog sled all the way back!" Perhaps this is typical of dogsledders, but I think it does demonstrate Shields' passion and love for being outside as much as she possibly can. She is so incredibly comfortable in the outdoors, it is something to admire. The writing is simplistic in nature, mostly a recounting of events, but there is the magic of a storyteller in Shields as well.
Something that I have been drawn to by some female authors is a matter-of-fact approach to their story, I think represented well in Linda Greenlaw's "The Hungry Ocean", which is something along the lines of: "If I stopped to think about whether it would be hard to do what I do because I'm a woman, then I probably wouldn't have gotten as far as I have." There's something to be said about a woman who just does what she loves to do, without so much as a second thought as to what others, especially men, might think. Greenlaw made this passing comment, Shields never so much as mentioned any difficulty relating to her femininity. 1000s of miles spent in the interior of Alaska? No problem, as it should be! She's definitely added to my list of role models.
As for the introduction to the Alaskan way of life, the overall sense of the book brings to life the reasons I have fallen in love with Alaska. It's a small town in a huge, wild country.
February 15, 2018
Mary sounds like an amazing individual and I hope to meet her next month in Fairbanks. I was disappointed that there was no detail about her Iditarod run. She didn't describe much about it. Her journal stories (about other routes she and her partner John took) were really fascinating. They sometimes stayed out in the bush more than 30 days.
July 31, 2024
I am interested in the Iditarod and my family does a yearly competition choosing mushers and following the race. One of my library friends met Mary Shields (the first woman to complete the Iditarod in 1974) and has a signed copy of this book which she generously lent to me. This is not just about the Iditarod but about her experiences living in Alaska and mushing to her summer jobs that supported her mushing lifestyle. I found it interesting.
December 28, 2010
Very simple, straight forward book about her Alaska dogsledding ventures. She seems like an easy going, humble person that just wants to enjoy the outdoors and pleasures of life. If you like outdoor adventure, you'd like this quick read.
May 25, 2010
Guess what’s on my list of adventurous things to do?
October 7, 2015
This book made me want to live in Alaska.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews