Linwood Fiedler, 66, was born in Vermont. He received his BSW at Carroll College in Helena, Montana. He began mushing in Montana in 1997 and moved to Alaska “to race the Iditarod and raise my family” in 1990. He has run 25 Iditarods, placing in the top ten several times and was a second place finisher in 2001. For the last 19 years he has owned and operated, with his son, Dalton, Alaska Heli-Mush, Inc., an exciting glacier sled dog tour business on the Juneau Icefield .He is also the co-founder of Arctic Paws for Service, a service dog organization assisting Alaskan families experience the healing powers of service dogs. Linwood says, “Training and traveling with my dogs is my ‘calling’. These wonderful animals have taught me my strengths and weaknesses. They’ve helped me to understand the value of being true to one’s self and others. They’ve helped me become a better person.” Linwood and his wife, Kathy, are the parents of Justin, Dalton and Christi. He lists his hobby as photographing landscapes.