Mushing, a tradition on the fritz in Bristol Bay

John Hanson Jr. is one of four mushers in New Stuyahok. (Photo: Avery Lill/ KDLG)Dozens of canines howl in John Hanson Jr.’s dog yard, excited by the sound of a snow machine pulling up to the kennel.
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Hanson is one of a handful of dog mushers in New Stuyahok, probably the most active mushing community in a region that has watched participation in the tradition dwindle.
“These other mushers are elderly mushers, and they were in it for 40, 50, 60 years or more,” Hanson