57 pages • 1 hour read
Winterdance: The Fine Madness of Running the Iditarod
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Chapters 1-3Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary: “Beginnings”
Paulsen lives with his wife in a cabin in northern Minnesota and runs sled dogs for transportation, hunting, trapping, and gathering firewood. However, his relationship with the sled dogs evolves. He stops using them for practical reasons and runs them simply because doing so is a chance to see “a thing of beauty” (25).
Midway through the chapter, the first of many surprises in the book occurs. After making camp for the night, Paulsen glances at his team and is stunned to discover that the eight dogs he came with have turned into nine. At first, he thinks his eyes are tricking him in the moonlight. He soon discovers that the extra dog is actually a brush wolf—also known as a northern coyote—that has taken up residence with his dogs as if she is part of the team. The coyote, which Paulsen names Marge, mates with one of his dogs, named Typhoon, and stays with the team for three days.
Toward the end of the chapter, Paulsen rescues a deer whose leg is caught in the snare of a poorly designed trap. Paulsen notes that snaring deer is illegal and says he sees “horrible things done to animals by trappers” (48). He mentions a drunk trapper whom he turned into authorities who would set traps, forget where he set them, and never go back to them, leaving animals to suffer.
Paulsen’s wife Ruth notes that his relationship with the dogs has changed, and she asks him if he is going to run the Iditarod. Although Paulsen admits to being “probably one of the least qualified dog drivers on the entire planet” (54), he responds that, yes, he plans to run the famous Alaskan race.
Chapter 2 Summary: “Dogs From Hell”
In preparing for the Iditarod, Paulsen and Ruth drive up to Canada and purchase three rambunctious Canadian dogs named Devil, Ortho, and Murphy. After Devil and Ortho shred their kennels, Paulsen has to ride in the back of his pickup truck with them to keep them in the vehicle. Devil and Ortho have a “serious personality conflict” (58), and Paulsen soon finds himself battling the dogs as they fight each other. By the time they arrive home, Paulsen is growling and biting back when the dogs bite him.
To practice running the dogs in the summer, Paulsen decides to use an old bicycle. He ignores his wife’s advice to hook only two or three dogs to it. When a rabbit crosses the road in front of the dogs, the dogs take off after it, knocking Paulsen off the bike and dragging him through the woods. The dogs then detach from the bike and disappear into the brush.
When he finally finds his way home at six o’clock in the morning, Paulsen plans to take the car out to search for the dogs. However, Ruth informs him that the dogs “came back last night” (70). Cookie, the lead dog, “took them right up to the kennel” (70).
Chapter 3 Summary: “Major Wrecks”
Paulsen continues training for the race with homemade rigs. First, he builds a tricycle-type contraption with wheelbarrow wheels. He hooks the team up to it, and they bolt out of the yard, dragging him on his face and ripping his clothes.
He then finds out that some mushers use cars for summer training. He buys an old clunker and sets out with the team. The new rig seems to work well until some skunks cross their path. The dogs take off after them, seeing them as tasty meals rather than stink bombs. In the mayhem, five of the six skunks spray their putrid perfume on Paulsen, causing him to begin projectile vomiting.
Paulsen arrives home and begins to undress for bed. His wife politely asks him to sleep outside for a night or two. Paulsen understands and goes out to sleep with the dogs in the kennel.
Chapters 1-3 Analysis
The early part of the book focuses on how Paulsen’s life goals have changed because he has developed a deeper appreciation of nature and the nonhuman life around him. Paulsen recalls an old cowboy telling him about how cows selected one of their own to babysit calves and protect them from coyotes when the herd left them behind to go to the water’s edge, which was miles away. After hearing the cowboy’s story, Paulsen stops trapping and hunting. It is all part of his transformation toward perceiving animals as more like humans.
He also starts seeing his sled dogs differently, noticing their individual personalities and human-like habits. He no longer views them as utilities for making a living but as friends who can take him to “wonderful places.” His changed perspective on life leads him to the decision to compete in the Iditarod race.
In preparing for the race, Paulsen must overcome his lack of knowledge and self-confidence as well as the unpredictability of the dogs and nature: “I was starting in ignorance, fueled by more ignorance and a major helping of incorrect information […]” (72), Paulsen writes in Chapter 3, “Major Wrecks.” Paulsen’s lack of control over the dogs, his homemade training rigs, and the wild animals that pop up unexpectedly along the trail and cause calamities test his determination to follow through with his race plans.
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