photos by David Halterman

Blessed with copious amounts of snow and robin-egg blue skies, the fourth annual Mancos Mush dominated the La Plata Mountains last weekend. Seventeen dog teams and mushers from all over the lower 48 came to Southwest Colorado for a beautiful but challenging 60-mile race through the San Juan National Forest, northeast of Mancos. Supported by local sponsors and coordinated by an dedicated crew of volunteers, this years Mush dished out more than $9,000 in prize money to competitors. This years winner was Wendy Davis, who finished the course in just over 4 hours. As for the canine athletes, they were paid in heaps of attention and treats, which was just fine by them.