The trail of the 2026 Akiak Dash looks like a postcard — firm snowpack glistening against a bluebird sky. It’s quiet, aside from the crunch of your own footsteps and the occasional snowmachine zipping by on the Kuskokwim River. And then, slowly, you can start to hear something else — a commanding whistle that cuts through the quiet.
Sixteen mushers pass by Bethel’s bluffs, headed upriver to form a 63-mile loop above Akiak and back. It’s a race trail Mia Pavila is running for the very first time.
“It was good, but there are, uh, too much bumps,” Mia said.
Mia is 15. The Akiak Dash is the young musher’s first-ever official sled dog race — she came in 10th place. And though the race may have been novel, some things were familiar. Like her brother, musher Jason Pavila.
“He passed me, and he high-fived me, and he said, ‘Keep going,'” Mia recounted.
Jason has been competing in the Akiak Dash for years.
“I'm scared of her,” Jason said, smiling. “I didn't want her to pass me.”
The two siblings are the children of Lewis Pavila, a decorated Kwethluk musher who helps manage Bad River Kennel. Lewis has several Bogus Creek 150 wins under his belt, and he took fifth place in the 2025 Akiak Dash.
Their grandfather is Kwethluk mushing fixture Max Olick, who helped maintain the village’s sprint race series and managed local kennels that produced champion dogs.
Jason said that he is proud to see his little sister on the trail.
“I remember when I used to be her age,” Jason said. “I'm glad she's starting to dog mush. I'm glad she's starting to try and try it out. Growing up, she never, ever wanted to dog mush. And now I'm gone, so my dad taking her along with him during this year is mushing.”
The Akiak Dash has a history of attracting local teens. And they are dominating the leaderboard, pulling ahead of racers who have been in the sport for years.
At 15, Mia was the youngest racer on the 2026 roster. But she competed alongside 16-year old Spyridon Chaney, 17-year-old Eamon Frederick, and Schouviller Wassilie Jr., who is 18.
In the past four years, teens have been among the race's top three finishers.
Jason is part of that lineage too. He’s 22 years old now, but he started racing around the same age as his sister. At 15, Jason won the Bogus Creek 150. He was a rookie and needed special permission from the Kuskokwim 300 Race Committee to compete so young.
“I remember when I used to be the only young man out there, 14 years old, racing against adults,” Jason said. “Now there's all of these young men — I'm proud of them. I'm glad to see how mushing is going with all of these young men and everyone, this younger generation and them wanting to get behind the sled.”
Jason jokes that he feels old in the sport. He sees the teens’ stamina, their ability to just keep going.
“They're speedy,” Jason said. “They're really fast. They can kick forever. I remember being 14,15, being able to do that all, all the race long.”
At the Akiak Dash’s finish line, surrounded by family, Mia said that she couldn’t remember when she started mushing. Her mother, Michelle Olick Pavila, laughed at this, dropping her hand and measuring to the height of her knee. She said that she remembers the kids accompanying their father on a sled since they were young children. She said it’s part of what pulled Jason into the sport, and now Mia.
“My grandaughters, they like being in the sled too,” Michelle said. “So I think they’re probably going to get into dog mushing too.”
Even though Michelle grew up alongside the sport, she said that seeing her young daughter take to the trail was big. When she ran down to the finish line to greet Mia, she was so frazzled she forgot to put on boots. She laughed and pointed down at her feet, her pink houseslippers bright against the snow.
“It was very exciting. I am so proud of her. I was about to feel like I was gonna cry,” Michelle said. “Just very exciting watching her. Thinking back to my son, same way."
Lewis, the kids’ father, was also at the finish line.
“For me it's just another day, I guess,” Lewis said, laughing. After a beat, he confessed that he was a little more anxious during the race, following Mia along the trail as snowmachine support.
“I was really nervous all day,” Lewis admitted.
Lewis said that it’s hard work — mushing, training, and caring for dogs. Factor that into the teenage world of school, sports, and friends. He said that a part of him hopes Mia doesn’t catch the bug.
But after her first major finish and a top 10 spot on the leaderboard, the Pavilas think Mia may be at the start of a career they know well.
“I think she could probably got hooked after today,” said Michelle.
The two said it’s likely spectators can expect to catch her on more race rosters to come.
