Despite being one of the sport's more accomplished dog drivers during his best years, Schnuelle decided after the 2011 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race— in which he recorded his fourth-straight top-10 finish — that he was done. The racing grind had become too much. Despite about $178,000 in Iditarod earnings, his money was dwindling, his kennel talent was aging and his puppy prospects were dim.
He knew he would have had to start from scratch with breeding. So he cut the number of his "monsters," as he lovingly calls them, in half and returned to his roots as a sled dog tour guide and mushing coach working in Juneau and Two Rivers. He needed to rebuild his retirement account and reclaim his sanity.
Watch this video to learn what Schnuelle has been doing in his life after Iditarod.