Our First Dog Sled Race

Agimac River Outfitters and Run Silent Dog Sled Trips sponsored their first dog sled race. Joanna worked hard all fall and winter training her dogs for the upcoming winter races. As it turned out, she only was able to run in two races, the Beargrease in Duluth,MN and the Wolf Track Classic in Ely,MN. She had planned to run in the Eaton Rugby race near Dryden and sponsored by our dear friend and vet, Clayton Schneider. It is her most fun race of the season. Unfortunately, she was unable to participate in that race because we were so busy here at camp taking folks on dog sled trips and working with Brian and Patty Whitens of Real Outdoors for the TV taping.

On the way home from the Ely race, she was proposing the idea of maybe doing an easy fun run in the city of Ignace and drawing the mushers in the general area from Dryden to Thunder Bay to Pickle Lake. After spending so much time and effort in training the dogs, she really wanted to experience the thrill of one more race.

We talked about the different possibilities and continued our discussion with John after arriving home. Next, we contacted the local area developer, Doug Pronger, to see what options there might be to involve the Ignace populace.

Because time was short, we decided to have the race at our camp and use a ten mile trail that we use for our dog sled trips. John spent time pushing snow back on the road to prepare a spot for mushers to park their trucks and unload dogs. He cleared snow from around the outhouses and made a spot for a picnic table and to build a fire after the race for lunch. Joanna and I made some signs with arrows to mark the race trail for the contestants. But the weather was NOT cooperating. The temps were hitting the high forties and we wondered if the trails would totally break down.

In our minds we seesawed back and forth, trying to decide if we should continue or call it off. In looking ahead at the weather forecast, it seemed that a few days before the scheduled race on Saturday, March 19th, there was going to be a cool down. The question was--- would it be enough to preserve the trail?

We decided to go ahead with it and ended up with six teams showing up for this grand event. Clayton Schneider brought four teams, Jan Verburg from Pickle Lake came with a team and of course Joanna had a team.

The race got under way at about 11:05. Clayton's team left first, but not before his fired up team took a side turn in the wrong direction. John was able to help him turn around and make his way back to the starting line. He probably would have FINISHED first as well, but thought he was going the wrong way at one point and started to go in a different direction. At any rate, that allowed his nephew Brenden to win the race and Joanna came in a close second.

It was such fun to rehearse the race and laugh about the different challenges along the trail around the campfire. A good time was had by all and there was a general consensus that they would like to see this become an annual event. We'll see.

Update on TV Debut

We just found out that the filming of Ontario winter sports activities including walleye and northern pike ice fishing, snow shoeing and our dog sled trip business will be aired on the Pursuit television channel (nationwide) channel 609 on Directv and channel 240 on Dish Network, March 28th at 8:30 p.m.; March 31 at 12:00 a.m.; April 2 at 6:00 a.m.

Also on Charter Cable (Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota) channel 87 on March 22 at 9:00 p.m.; March 24 at 9:00 p.m.; March 26 at 9:00 p.m.; March 27 at 9:00 p.m.

THESE ARE ALL CENTRAL STANDARD TIMES.

Brian Whitens from Real Outdoor/Ontario in Michigan was the company doing the filming at the request of the Ontario government. It will also be put online eventually.

Hope you get a chance to watch it.

Our TV Debut

Just a couple of weeks ago, a gentleman from Michigan contacted us to see if we would be interested in being a part of a TV promotion for Northwestern Ontario. He and his brother own a television show called Real Outdoors/Ontario which has 50 million viewers in the U.S. The Ontario government subsidized him to come shoot some footage of winter outdoor activities and adventures in our neck of the woods. Brian had heard we had a dog sled trip business and had always wanted to do some dog sledding himself. Of course we were ecstatic to have our business put on TV, but the clincher was that it would be free advertising for us.

So, Brian and his lovely wife Patty came to stay with us for three days. What a wonderful time we shared together, visiting and working on the project! We are not sure yet when the show will be aired on stations in the U.S., but it should be sometime soon in March.

The photo above is of Brian taping John and Joanna in the back part of our dog yard as they shared the story of how we got into dogs in the first place. This year we have gotten quite a few more dog sledding guests than any of the previous years for which we are thankful. It is so fun to meet new people and take them on an adventure of a lifetime.

The John Beargrease Race 2011

Joanna and I just returned from Duluth, MN where Joanna participated in the annual Beargrease race, one of the most competitive, challenging and prestigious races in the lower 48 states. The race is named after a Native American, John Beargrease, who actually delivered mail by dog team between Two Harbors and Grand Marais from 1879-1899. Each of the contestants is sworn in as an official mail carrier and given a mailbag with mail in it to deliver to the finish line.

Two choices are offered to the mushers- the Beargrease Marathon, which is 370 miles using 14 dogs or the Beargrease Mid-Distance, which is 110 miles using 8 dogs. Joanna runs in the Mid-Distance race. She and her Dad logged many training miles on the dogs to condition and prepare them for this difficult race.

Her two cousins, Sarah and Holly Oberg and I were the handlers. It was our job to drive the dog trailer to the checkpoints and prepare a place for the dogs to rest, heat up water for their food, keep track of her times in and out of checkpoints and make sure she and the dogs were hydrated. We would sleep outside under the stars with the dogs to keep watch over them and to give Joanna a chance to eat and rest herself, if possible. We were all very thankful for the perfect weather-not too cold or hot.

There are three legs to the race. The first leg is 35 miles, the second leg 38 miles and the third leg, the most difficult of all with its long, steep hills, was 33 miles. Joanna did okay on the first leg and was in 12th place out of 39 contestants at that point. As she left the first checkpoint for the second leg of the race, she hung on tight to the handle bar because her dogs were wild to go. She had a super fast second leg of the race which put her in 6th place. Unfortunately, one of her dogs was dehydrated after the second leg and had to be left behind. With excitement and anticipation of having the best finish ever, she left the second checkpoint with seven dogs to tackle the most difficult third leg of the race. Her hopes for a high finish were dashed when she realized she had another dog that was dehydrated and several others had either a shoulder injury or wrist injury. She ended up loading the dehydrated dog in the basket of her sled and with mainly three dogs pulling, she reached the finish line in 13th place.

Even though she didn't make the top ten, she was thankful to do as well as she did considering the difficulties the dogs were having.

In addition to the race itself, Joanna had an unexpected encounter with Jeff King, a four time Iditarod champion. She even got her picture with him as you can see above.

It was a most interesting and exciting adventure. I'd have to say that Joanna definitely keeps our lives from being boring.

Big Foot

You've heard of the continuous search for Big Foot, I'm sure. Well, we have found lots of Big Feet--our snowshoes. We have had a huge amount of snowfall this year, so the best way to get around in the woods is by snowshoe. It helps us stay up on top of the snow and makes a nice frozen packed trail. We have two very picturesque trails to explore on our big feet. The new trail John just cleared goes from the 325 road to a lookout high above Indian Lake. The other one goes from the 325 road in the opposite direction to the falls. Of course, a person can just cruise through the woods anywhere with good snow shoes. It's a great way to explore new areas in the winter.
So, watch out, you may just come across another----Big Foot!

Warrior of the Woodlands

I call John our "Warrior of the Woodlands" because he has always enjoyed the adventure of breaking new trails to scenic places. Each year he has to reclear the dog sled trails of downed trees or growing brush. Recently he found a new path to a gorgeous overlook on Indian Lake to which we all snowshoed. Breathtaking is the word to describe the snow and ice covered trees and the jack pine woods. I had a few mishaps, falling to the side of the trail. But not to worry. Our strong and handsome son, Jonathan was there to lift his mother back up. It sure has been fun to have Jonathan and his wife Reseth home for Christmas. It was quite a surprise. Jonathan has been in Officer Training School in Montgomery, Alabama since the beginning of November, so we didn't expect to see them this Christmas. He will return for another month and a half of training in January. Cherish is up from Ely,MN and will be with us for two weeks. So, the two sisters are having a grand time together too. Of course, John and I are thrilled to have everyone home for Christmas. And what a beautiful one it has been!!

It's Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas

My oh my oh my, have we got the snow!!! John and Joanna can hardly keep up to the snowplowing and the shoveling to be done around our house and in the dog yard. John has already plowed five times this year and December has just begun. Just to give you an idea how far ahead we are from last year, he only plowed four times all year last year.

We also pack miles and miles of trails for Joanna to train the dogs for races and for dog sled trips for our guests. So, the snowmobile is getting a work out too. The other day I rode with John on the snowmobile to pack a trail and we found a beautiful vista overlooking neighboring Mamieguess Lake. The second picture above is what we saw.

Joanna has to come up with creative ways to wear out her active new Irish Setter puppy, so she hooked her up with Sabre to a little sled and away she went. I think Sabre was the powerhouse of the team, but at least little Saga got some pent up energy expelled. An exercised dog is a well behaved dog they say.

I do love the winter wonderland in which we live. Just looking out our front windows at the glistening snow resting on evergreen limbs, sparkling on the river and neatly covering the ground with its fresh whiteness brings peace and joy to my soul. We don't run the generators during the day in winter, but run on our solar power. So, that adds to the restful silence of our surroundings. We wish more people could come away and enjoy the benefits of this time of year with us.