John, Joanna and I really enjoy our peaceful hideaway out
here at Agimac River Outfitters during the winter months. But after awhile, it helps to go to dog sled
races down in the states to interact with people again. Joanna’s races provide the opportunity to
make that happen. In preparation for the
races, she puts on about 1000 training miles, first using a quad and then
switching to a sled when snow comes.
John follows her with either a truck or a snowmobile on most all those
miles to provide something heavy to anchor the sled to in case she needs to get
off her sled to untangle dogs or attend to another problem, as she is usually
running large teams of 12 to 16 dogs.
He’s also nearby to provide protection from moose or wolves they might
encounter on the trails.
The third week of January, Joanna raced the mid distance 106
mile Beargrease Dog Sled Race in Duluth,
MN. It is considered a challenging race with
three legs of about 35 miles each that take musher and dogs up and down the
steep Sawtooth Mountains. This year she was thrilled to place third in
this event.
I go to the races with Joanna to help her care for the dogs
and as the driver to get the dog trailer from checkpoint to checkpoint. John stays home to take care of the home
front.
Recently, we just returned from Marquette, MI
where Joanna raced the 90 mile Midnight Run and was it ever memorable! Marquette
also hosts the UP 200, a 240 mile race and the Jackpine 30 mile race at the
same time. It is an exciting event for
the city, bringing mushers from the U.S.
and Canada
and spectators from surrounding states.
In a newspaper article about the races, it was stated that the city
receives a 1.8 million dollar boost from these races economically. Amazingly, there are at least five hundred people
who volunteer to help bring dogs up to the starting line and stay all night at
different strategic places along the trail to make sure the teams take the
right turns and cross roads safely. We
are very grateful for them.
Friday night, racers for the UP 200 and Midnight Run were
parked downtown near the race start which featured a log arch straddling the
hauled in snow packed trail running down main street, lined with thousands of
spectators. It feels like a mini
Iditarod. The weather was a perfect 20
degrees Farenheit with a gentle snowfall.
However, the forecast was calling for a blizzard to hit the area about
one o’clock in the morning. Thankfully, most of the Midnight Run mushers would be able
to reach the checkpoint 45 miles away before it moved in.
Over the loud speakers we heard some familiar tunes. It was the Canadian national anthem being
sung live by a small group of singers, followed by the US national
anthem. Both flags were flown from the log archway since there were a good
handful of Canadian mushers in the races.
The excitement in the air was electric as each eight dog
team was helped to the starting line with a group of young volunteers. The mushers zoomed into the night with well wishers slapping
their hands along the way, ringing cowbells and even shooting fireworks.
Meanwhile I drove our rig to the checkpoint at Chatham where the teams
would be coming in. In this race, they
require the dogs to be fastened to a picket line outside, connected to the
vehicle for the five and 1/2 hour mandatory rest period. As I waited for Joanna to come in, I acquired
hot water for their supper meal, and prepared a nest for them to sleep with
straw and windbreaks of piled up snow to keep them as warm and comfortable as
possible.
About midnight, the teams starting coming into the
checkpoint and after they were all in, we found out Joanna was in fourth
place. We fed the dogs, put on their
jackets, and had the vets check them over to make sure they were in good shape
to finish the race. The most important
thing for both musher and dogs is hydration because of all the energy they
expend. Joanna and I settled in the
front seat of the car with the heater on to try to get her warmed up, dry her
gear and get some rest ourselves. By
this time the blizzard was in full force with winds from 45 mph to 72 mph.
It was still dark at 6:47 a.m. when Joanna left the
checkpoint. We hadn’t planned enough
time for her to put on her goggles and mitts before she left, so as she pressed
forward into the blustery white void attempting to find them in her sled bag,
she didn’t notice that her lead dogs had suddenly stopped on the trail. This caused her point dogs to overtake them
and get tangled. There was actually no
trail to be seen in the wind blown field.
The dogs were just trying to find something solid that would indicate
they were on the trail. Joanna put her
snow hook down to hold the team and ran up to untangle them but her snowhook
wasn’t holding good in the soft snow so the team surged forward again before
she could get the leaders straightened out.
Then along came Joann, who was in fifth place and only one minute behind
Joanna. Her team stopped beside Joanna’s
unable to get by. So she put down her
snow hook and went up to the front to straighten out her team when her snow
hook came loose and as the team moved forward, it hooked the ski of Joanna’s
sled pulling it over and down the trail aways.
Joann managed to free her snow hook and move on down the trail, leaving Joanna
behind who was now in fifth place.
A little while later Joanna had another tangle to take care
of which cost some precious time. But
her dogs put on the afterburners once they reached the woods and the curvy
trails that they love to run. Joanna
does all she can to help the dogs out by using a ski pole to push and her leg
to kick the sled along faster. Soon they
overtook the musher that left the checkpoint in third place. Then just ahead she saw Joann. She caught up
to her and passed her. They ran together
for about 20 miles, taking turns in the lead and then Joann was able to pull
away from Joanna as her dogs settled into more of a trot.
It was a very discouraging moment for Joanna after working
so hard to catch up to Joann and try to place better. But she knew she needed to stay positive
because the dogs would pick up on her attitude, so she just kept working hard
to help them out and do her best.
Soon the team reached the final 17 mile stretch of the trail
that ran right along Lake Superior and into
the full force of the storm. Several times
the hurricane winds almost blew Joanna’s sled over and off the trail. But for her it was exhilarating and as the
storm grew fiercer, it seemed to enliven the dogs more. They began loping again as Joanna simply
hunkered down behind her sled in a crouched position, unable to see anything in
the white out conditions and trusted her dogs to get her to the finish
line. With faces covered with snow and
ice, those amazing dogs pressed on.
Suddenly, Joanna realized they had caught up to a musher. It was Joann.
They were within three miles of the finish line.
Joanna’s team passed Joann and she was stunned to see that
the musher in second place was also just in front of her. So they passed him too and Joanna came into
the finish line in second place. What a
race!!
While Joanna was racing back to the finish line from the Chatham checkpoint, I was
trying to drive in those blizzard conditions to the finish line. I have never driven in white out conditions
and it was a helpless feeling. I was
praying the whole way for Jesus to keep me on the road and keep me from having
an accident. At one point I had to
literally come to a complete stop because I couldn’t see anything past the
front of my car. I crept along at an
average speed of 10 mph and finally got to my destination safely. I heard that soon after I arrived, they
closed that road due to a seven car pileup.
In talking with folks who live there, they said they had never seen
anything like it in their life.
We are very thankful to be back home safely and are
preparing to leave soon for our last race of the season in Calumet, MI
for the Copper Dog 150 race. Hopefully,
the weather will be a bit nicer to us. J
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