This week the touring dogs got what they’ve been itching for…. First Runs of the fall season! Our racing teams have been in training for two months now, leaving the yard in a spirited fashion in the crisp early morning air. Meanwhile the touring dogs look on with envy, disappointed when the teams leave without them. Ahh, to be out running and pulling again. This week signaled all dogs starting their fall training program. Happiness once again reigns across the whole dog yard.

Guests often ask what dog training we do in the off-season. Training actually starts way back in the late winter with the new round of puppies. We use the late season snow to get them acclimated to harnessing, pulling, running alongside veterans and running short distances with an emphasis on FUN. The summer season is vacation time for everyone. When autumn temperatures cool off, its time to start running dogs again. Hopefully there’s still some recollection of the puppies’ runs back in the spring – formative brain and muscle experiences to build upon as training recommences.

Fall dog training focuses first on conditioning. Just like couch potatoes starting a new gym routine - we go slow and steadily build up mileage, strength and speed. This week first runs were a slow four mile route. By the time December snows arrive, the touring dogs should be effortlessly cruising 12-15 miles on training runs. Along the way we reinforce good habits, groom aspiring lead dogs, work on weight training and build confidence through training on a variety of terrain – big puddles, hills, log piles and unfamiliar trails. As the snow depth increases, we switch from ATV’s to dogsleds, and before we know it, we’re deep in the winter dog sledding season.

Just back from a three day Premier Yurt Trip, and I am in awe at the great trail conditions. Solid snow cover, with a light dusting of fresh snow made our trip just a dream. It feels like the best of February snow conditions as we slide in to mid-March. Sunny lunches on protected coves of the lakes make for a solar oven that feels more like the southwest than the northwoods. The dogs are in fabulous condition, easily covering 25-30 miles a day.

Yesterday we mushed up a new swamp route. Swamps, bogs and marshes make for naturally great travel in the winter, as wet areas freeze solid, and there is often much less vegetation to navigate through, save the requisite alder thicket here and there. The ice was still very solid as we followed the meandering creek bed upstream, the dogs loving the serpentine pathway and new sled drivers learning to lean in to the frequent twists in the trail. We traversed boreal black spruce bogs, ran up and over a plethora of small beaver dams, crossed fresh wolf and fox tracks and albeit with some reluctance on the part of the dogs, passed by the remnants of a fresh wolf-killed deer. Of course, the dogs thought this was a fabulous lunchtime trail buffet that deserved a longer stop.

On a side note, this morning, a big ole moose graced the bog just south of the kennel, out for a breakfast stroll. Folks always ask what kind of wildlife they can expect to see when dogsledding. The snow tells a truthful story about who has traveled near, and fresh tracks are easy to pick out after a fresh snowfall. Actual animal sightings tend to be less frequent, as the scent and noise of 20-30 some dogs traveling amongst a group of dogsledders keeps other forest dwellers at bay. Nonetheless, tracks of snowshoe hare, moose, fox, otter and mink are quite common. I’ve seen fresh timber wolf tracks daily all winter. Overhead, ravens are a common sighting, and just in the past two weeks, Bald Eagles are being sighted more frequently, as river corridors being to open up with spring around the corner.

Ely, MN has been long touted as the sled dog capital of the lower 48. Once the boomtown for sled dog racing and host to the All American Race (sprint dogs), racing interest petered out in the late 80’s until recently. This March opened with the return of racing to Ely with the inaugural Wolftrak Classic Sled Dog race.

Mushers and spectators turned out to make this a very successful first race. Over 55 teams competed in the 6-dog/30 mile or 8-dog/60 mile race. Several White Wilderness guests could be found supporting the event. Some volunteered to help manage teams in the race chute. Others showed up to help White Wilderness guide, Theo, with her first race. And a handful of familiar faces could be found in the cheering section. It was a fun day for everyone.

Plan your trip to Ely next winter to dovetail with taking in the events surrounding the 2nd Wolftrak Classic, already planning to be a bigger and better event next March. Or, catch the action in Duluth at the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon held at the end of January.

Many months of hard work paid off this week as both Peter (White Wilderness owner) and Shawn (guide) competed in the 25th running of the John Beargrease sled dog marathon. The Beargrease is the longest (and often most challenging) sled dog race in the lower 48.

For Shawn, it was his first sled dog race ever, and he is pleased to have survived without going the wrong way on the trail. Our rookie claimed a respectable 31st place finish in the mid-distance race (150 miles).

The race honors the spirit of John Beargrease, the late 18th century mail carrier who delivered mail up and down the north shore by dog team and boat. Peter was sworn in as an official mail carrier prior to the race, and his mail carrier intentions never let up through the 381 miles of brutal conditions served up on the north shore. “Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” This unofficial motto of the postal service certainly got upped this week.

Mushers and the dogs started the race in 35 degree heat wave in Duluth. By mile 100, the torrential rains soaked everyone and everything, followed by a wicked freezing front that turned the trail into a treacherous ice rink. The field of 28 marathon mushers narrowed to 14 midway, as mushers weighed the challenging conditions and one by one, withdrew from the race. The weather was not through coloring the temperment of the race. Conditions next turned viscously brutal with temperatures hovering around 25 below zero and winds ripping whiteouts across the trail, recording wind chills of 50 below on the third night of the race. Undoubtedly Peter’s beard was coated in ice. The remaining 12 teams mushed on through the night, sights set on the finish line…and no doubt also set on a warm dry ending and some hard earned sleep for them and their dogs.

Congratulations go out to all the mushers, handlers, volunteers and supporters who keep the Beargrease tradition alive. Hats off to Peter and his dogs, who finished in 10th place, taking just under 39 hours of run time to cover 381 miles with a mail pouch and a fever for running dogs…those truly amazing creatures who love to run and continue to inspire us all.

-Theo

We received snow on Saturday and are now on sleds.