The first ever White Wilderness Invitational Sled Dog Derby
With 20” of fresh snow we had a race on April 21st. The racers were Morgan McClelland, age 8; Peter McClelland, age 44; Doug “old man winter” Harris, older than dirt; Shawn McCarty, 30 but intellectually 3. Race Marshal was Milo McClelland, 6.
The race marshal set the race time at 10:30 and determined every racer had to carry an ax in case a tree fell across the trail and a dog treat per dog in case the dogs got hungry. The race marshal also set up the prizes.
Morgan launched first and the other racers started at one-minute intervals. Doug fell over at the start and was dragged down the drive way and through the puddle. Being the professional he is however he continued on with the race.
Two laps of the hill infested Eikal loop, which is 7 miles long was required. As the teams went around the race marshal checked them off.
After 1 hour and 19 minutes of hard racing Morgan came in first. She won 3 malted milk balls. For second Old Man Winter won a baggie of candy corn. Shawn McCarty was awarded a brand new bic pen for third and Peter McClelland got the last place prize of a pencil.
I asked Morgan what the secret to her success was and she said she sang to her dogs.
The inaugural running was a huge success and we hope to expand the pool of entrants next year.
Jerod is a native of Ely, MN. He is an avid outdoorsman and guide. He spent his youth exploring the Boundary Waters by canoe and dog team. He has built his own Native Bait business supplying local shops for fishing season. He also is an accomplished bird waterfowl hunting guide in North Dakota. He is known for his calm demeanor and steadiness in teaching guests about dog sledding, ice fishing, and sharing his love of the north woods.
