Wearing bib 19, musher Nicole Grangroth, a Minnesota Menahga High School senior, is pulled across the lake by a team of eager sled dogs in the Gunflint Mail Run. Grangroth finished 14th place in the 8-dog race with a time of 7:03:30. Photo John Stember
On a bluebird Saturday morning with temperatures orbiting around zero, the parking lot of Trail Center and surrounding roads were packed with dog trucks, volunteers, and onlookers for the annual Gunflint Mail Run. Founded in 1976, the dog sled race is broken up into two pieces: a 65-mile, 8-dog race and 100-mile, 12-dog race. In this year’s competition, Ryan Redington repeated another first place finish in the 12-dog class while local Joanna Oberg took first place in the 8-dog class.
Sarah Hamilton, owner of Trail Center, annually hosts the Mail Run and works hard to accommodate the sudden influx of burger eaters, malt sippers, and watchers for the two-day event. During an unlikely time of year, the Gunflint Mail Run ushers in a much-needed surge of people and revenue during the lean winter months of winter tourism.
In a testament to increasing popularity, the race this year was capped at thirty mushers, one coming from as far away as Colorado. For Sarah, keeping the race around is an easy decision: “When I first moved up here, we sat in my little cabin and talked about the race, and talked about the race, and talked about it. For all these years we talked about starting it and we were finally able to a few years ago when the Beargrease was canceled.”
First time Mail Run mushers Laura Neese and Talia Martens, both young women in their twenties, traveled from nearby Michigan and Wisconsin to compete. For 23-yearold Laura Neese, the Mail Run is a stellar jumping off point for her racing season this spring. Neese plans to compete in both the 300- mile John Beargrease and the 1,100-mile Iditarod in Alaska. This will be her fourth time racing Iditarod.
Over race day, conditions could not have been better for dog sled travel. Temperatures remained cold, which eliminated lake overflow and firmed up trails, plus sunshine painted the sky. As it worked out, the 2020 race consisted of a lot of familiar faces.
In the exact same positions as last year, speedy Ryan Redington and his lime green sled took first place in the 12-dog class with a time of 8:18. Ryan Anderson finished close behind in second place in 8:21, and local Rita Wehseler took third with 8:26. Local mushers Matt Schimdt (5th), Blake Freking (6th), and Frank Moe (8th), also competed and finished the 12-dog race.
Over in the 8-dog class, local Joanna Oberg captured a first place finish with a time of 5:12, followed shortly behind by Erin Schouweiler for second in 5:18, and Brian Bergen for third place in 5:23. Local mushers Erin Altemus (7th) and Andrea DeBoer (10th) also competed and finished the 8-dog race.
With solid snowfall and steady winter temperatures, this year is shaping up to be an exciting one for North Shore mushing. The quickly upcoming John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon, which starts on January 26 in Duluth, provides another avenue for folks interested in sled dogs. Dallas Seavey, an elite musher with four Iditarod first place finishes and two speed records will be racing in the Beargrease for the first time.
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