Fans of sled dog racing will be pleased to learn that this Saturday marks the start of the two-day Gunflint Mail Run sled dog race. The first mushers will leave Trail Center at 7 p.m. on Saturday night, but a day of festivities precedes the start of the race at Trail Center. The first musher is expected to arrive at The Landing at Devil Track around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday night. There will be food and coffee available to purchase at both Trail Center and at The Landing, which will also provide a place for people to come in and warm up if they get too cold. The race finishes back at Trail Center Sunday.
As of December 30, 14 dogsled teams were signed up to take part in the two-day Gunflint Mail Run Sled Dog Race that will start Saturday, January 3 at 7 p.m. at Trail Center, said Race Co-Director Jack Stone of Stone Harbor Wilderness Supply.
“We may get a few more late entries,” said Stone as he perused the sign up sheet.
From 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. mushers will have their dogs inspected in the pre-race veterinary check. A mushers’ meeting will be held at 4 p.m. and a blessing of the dogs will be held at 6:30 p.m.
“There will be plenty of time for people to mill around on Saturday and meet the dogs and mushers,” Stone said. “Some mushers may not want people around right before the race, but they will let the public know that,” he said.
Teams are expected to arrive at The Landing at Devil Track Lake at approximately 9:30 p.m. on Saturday. They will be guided in by luminaries (large metal cans filled with burning wood) that will be placed across the lake. After a six-hour layover the teams will make the 50-mile trip back to Trail Center where the first teams are expected to finish around 11 a.m. with awards presented at 3 p.m. at Trail Center.
The 100-mile race will be run on snowmobile trails graciously groomed by the local snowmobile clubs, said Stone. Winners will split a purse of $5,000.
Local participants include Odin Jorgenson of Jorgensen Kennels; father and son Dennis and Charlie Laboda of Night Train Racing Sled Dogs; Frank Moe of Moetown Kennels; and Erin Altemus of Mush Lake Racing.
Odin’s father, Arleigh Jorgenson, was a participant in the first Gunflint Trail Run race held in the mid 1970s, said Stone. Another first time participant, Ted Young, will be on hand to tell stories about dogs and mushers now faded into the past, soon forgotten like paw prints that fill with moon shadows as the dogs race yelping through the night, their breath escaping like trembling ghosts star ward.
Stone said this year’s race would not have taken place without the efforts of Sarah Hamilton of Trail Center. Hamilton approached Stone and said she would do whatever it took to bring the race back after it had lost its race director. Of the many things she has done, the biggest, said Stone, is that she has agreed to feed the mushers and volunteers. “This race wouldn’t be happening without her. I want the public to know that,” said Stone.
To come up with a purse and funds to run the race, the nonprofit board in charge of the Gunflint Mail Run is sponsoring an online auction that runs from December 26 to noon January 4. The website [www.facebook.com/GunflintMailRun] contains 48 items that have been posted on the race’s Facebook page, said Stone.
“I am just amazed at all of the items that have been donated to us by local businesses,” said Stone. “I’m flabbergasted. How exciting is it to have this kind of support?”
Stone also thanked the many volunteers, the Cook County Sheriff ’s Department and highway department who have agreed to turn out and lend a hand.
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