Our Longest Mush Yet!

Hello! We are back with the third and final newsletter about our recent trip to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Part two left off Sunday night with all race activities complete, and all dogs/musher/handlers resting after a hectic weekend.

On Monday, the Hiawatha Sportsman’s Club was gracious enough to let us do a couple more training runs on their trails before they removed the trail signage. Neither of the training runs that day would’ve been possible without the help of our new friend Steve. The Club’s rule is that if you are out on the trails, you have to be with a Club member. Steve volunteered his time to chaperone us and the dogs for several hours that day. THANK YOU STEVE!

After a much needed good night’s rest, we got ourselves and the dogs suited up for a 30 mile training run. This time, we used Q’s tandem sled so that all three of us could mush together and the dogs could get a great workout in leading up to the UP200. Below is a photo of the tandem sled, where one person sits in the sled bag, one person can sit or stand in the middle, and a third person can stand on the back runners. The middle and back people each had their own set of drag mats and brakes. The drag mats are used to help control speed around corners and downhills, while the main brakes are used more when you want the team to come to a complete stop.

Wet set off down the trail with 11 dogs. I started out sitting in the sled basket, while Q was the main driver in the middle, and Riley stood on the back runners. (I had my snow goggles on because the dogs were kicking up little snowballs on me lol) Q warned us ahead of time that the tandem sled turned “like a brick”. As in it doesn’t handle corners very well, especially when someone is in the bag. So when we came up on a turn, all three of us had to lean to help turn the sled. A few times, we didn’t quite make the turn and started to go up the snow bank. Most times, we saved it and were able to stay upright.

One time, we weren’t so lucky lol. We were probably chatting away and took a corner a little wide. The snow bank was quite a bit shorter there compared to others we encountered. Yet somehow, we ended up tipping the sled. It seemed like we were in slow motion. We were going pretty slow trying to get over the snow bank, and just slowly tipped over to the left. Everyone was completely fine. Riley just stepped off the runners. I’m not really sure what Q did. But I was zipped up inside the sled bag. I unzipped myself and crawled out. The dogs were looking back at us like “Uh you guys ok back there? What’s going on?”. We pushed the sled upright, hopped back on, and continued down the trail.

Q and the dogs had already seen parts of the trail we were on, but it was our first time seeing it. The trails were DREAMY, as Q said they would be. Gorgeous. Smooth. Wide. Quiet. Picturesque. Here are a few of my favorite shots from the trail.

We stopped a couple times throughout the run to give the dogs snacks. The snacks typically consisted of frozen hamburger patties. The dogs stay hydrated during runs by dipping their faces into the snow banks and grabbing mouthfuls of snow while they’re running and during snack time. It’s pretty cute to watch them do it while they’re running.

Here are some close up photos of some of the team. Because I always get a lot of questions about this, yes, they are all Alaskan Huskies. Even though they look different, have different colors, varying lengths of coats etc. Some are “houndier” and some are “huskier” than others.

The last photo features our new friend Steve and his snow machine (or snowmobile if you will). He leap frogged us back and forth throughout the run to make sure everything was going well, give other snow machiners a heads up that there was a dog team ahead on the trail, and be our chaperone on the Club trails.

Once the dogs finished their snacks, they were jumping and barking, ready to continue the run. We swapped around positions on the sled for the rest of the run to give me a chance on the runners.

When we finished the 30 mile run, we bedded the dogs down just like they would be doing at a check point in a race. For two of the dogs on the team, Elmo and Loonie, Hiawatha was their first race ever, and they had never experienced a checkpoint, but would be at the UP200 a couple weeks later. The dogs know that when the straw comes out, they should rest. They were also given more food and water during this time.

A few hours later, the dogs were rested and ready to go, and we left on another 30 mile training run, again simulating what they would be doing in a race with check points. I did not take any photos during the run because it was mostly after dark. At times, it was snowing so hard that it was hard to see the dogs well! The heavy snow made it tricky to see upcoming turns and hills, but the dogs (and Q) handled it like pros.

Overall, we had an amazing time up north with friends and dogs, and feel so lucky we were able to have the experience. We left the UP smiling ear to ear, with sore muscles that we didn’t even know existed lol.

That wraps up our trip at the Hiawatha Heritage Dog Sled Race! We hope you enjoyed the stories and photos!

-Hannah, Riley, Boo, and Pence