Endless Mountains
Dogsled Race 2007
When MaryBeth had passed it was time to relax for a bit. John and Marybeth were the only two mushers so we had at least an hour before either was coming back. But we noticed that there were two booties laying in the street. They must have come off one of Marybeth's dogs. Now sure whether she carried extra booties, I called Net Control to ascertain if one of the snowmobilers needed to run it out to her. What a turmoil I created on the radio! Questions flew back and forth for 15 minutes before we were informed that the mushers always carry extras.
Right at our waypoint were three houses. One of the residents, Janet, was very gracious and offered us use of her facilities and heat. Terry's car wasn't really great for heat, but I wasn't cold sitting in it. The heater worked well enough to take the bite out of the cold. But we did take advantage of Janet's nice warm bathroom and hospitality. They even came out later and offered us BBQ!

I took this photo so you could see the wind whipping up and how high the snowbanks were. Not bad for not having any snow till last week!
We sat and watched the snowmobilers for a bit and listened to the radio communications, finding out that John had decided to run the 50 mile race instead of the 25 mile. He told the radio amateurs at the checkpoint that the dogs were ready willing and able to go the distance.
The race took the mushers and dogs past the farm and through the ravine.
Things got more interesting when John made the decision to do the 50 mile run. We had no one at the checkpoints on that run so Mike scrambled to man a checkpoint in case John needed to drop off a dog or water the team or himself. Not too long after hearing that John was going on, we listened to Marybeth's progress coming back our way. She and her team glided silently along past our waypoint and Terry stopped traffic so they could cross. MaryBeth waved goodbye as she headed for the finish line.
It was about 11:30 AM now and we were in for the long haul, waiting for John and his team to get back. Terry and I shared tuna fish sandwiches and coffee in the truck and then went out to chat with some nearby residents. Donny lived right down the road at the farm in the photo below.
Where, oh where has my sled dog team gone?