| Endless Mountain Dogsled Race 2008 |
| We arrived at Camp Brule, the Boy Scout camp which was Race Headquarters a little past our appointed time and met up with Mike and Terry and the other people who were doing communications for the race. What? You thought we were racing? Hah! Nope! Both Vic and I are Ham Radio operators and were recruited to help by Mike, whose call is N3XXH and who lives in the Endless Mountain region. I was scheduled to be teamed with Terry, Mike's wife, who is not a Ham and worked as fire police for the event. Our spot, where the trail crossed a well-used road, was the same spot I was stationed at last year. There was a lot of activity as the dogsled race was not the only thing going on at the Camp. There was an ice fishing competition, snow tubing, cross country skiing, ice sculpture, snow volleyball outside. Inside you'd find many different vendors, Sled Dog Race headquarters, race concession stand for the Kiwanis who sponsor the event, the canteen and craft tables to keep the kids busy. Before we took off, I wandered over to the area where the dogs were getting ready to run. They were barking up a storm as the handlers took them out of the trucks and tethered them to the vehicles in some way. You got the idea that they were all itching to run! But the handlers were making sure they all were fed and watered and in good health, ready to run. You can see the line to which the dogs will be clipped to the sled stretched out in front. I would have liked to have stayed and watched them being attached, but we needed to get going to our assigned spot. |
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| I threw on my hoodie, coveralls and insulated boots, grabbed some batteries for the camera, had Vic set up the radio in Terry's vehicle and took off for Route 154. Terry set the traffic cones out to slow down the cars and trucks that normally whiz by. There wasn't enough snow for us to put some over the road like we did last year, the racers would just have to travel over the roadway. Snowmobiles had already tamped down the trail and put up markers indicating the twists and turns of both the 25-mile and the 50-mile routes. We only had two race teams, like last year. I don't know what the problem was, but it might have had something to do with a rescheduled race in New York. Last year, four teams pulled out when there was a blizzard and Interstate 80 had to be closed for days. But I hope they get back to getting a lot of teams next year. It's definitely more exciting with more, although I must say that I had a grand time both last year and this year. Here are two slightly different views of our vantage point. They went across the field, down the trail across a little creek and up the field on the right, following the tree line and mostly on private land because of State Gameland requirements for trail use. |
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| I had a bit of a time finding the right position for the magmount antenna attached to the radio, but finally maneuvered it to a spot where Net Control could hear me and I could hear him. Our job was to call in times when the racers past the checkpoint and assist in any way requested by the mushers. Additionally, because we were at a place where the trail crossed a highway, Terry's job was to stop traffic. We had to figure out about how long it would take the teams to arrive at our location from the previous checkpoint. Mike was great at estimating the time for us. You can't hear the sleds coming - the dogs don't make a sound as they pull the load on the trail. As we saw them round the trees across the road, we'd have maybe 30 seconds to a minute to get traffic stopped for them. |
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