I worked at the Beargrease seld dog race again this year, Jan 31-Feb 3,2021. It is held at Grand Portage, MN. That is at the most NE place in Minnesota that you can get. About four miles from Canada. About 310 miles from my house. The race is 300 miles which takes up to three days.
I worked the timing clock, marking the times in and out. There were five friends and I working our site. We had to be on our toes because there were teams coming in and going out at the same time. And of course the mushers want us to be on the ball and get things right. e had a lot of fun. The weather was great this year, upper 20s.
Because of Covid, there were no spectators. Just us, judges, media, and the support teams for the dogs.
Our check point, called Mineral Center, is the last check point before the finish. But because they did not have an abundance of snow, the trail beyond Mineral Center was not very good. So they made a 30 mile loop and came right back to Mineral Center for the finish. That made it very busy. We had teams coming in for their last check point, teams going out, teams coming in for the finish, all at once! Hectic but exciting.
It is fun to watch the dogs. They are so excited to get running. They cannot wait to go. At the line, they are jumping and yipping non stop, itching to go.
It was a great time with great friends!
See some photos here: Beargrease Sled Dog Race 2021 – Photos
Sure looks like fun! Wow, those dogs are awesome!