Yesterday Molly and I covered the Wolftrack Classic Sled Dog Race. There were blizzard like conditions in the Ely, Minnesota area. Thus, one could only describe the weather as very nasty. The race was split up into two events … mushers racing with eight dogs or six dog teams. The eight dog teams had a huge part of their race that went across Bear Head Lake near Ely. I can’t imagine the wind and snow the musher’s experienced.

One reason my wife and I enjoy covering these events is because of the amazing information we learn. While obviously the money we are paid by Lake Country Journal is nice, our status as media gives us access to neat parts of the race behind the scenes. On Saturday evening we attended the musher’s meeting. In this meeting in addition to the race officials discussing the race course, rules and other concerns are reviewed. Just like when we covered the Arrowhead 135 Winter Ultra Marathon, we learned how mushers had to be prepared in order to insure the dogs health was paramount. For instance, if you don’t have cable cutters in your sled’s kit, you don’t start. Should this item or others be missing upon finishing disqualification is immediate.

You may wonder why a cable cutter is necessary? Should an accident occur during the race out on a remote trail, the cutter insures the dogs can be cut loose with all do haste. While not required in this race, I talked with one musher who was carrying an axe. As axe is part of his normal kit just in case he meets up with downed trees across the trail. The reason an axe was not required for this race is although the course is remote … at times ten miles from the nearest road, it is also a commonly used snowmobile trail. In the winter in northern Minnesota on a Sunday, snowmobile clubs insure trails are kept clear of deadfall.

Here are just a few images from yesterday’s Wolftrack Classic Sled Dog race. The full article with many more images will appear early next winter just before the next running of the race. Notice the snow in the photo from the start.

Oh … you get this post now because I decided I did NOT want to be cold once again. This morning it was -17F with a strong wind. Yesterday Molly and I experienced blizzard like conditions while covering the race. I was about to go Nordic skiing this afternoon but could not get myself motivated. It’s presently 7F with a decent breeze (no sun). This means a chilly ski when it is later in the afternoon. I decided to stay home and stay warm, which is an unusual decision for me. Molly did go running!

The Start …

Out on the Trail …

Ice Sculptures in Ely’s Municipal Park (just after sunrise  this morning)

Everyone needs a tune-up for Alaska’s Iditarod which describes itself as the Last Great Race on Earth (official site / Wikipedia). Northern Minnesota’s John Beargrease Sled Dog Race is such a “tune-up” activity. The mushers race 300 miles along Lake Superior’s North Shore hills. Temperatures will fall to over -30F before the race completes on Wednesday at Grand Portage.

Yesterday afternoon, Molly and I took our youngest son and his wife out for an afternoon at the races. I had picked a spot in the woods … French River Crossing. The cascading bridge allows a better view of the dog teams. The weather was perfect … sunny and -9F. We had a great time. Now it’s on to the Arrowhead 135 … humans racing through the northern Minnesota wilderness … quite the ultra marathon as the same weather conditions apply.

Sled Dog Team #7

Sled Dog Team #5

Sled Dog Team #9 (my wife and son may be seen cheering)

Sled Dog Team #12

Sled Dog Team #101 (not doing full marathon … smaller dog team)

Over the past few days the temperatures have dipped to -10F each night, but that has not stopped this photographer from practicing his craft. Unfortunately, the extreme cold temperatures are affecting my brain. Severe cold does not play nice with camera equipment. In addition, one needs to be careful when with wind added into the equation, the chill factors drop into the -20F to -25F range.

Thus, my frozen photographer failures over the past two days (and one success)

1. While standing for over an hour on a remote forest trail to watch the John Beargrease sled dog race, I forgot to bring extra batteries. I did have extras but they were back in my car next to the trailhead. After one mushers went by, when the second and third teams approached, the dreaded “battery exhausted” message appeared on my camera display.
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2. This morning I found a Great Gray Owl 30 minutes before sunrise. I had been out since 3:45 am trying to capture an Aurora Borealis photographs. My plan was to photograph the Northern Lights and then head home for some sleep. Well, the Northern Lights did not shine, and while I had my head pointed down (i.e. eyes not on the owl) to make adjustments to my night photography gear in an attempt capture an image of the owl silhouetted against the pre-dawn orange sky, the bird flew off.  I invested another hour trying to relocated said bird, but failed. It would have been a great photograph! Did I mention my birding photography gear was at home in the kitchen?!

Thankfully, I did track down the dog sled teams after a quick drive to another trailhead which resulted in these images.