Poplar Creek Courier Brought to you by Boundary Country Trekking

You can cancel the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon but you can’t take away the passion for the race altogether.

Grand Marais, MN- The 25th running of the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon will not happen as scheduled in 2007, but a race will happen in its place. The Beargrease was postponed and then cancelled altogether due to the lack of snow in Duluth, MN. The Beargrease Board of Directors decided it would not be "fair" to the sponsors to run the race entirely in a remote area so they cancelled it. According to Sue Prom, Voyageur Canoe Outfitter, at the end of the Gunflint Trail, "What the Board may have forgotten is the strong tradition isn’t just about the sponsors; it’s about the mushers, the volunteers, the dogs, and the spectators."

"While running a race in a remote area may not give sponsors the biggest bang for their buck, it doesn’t seem to make all that big of a difference to everyone else." Prom continues, "The Gunflint Trail is a remote area that has not only traditionally been a part of the Marathon, the Gunflint is the home of the old Gunflint Mail Run- the forerunner to the Beargrease.

The Mail Run was run from 1977 until 1980 taking various routes along the Gunflint Trail. In 1980 the organizers of the Mail Run, at the urging and later sponsorship of WDSM-Radio in Duluth, put-together a new Dog Sled Race. Starting in Grand Marais with a mass start and ending just outside of Duluth, the 1st Annual Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon, as the new race was billed, took place on March 15 and 16, 1980, and the Beargrease was born.

Ted Young, owner of Poplar Creek B&B and one of the organizers of the Mail Run states that, "there is going to be a dog sled race this year on the Gunflint. While the race may not be the official Beargrease, it follows in the footsteps of the Beargrease's predecessors- the Gunflint Mail Run. Even while the route of the Mail Run changed each year, the old Finn Lake Road (now the Little Ollie Road) was always part of the race's route. Since the return of the Beargrease to the Gunflint Trail the race is again using this road to get on to Poplar Lake and Trail Center. Part of this year's race route will continue this tradition and travel along the old Finn Lake Road to Poplar Lake."

This year's race will start at 10:00 am, on Sunday, February 25. Instead of racing as scheduled from Duluth, mushers will race on up the Gunflint Trail. Beginning with a mass-start at Devils Track Landing Resort, the race will follow along much of the original old Gunflint Mail Run route. Plans are to have two race classes- a long race and short race. The dogs on the long race well run up to and through Trail Center on Poplar Lake continue on to Gunflint Lake then return and finish at Trail Center. The shorter race will also start at Devils Track and finish at Trail Center without continuing on up to Gunflint Lake.

There are already over thirty teams interested in participating in the one-day event as well as many volunteers to help coordinate the race. Sarah Hamilton, owner of Trail Center on the Gunflint Trail is no stranger to dog racing or the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon. Her business has been a rest stop for the marathon and she along with many others wants to see the tradition of the sled dog race continue this year. According to Hamilton, "With the help of eager volunteers and business owners on the Gunflint Trail there will be a dog sled race this year on the Gunflint.

Race aficionados, mushers, dogs and volunteers get ready for a sled dog race on the Gunflint Trail. The prizes may not be as big as the Beargrease, the media coverage will surely be small, but the hearts of the people involved will be big. After all, sled dog racing isn’t about the sponsors, it’s all about passion, a passion that can only be found in the hearts of those who love mushing. The people on the Gunflint Trail love mushing, so with open arms and welcome hearts there will be a dog sled race on Sunday, February 25th, 2007.

February 1, 2007

Don’t Tell Me Sled Dogs Are Not Smart

Filed under: News — admin @ 7:47 am

Several days ago on our local Internet news these two posts were made:

January 17-Brown male husky/hound cross, Bosco. Lost at the Greenwood Road and Blueberry Road intersection, just off the Gunflint, late Thursday afternoon. Could have gone east on trails toward Camp 20 Road, or southeast toward Trout Lake Road. He may be traveling the Gunflint Trail, in either direction.

January 28-Bosco found his way home! He was found just a few minutes ago in his dog house. We will never know the story, but we are all happier now. Thanks to everyone for their assistance and concern.

The return of Bosco to his kennel reminded me of another story of a missing sled dog that occurred in March, 2000. I wrote the following article about that incident but I never bothered to published the story, until now:

Lead Dog- Brass Comes Home

During the first week in March one of Boundary Country Trekking's dog sledding touring party was traveling through the BWCA south of Poplar Lake. The members of the group were each piloting their own sled. In the party there were two guests from New Jersey, a guest from California, one guest from Michigan, two musher-guides and some forty Alaskan Huskies.

On a portage out of Gaskin Lake, the head musher Erick Larsen's sled struck a rock and in the ensuing commotion Brass the teams lead dog's line snapped. Finding himself freed from the sled and the rest of the team, Brass took-off on his own. Erick radioed into Boundary Country Trekking's office at about two P.M. that Brass had gotten loose and was heading toward Little Ollie Lake where the dog truck was parked and where the trip had originally started. Sure enough when Boundary Country's Ted Young arrived at the Dog Sled truck at about three PM there was Brass patently waiting. Brass was tied up to the truck by rope and Susan Weber was dispatched from Arleigh Jorgenson's Kennel some thirty-five miles away to pick Brass up.

Arriving at the truck one and one half-hours later, Susan found the rope had been chewed and Brass was nowhere to be found. The neighbors around Little Ollie and Poplar Lakes were alerted to look out for Brass. Meanwhile Susan continued to search, without avail, for Brass till after dark. However, that evening two loggers traveling from Poplar Lake to their home in Grand Marais spotted a dog fitting Brass' description sleeping along the way about twenty miles from Poplar Lake.

The next morning, at about 11, who should come trotting into the Arleigh's Kennel but Brass-hungry but glad to be home. According to Young, "it is a mystery how Brass found his way home. While Brass has traveled in the BWCA and in the immediate area around the kennel before, he had only traveled between the two areas by truck." Young jokingly continued, "maybe Brass had a map or simply read the road signs along the Gunflint. But actually the fact is there are just some things that dogs such as Brass can do that we just don't understand and they certainly are a lot smarter then any folks I know when it comes to finding their way home."

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February 19, 2007

The Show Must Go On -Dog Sled Race in the Tradition of the old Gunflint Mail Run

February 1, 2007

Don’t Tell Me Sled Dogs Are Not Smart

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