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| FROST COVERED HILLS SURROUND ECHO VALLEY |
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| ALL THE WAY FROM ALASKA |
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| MUSH! |
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| CONTROLLED CHAOS AT THE STARTING GATES |
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| COME FOR THE FUN |
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| HARNESSING |
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| PANDEMONIUM |
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| GET THOSE TEAMS TO THE STARTING GATES |
Monday, 8:00 AM. 30 degrees F., wind W, light but picking up. The sky is mostly clear with some haze over the channel and the islands. The barometer predicts precipitation.
Yesterday’s visit to the starting point of the races was great. It is located in a gravel pit owned by the county, at the juncture of Hwy. 13 and Echo Valley Road, and has plenty of flat but well drained parking for the dog trucks and the many spectators’ vehicles. The starting gates lead directly onto the woodland trail. The dogs require a great deal of handling to get them to the gates from their trucks, and many volunteers are needed. It is a fun and very energetic experience for local volunteers and “voluntourists” alike. Handling the dogs requires good coordination and considerable strength. They have to be harnessed while yelping and squirming (they are all eager to race) and manhandled into place at the double gates, and then held steady until it is their turn to go. And when they go, one has to be nimble enough to get out of the way of the churning, barking team. When teams take off at the gate it is like watching a hot rod drag race. Dogs jump their traces in their excitement and get all mixed up. Occasionally one slips from its harness or chews through a lead and takes off down the trail and has to be found and brought back. More than one eight dog team started the race with only seven dogs.
The whole undertaking is more fun than the proverbial barrel of monkeys. After about two hours the racers return (unless crashed or lost) to the starting point, which then becomes the finish line. Then the dogs have to be taken back to their trucks, unharnessed, staked out, watered and fed.
Any and all are invited to volunteer, and the less fit can help park cars, give out information and be helpful in many other ways. To volunteer, contact the Bayfield Chamber of Commerce in early January and sign up for a doggone good time.
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