I met Warren, Kate, the family and the dogs when they moved down to Quesnel from Yellowknife, we developed a great relationship very quickly. We have spent time together at various events, been on paddling trips together and Warren has given me a hand with the new Shop / House I am building. My wife, Julie and I have spent time living at their place and taking care of their kennel while they have been away, and last year they lent me a dog team to head out on the Bowron Chain for a night’s camping where I proposed to Julie. When I asked to borrow the team I would have understood if the answer was no, at that point I had not run any of their dogs before. My background has been with “Canadian Eskimo Dogs”, a slower and rougher breed. When Kate agreed to lend me eight dogs she said, “If you can handle Eskimo Dogs, this team will be a treat.” She was right, two days later I was engaged and had a whole new appreciation for sled dogs.
On new years day we had a day on the lake at our place, we had a rink and spent the day skating, playing hockey and curling with frozen milk jugs. The Palfrey family was over that day and after the fireworks just before they went home, Kate pulled me aside and said, “I’m gonna let the cat out of the bag here, Warren is planning to give you a call and ask if you want to race in Montana with him.” Wheels started turning in my mind, I was asking myself questions like, “does Warren know that I have never actually raced a dog team before?” and “What will Julie think of me heading to Montana for 5 days?” as our first child, our son Logan, had just been born 5 weeks earlier. After consulting with Julie and explaining to Warren that although I could run a dog team, I was much more used to going 3-5 miles and hour and when running in groups, my strategy was to leave last so I wouldn’t have to deal anyone passing me, it was decided, I was headed to Montana to race some sled dogs.
The trip down was an adventure, trying to find a route from BC to Montana that looked like it would remain open in the snowstorm, we talked an laughed for two days, which would set the tone for the trip. Our crew consisted of Warren, Me, our handler Fabien, and a trailer full of 23 sled dogs. Warren taught me a few things about racing dogs on the drive down, the most important thing being that at gas stations, when you are buying coffee, fill two thirds of your cup with normal coffee and one third with coffee from the machine with cappuccino or French Vanilla or whatever. The theory being that the overwhelming sweetness of the machine coffee would cancel out the acidic taste of the normal stuff, it took me a few tries, but I got the 2 thirds one third ratio down to an art.
The vet check and mushers meeting was all new to me, I didn’t feel like a pro when the vet asked the dog’s names and I didn’t know them. I met the organizers and the race marshal and at the musher’s meeting it became obvious that they wanted this event to be about fun first and racing second, it was going to be my kind of event.
I was competing in the 8 dog class, we would be racing Saturday and Sunday on the same trail. The 12 dog teams left first, I made mental notes on where they would hook in at the start line, do the dogs have to be behind the start line or is it the sled? The moment of truth arrived and I was making my way to the start line, heavy on the brake and then hooking in. Warren had filled out my registration package for me and I heard the announcer PA telling the crowd, “Tyler Dinsdale is running a team from Northernstar Kennels, he has been recognized as the fastest dog harnesser west of the Caribou Mountains and is known for his dog scooping prowess, but no awards received as of yet for that.” “Well played Warren” I thought as the crowd started laughing, I said to one guy in the crowd, “If I were more serious that would be upsetting” then the timer announced 30 seconds to go and one of the dogs promptly snapped their tugline. Fabien kicked into high gear, I threw him a spare neckline, and he went to work tying it into the broken tugline. The crowd was counting down, “FIVE, FOUR, THREE…” Fabien finishes fixing the broken tugline and throws his hands in the air, “TWO, ONE” and the neckline that Fabien has tied in snaps as well. I stand on the hook and throw Fabien another neckline, while he works furiously to tie it in I look over at the guy I had spoken with earlier and said, “If I were more serious, this would be upsetting too.”
The run was great, the trail was beautiful with some great sections over and beside creeks and rivers. Large sections were groomed 16 feet wide or more and I found out then, that these dogs could haul ass! I ran the 24 mile trail in just over 2 hours and the dogs and I all came back smiling. I heard later on announcements that I had come in 4th. Warren came in 1st in the 12 dog class and we packed up the trailer and went in search of some Montana Americana. We landed ourselves at a local pup and restaurant and immersed ourselves in culture, the football game was on T.V, the bar tender was having a bad day, and that is why she was drinking, the football betting pool had been screwed up so the chef was pissed off, I just soaked it all in. We ate some Montana sized pieces of beef and were on our way to B.S with mushers at another pub. I felt I was fitting right into this dog racing scene until someone asked me my time for the day’s run, which I had neglected to find out, mental note, next time when racing, pay attention to your race time.
Sunday, the conditions were even better, nothing broke in the starting gate and I had a better idea of what I could expect from these dogs. I was impressed to see the dogs, with minimal encouragement, running up every hill, (Eskimo dogs don’t tend to run, period, and definitely not up hill). A great run brought me to the finish line in under two hours, when all was said and done I ended up in third place overall. As the event wrapped up and folks packed up to head for home or to the next race we gathered in the parking lot for the awards ceremony. Warren, coming in first in the 12 dog gave a speech in which he first thanked his wife, Kate and my wife, Julie for being understanding enough to send us off for such a great trip while keeping things together at home, he then thanked all the event organizers and participants of Flathead Sled Dog Days for making the event so enjoyable. I couldn’t agree with him more.
All packed up and headed for home there was only one more thing we needed to accomplish, find a Montana delicacy, “Chicken fried Steak” if you have had one, you know what it is all about, if not, and you find yourself in Montana, give it a shot, just once.
Two days of driving, chatting and laughing brought us back home, there was at least a foot of fresh snow waiting for us and warm houses and happy families. My dog racing experience was and awesome one, and we are already planning our next adventure. Stay tuned.