GREENVILLE, Maine — The seventh annual Wilderness Sled Dog Race scheduled for Saturday in the Moosehead Lake Region has been canceled, according to race organizers.
According to a press release from the Wilderness Sled Dog Racing Association, the decision was made after organizers assessed the conditions on lake and woods trails. The inspection team found that despite recent snowfall, conditions were inadequate to safely run dog teams on both the 100-mile and 30-mile courses.
The race is organized by the Wilderness Sled Dog Racing Association, a Greenville nonprofit organization. For information, visit the race website at 100milewildernessrace.org , email wildernessrace@yahoo.com, or call Bethany at the Greenville town office at 695-2421.
Take heart—the CanAm is in a month and that’s the BIG one. There won’t be any cancellations then.
I certainly hope it won’t be cancelled, I’m planning on attending. However, last years 250 had the most scratches in the races history, only 6 of 22 teams competing finished the race. The reason,……..too much snow!
It’s a great event, and the people of Fort Kent are absolutley wonderful. I’ve throughly enjoyed myself at previous CaAms, cheering on a local musher from N.H. who has won the 250 three times!
Wandering through the pits visiting with the mushers, handlers, and dogs, is a highlight of the race I especially enjoy!
No eleplhants at the circus, no horse pulling at the fairs, and this to me is out right abuse of animals. Glad its canceled. I see no benifit from this heartless act only poor dogs being used for pleasure by man. Now they are bringing in bears to bangor camper show. Bar Bearick!! Any thing for a buck.
Sled dogs obviously love their jobs; to watch them at the start line it’s abundantly apparent to anyone they just can’t wait to get started doing what they love to do. If they are too tired to continue in the race they simply stop and are dropped at the next check point. The mushers take better care of their dogs than they do of themselves, putting their dog’s needs ahead of their own.
The dogs enthuasim is only slightly diminished at the finish line, almost as strong as it was at the start line. This obvious display of exuberance is certainly worlds apart from the impression one would expect from a animal unhappy with it’s current station in life.
I challenge you to spend some time visiting with the dogs and mushers before and after the race, I guarantee you will come away with a altogether diffrent perspective than you currently harbor.
Greenville unfortunately is on a down hill slide and has been since the lumber industry left town. With no snow in the winters and boat gas pushing $4. at the marinas, there isn’t much left. I lived and worked there for many many years and have left as well. There is nothing to hold any one anymore, unless drinking and lousy fishing are on top of your list. When was the last time you saw 200 sleds in front of the Black Frog? At 10K per, it’s an expensive sport and with little snow-to expensive. I groomed trails and ran a dealership there for years and could see the writing on the wall some time ago. No sea plane activity any more and there are few people using the woods. And there was never any reason for people to get all up in arms over the Plum Creek deal. Fortunes have been lost in this area-Jackman too! Only in Jackman, they WELCOME all motor sports unlike the town I used to call home.