Race Update #1

The Dagoo 340 has begun, three dog teams showed up At Eagle Plains on the Dempster Highway to participate in the first ever running of The Dagoo 340. All three teams were started on schedule and began their run into Old Crow between 3 and 3:30pm on the 22 of March 2007. Despite the lack of participants The Dagoo 340 planning committee is still very excited about this race, and the community of Old Crow is still hard at work making all preparations to receive the mushers. As of 11:00am on the 23rd of March there is still now word from our checkpoint about the status of the teams.We will be sure to give an update as soon as we receive news.

The snow cats made it back out to Eagle Plains

Our team of snow cats that have volunteered their time to break the trail have successfully completed stage two of putting in the trail for The Dagoo 340. After a slurry of mechanical difficulties Ken and Ed of Skyways Technical services have made it back to the Eagle Plains lodge on the Dempster Highway at 2am on the 22nd. They report that the trail is hard packed and smooth and will be excellent for travel by dog team. Despite the mechanical difficulties and lack of sleep Ken and Ed arrived in Eagle Plains in high spirits and still excited about the race. Unfortunately they will be unable to make necessary repairs in time for the both snow cats to make a second trip into Old Crow without causing a major delay in the race. This news was a tough blow for The Dagoo 340 Planning committee as now we would have been unable to provide food drops in Old Crow and at our checkpoint, but thanks to a very kind last minute donation from Capital Helicopters we were able to make arrangements for food drops at both the checkpoint and in Old Crow. This Donation will allow us to start the race on schedule

Old Crow mourns community member

The community of Old Crow received news on Saturday March 17th that respected elder Isaac Thomas had passed away after becoming ill earlier this winter. The Dagoo 340 planning committee has spoken to the family and decided to commemorate the first ever running of The Dagoo 340 to the memory of the late Isaac Thomas. The community of Old Crow is making preparations to hold a service for the Late Isaac Thomas on Saturday March 24 at 2pm.

The Snow Cats are in

The Snow Cats are in. Our team of snow cats has tackled a variety of obstacles packing down the trail for The Dagoo 340, but they have finally made it into Old Crow successfully completing the first stage of trail work. The cat operators Ken and Ed are looking forward to some well deserved rest, unfortunately they wont get much. The plan is to send them back out onto the trail tonight to begin the second stage of setting the trail for The Dagoo 340. Ken and Ed are planning to drag the trail and fix it up a little on the way back to Eagle Plains to ensure a smooth flat trail for the dog teams.

Last Minute Changes

The Dagoo 340 has become the race of last minute changes, but I guess that's the way things go for first time events. Our team of snow cats has run into trouble on the winter road and has made the decision to re-route the trail. The trail will now follow the Porcupine River into the village of Old Crow. The trail will now follow the Old Crow winter access road to the Porcupine River at Anik Island and instead of crossing the river and continuing along the winter access road the race trail will turn and follow the Porcupine all the way into Old Crow. This trail alteration will add an additional 40-50 miles of trail to race. This will make the total trail distance of the race closer to 440 miles instead of 340 miles. This decision was made as our team of snow cats came to a creek crossing they determined to be impassable for all vehicles including dog teams, and in an emergency meeting of the planning committee a executive decision was made to re-route the trail in order to ensure the safety of all participants in the first ever running of The Dagoo 440 ?

The trail will now follow part of the historic trail between the village of Old Crow and Ft. MacPherson. At the confluence of the Bell and Porcupine Rivers The Dagoo 340 trail will join the trail for the Johnny Charlie Memorial Snowmobile Trip and continue onto the village of Old Crow.

Mushers will now need to prepare themselves for a longer trail, there will be an additional 50 miles in each direction. This trail change will also alter one of the race rules, the rule stating that all teams will be expected to arrive in Old Crow before Saturday March 24th at 4pm will be dropped. This rule change as well as the other recent rule changes will be discussed in full detail at the pre-race mushers meeting.

All mushers planning to run the race are encouraged to be at the Eagle Plains Lodge on Wednesday the 21st so that we can also make an attempt at starting the race earlier in the day on Thursday the 22nd. The Dagoo 340 Planning Committee wish to try and allow teams more time on the trail to ensure a high level of dog care and that all teams entering The Dagoo 340 arrive in Old Crow happy and healthy.

There will still be one check point along the trail between Eagle Plains and Old Crow, only it will be closer to the mid point of the trail and further away from the village Of Old Crow. Exact mileage between the checkpoints will be announced at the pre-race mushers meeting.

The Dagoo 340 Planning Committee would like to thank everyone for there continued support and we hope that some of these last minute changes will not discourage mushers from entering their teams in this event. The Dagoo 340 Planning Committee is still committed to making every effort to ensure that this event is held successfully and is fun for all participants, and we look forward to meeting everyone in Eagle Plains.

Only 5 days left until the race start

The Dagoo 340 Sled Dog Race Planning Committee sat down last night with a group of about 20 volunteers in order to begin making all the final race preparations, and to come up with the answers to many of questions that mushers have been asking us over the past few weeks.

We are happy to announce that we now have a solid group of 5 volunteers that will be leaving Old Crow on Tuesday the 20th to travel down the race trail from Old Crow and set up our check point. The Checkpoint will be approximately 60 – 70 miles from the Village of Old Crow. The camp will be simple consisting of 2 or 3 wall tents and a big fire pit. The check point will provide mushers with an excellent place to camp out a dog team for a few hours and provide hot water for the dogs and food for the mushers.
We have also begun to make preparations for the check point in the Village of Old Crow, the planning committee decided that the mushers and dog teams will camp out at the cross country ski facility in Old Crow. This facility is fully equipped with washroom and kitchen facilities and boasts the best view in town. The ski lodge is also located on the edge of town and is isolated from the main part of the village, the planning committee feels that this location will provide a safe and quite environment for all the dog teams while they are camped out in Old Crow.

Over the past few weeks The Dagoo 340 planning committee has recieved a number of questions regarding the food drop and dropped dogs. This was a concern for us also so we have worked out a deal with our snow cat operators to make a second trip in with the race. The snow cats will now be our main supply hauler and trail proofers.

Food Drop

We have made final arrangements for the food drop in Old Crow. The food drop will happen right after the pre-race mushers meeting on the 22nd, mushers will be asked to have their food drop bags pre-packed to enable us to get the drop bags on route to Old Crow as quickly as possible. Weight for the food drop bags is not really an issue anymore, but mushers will be requested to not exceed the previous 100lbs limit by too much, but if your bags are over weight don’t worry. The food drop bags should contain enough food for your dog team to feed them for the duration of their stay in Old Crow and the return trip to Eagle Plains. Also be sure to pack enough feul for your cookers as we will not be providing cooker fuel.

Dropped Dogs

There will be two dog drops, the first dog drop will be at the check point between Eagle Plains and Old Crow on the way in, and the second dog drop will be at the Old Crow check point.
Halfway check point – Dogs dropped at his check point will have to stay there for the duration of the race. We have a check point manager that will be staying out there for the duration of the race that will care for and feed any dogs that will be dropped there, and we will provide the food for any dogs that are dropped there also.
The Old Crow check point - Dogs may be dropped in Old Crow, any dog that mushers may wish to drop in Old Crow should stay with its team while the teams are camped in the village so that mushers can care for their own dogs. The Dogs will be dropped on the Sunday before the race is restarted in Old Crow.

All dogs dropped in Old Crow will be carried out on the snow cats all the way to eagle plains, the snow cats can also pick up the dogs that have been dropped at the halfway check point and carry them to eagle plains as well.

Unfortunately there will be no dog drop at the halfway check point for the second half of the race, as we will not be able to ensure that dogs dropped here on the way out will be safely transported to Eagle plains, mushers will have to cross the finish line with all the dogs that they started the second half of the race.

Purse

The Dagoo 340 Planning Committee also took a dive into our finances and it looks like we have met our goal of being able to provide a minimum purse of $10,000
The minimum breakdown will go as follows:

1st – $2500
2nd - $2000
3rd - $1500
4th - $800
5th - $600
6th - $400
7th - $300
8th - $300
9th - $300
10th - $300
All other finishers will receive $150 and of course any left over money will be added into the purse as well. So the total available purse money may increase. (this purse breakdown is also not finalized and may be subject to change)

The Little Race that Could

As the start of The Dagoo 340 Dog Sled Race fast approaches the race committee is pleased to report that a number of key pre-race preparations are underway to ensure that the race is enjoyed by both the hardy musher and their steadfast dogs. We have just received conformation that trail breaking will commence on Friday, March 16th, 2007. This service has been generously donated by Skyway Technical Services, owned and operated by Ken Rombough. With the use of two Snow Cats, Mr. Rombough plans to set the race trail in two stages. Leaving from the Eagle Plains Lodge on the Dempster Hwy, the first stage will consist of clearing and packing the trail. On the return trip from Old Crow back to Eagle Plains, the second stage will involve grooming and smoothing out the trail to ensure a flat and hard-packed route that all dog teams will enjoy as they travel through the historic and traditional territory of both the Dagoo and Vuntut people.

The race committee is further pleased to announce that additional sponsorship has been secured for the race. Northern Cross Yukon Ltd, based out of Whitehorse, Yukon has kindly contributed a notable monetary donation that has helped to increase the race’s purse. The race committee is thrilled with the amount of support it has received from a number of individuals, groups, and businesses. In light of this, the race committee would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have contributed to the race’s efforts. Your support is valued and much appreciated.

Although race time will soon be upon us, the race committee is still seeking out and accepting sponsorship. Any contribution, big or small, is greatly welcome.

NOTE TO PARTICIPANTS:

In order to participate in the first ever running of the Dagoo 340 Dog Sled Race, mushers are encouraged to submit their entry forms to the race committee as soon as possible via email to ocsteward@gmail.com, fax to 1-867-966-3036 or in person to Duffy’s Pets and Tanzilla Harness Supply located at 407 Alexander Street in Whitehorse, YT or the Dog House located at 1076 Front Street in Dawson City, YT. Entry forms that are submitted in a timely fashion will assist us in ensuring a well organized and coordinated food drop, which is set to take place Wednesday, March 21, 2007 (Food drop location has yet to be announced).
All participants are reminded that Old Crow, YT is a dry community. Alcohol or other illicit substances will not be permitted. Participants are asked to respect the community’s by-laws and their efforts to build and maintain a strong and healthy environment for all of its residents.