Beargrease Musher 001

Steve & Sue Van Kekerix asked me to go with them to photograph the finish line of the John Beargrease Sled Dog marathon. For those of you not familiar with this race it starts in Duluth and travels along the North Shore State Trail to just north of Grand Marais. From there they race up the Gunflint Trail to Trail Center, turn around and race back to Duluth for a total of about 382 miles.

Beargrease Musher 002

This year they encountered the most extreme weather conditions. It started out balmy, and then turned to freezing rain even a downpour. Some musher’s had to borrow raingear to stay dry. After the rain the temperatures dropped; all the way to 28 below zero with strong winds driving the wind chills to -55. The rain froze and made the trail extremely icy.

Beargrease Musher 003

As Jason Barron, the winner crossed the finish line the temperatures were still -20 as shown by the frost on his face and dogs. Fifteen of the twenty-seven teams withdrew from the race due mainly to the severe weather conditions.

Beargrease Winner 001

Beargrease Dog 001