The Odyssée Appalachienne is a mushing event in Québec Province with several categories of sled dog races taking place over a two day period in February. The highlight of the weekend is a 100 mile sled dog race in which mushers run 12-dog teams. At the halfway point there is a checkpoint and mandatory 4 hour rest stop for the teams. This is customary during long distance sled dog races but many times the checkpoint is in a rather isolated area so it is difficult for people to get to see what happens at a checkpoint. The 50 mile checkpoint for this particular race was at Lac Frontière and it was set up in such a way that spectators could gather to observe the mushers during their rest period. Even though it’s called a mandatory rest period there is a lot that goes on during that time and it’s often the musher who doesn’t get much rest. As a musher myself I love opportunities like this because you can learn a lot by observing how a musher interacts with his or her dogs and I always pick up tips on dog care when I watch other mushers working with their dogs.
Once again I will defer to my husband who wrote up a Mushing Bulletin for our children and friends and in it he describes what went on at the Lac Frontière Checkpoint during the 2013 Odyssée Appalachienne.
Enjoy!