Arrowhead 135 Winter Ultra Marathon

Year 6

Monday morning at 7 am, the Arrowhead 135 started in International Falls. It is now 11:30 am on Wednesday, and competitors (hike, bike, ski) are still out on the 135 mile course to Lake Vermilion. Since the start of the race it has never been above zero. Right now it is -28F, which does not include windchill. This is one of the hardest races in the world. Nature is unforgiving, and the wilderness trail only brings the racers out to a logging road a few times. Specialized equipment is required to start the race, including an extreme weather sleeping bag and gear. If a participant does not finish with all this winter gear, they are disqualified. I spent the last few days watching and photographing the race. My race photographs will appear early next winter in the Lake Country Journal.

Here are a few images which define the race … and oh yes … back to birding. I found a Snowy Owl hunting this morning. When the bird flew down to this perch, I knew the morning hunt was over. The perch was in the sun and protected from the wind (-28F and 20 mph wind made for a -59F windchill). I did not spend much time out of the car!

Arrowhead 135 Start

Checkpoint #1 (17 miles into the race)

Checkpoint #2 (70 miles into the race … arriving during a snow squall)

The Finish (snow / frost encrusted head … breathing device sticking out)

This morning’s Snowy Owl!

 

John Beargrease Sled Dog Race

Year 6

Everyone needs a tune-up for Alaska’s Iditarod which describes itself as the Last Great Race on Earth (official site / Wikipedia). Northern Minnesota’s John Beargrease Sled Dog Race is such a “tune-up” activity. The mushers race 300 miles along Lake Superior’s North Shore hills. Temperatures will fall to over -30F before the race completes on Wednesday at Grand Portage.

Yesterday afternoon, Molly and I took our youngest son and his wife out for an afternoon at the races. I had picked a spot in the woods … French River Crossing. The cascading bridge allows a better view of the dog teams. The weather was perfect … sunny and -9F. We had a great time. Now it’s on to the Arrowhead 135 … humans racing through the northern Minnesota wilderness … quite the ultra marathon as the same weather conditions apply.

Sled Dog Team #7

Sled Dog Team #5

Sled Dog Team #9 (my wife and son may be seen cheering)

Sled Dog Team #12

Sled Dog Team #101 (not doing full marathon … smaller dog team)

Northland Life at -20F (-29C)

Year 6

It is -21F at 6:15 am as I type out this post. My yard birds, Mr. and Mrs. Great Horned Owls are hooting out their love. They will soon nest. While many of you may think life stops at temperatures this cold, we Northlanders take it all in stride, but make minor adjustments. Lake Superior is freezing over on the Duluth end of the big lake, and when the ice sheet forms completely Duluth will stop being an island of warmth (-38 in the Bog right now). For instance … yesterday I still took a workout and went Nordic skiing. However I waited till the mercury rose to -4F before skiing. My workout clothes had an extra layer of thermal protection.

This week I will be covering two fantastic area sporting events. Even I wonder how the participants survive their races. Today I will photograph the John Beargrease Sled Dog Race, which will see the mushers and dogs race up the shore from Duluth to Grand Portage. Monday and Tuesday I will be covering the Arrowhead 135 for the Lake Country Journal. These hardy athletes race 135 miles in an ultra marathon from International Falls to Vermilion Lake. Both races keep the participants out on the courses over night … at -40F (-40C). I get to sleep in a motel room and venture out at times to various spots in the forest to take photographs. Uff dah!

Oh yes, I still go birding at these temperatures, but I sometimes wait till it warms up a touch. My friend, Greg, and I drove over to Sax-Zim Bog on Friday afternoon. I wanted to introduce Greg to Fluffy! We also saw some some cool birds, among others our sightings included the Northern Hawk Owl, this Ruffed Grouse and Boreal Chickadee. The real question most people should want to answer … Do Boreal Chickadees prefer Jif or Skippy Peanut Butter?!

Another image of Fluffy!