Boundary Waters Blog

(Gunflint Trail, MN)  The long awaited Mush for a Cure weekend is just a few days away and according to event organizer Mary Black, “Rain or shine, or in this case, snow or no snow, the show will go on.”  Gunflint Trail business owner and trail boss for the Mush for a Cure Bob Baker says, “There might not be snow anywhere else but there is snow on the Gunflint Trail.  The trail we use for the event is still packed with snow and there’s snow in this week’s forecast.”  Sunshine and warm temperatures are also predicted for the week but it doesn’t matter since 2/3 of the course is traveled over frozen lakes so the mushers will have a place to run their dogs. 

     The Mush for a Cure is a fundraiser for the National Breast Cancer Foundation whose participants raised over $25,000. at last year’s event.  This year event organizers added a Pink Prom Pasta Party and The Bald, The Brave and The Beautiful for Friday night before the race.  Organizers are hopeful this will help achieve their goal of raising over $30,000 this year even though they are not sure what to expect with the economy.

     Sarah Hamilton, owner of Trail Center where the majority of the weekend’s events take place says, “My crew and I are pumped for this weekend, everyone’s going to have a great time for a great cause.”

     With men and women dressed in pink prom dresses Friday night Trail Center will be the place to be.  Live music by the Trail’s End Band will add to the fun of the crowning of the King and Queen and the shaving of heads.  Whether it is Cook County Sheriff Mark Falk or his deputy Leif Lunde or the Gunflint Trail’s Volunteer Fire Department Chief Mike Prom or his deputy Bob Baker one of each pair will be going home bald depending upon who the public would most like to see bald.

     Saturday, March 13^th the fun begins early at Gunflint Pines Resort on Gunflint Lake.  Ten skijor teams are signed up to Skijor for a Cure before the mushing begins at noon with a sourdough start.  It’s a sight everyone should see as mushers scramble out of sleeping bags, slip on their boots and hurry to get their teams hooked up.  There are 37 teams signed up making this year’s event bigger than ever.  No doubt this year’s event will be better than ever too, no matter what type of condition the trail is in.  The fun is in the name, Mush for a Cure Sled Dog Fundraiser, March 12-13^th on the Gunflint Trail.

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More information can be found at http://www.mushforacure. 

Please call to request photos. 218-388-2224

Schedule of Events-

5:00 – 8:00 p.m.: Pre-Registration for the mushers that are in town and have their pledges ready. Registration coordinator Phyllis and her crew would appreciate pre-registering as many teams as possible on Friday night. That way she and her volunteers aren’t rushing to tally at the last minute and you won’t have to stand outside the fish house on Saturday!     

5:00 – 7:00 p.m.: Cut For a Cure Andrea Peterson from Studio 61 Hair in Grand Marais is back with chair and shears. Haircuts are $10 each with monies going to Mush For a Cure!     

 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.: Pink Pasta Party open to the general public wanting to meet the mushers running on Saturday that are in town and available on Friday night. Cost $6.00, MFAC participants eat free!     

5:00 – 9:00 p.m.: The Bald, The Brave and The Beautiful(?) Competition. We have a few brave souls that are willing to literally “put their heads on the line” by having their heads shaved if enough money is raised! There are two competitions going on at once…the man who raises the most money in each competition gets to “take it all off” (their hair that is). You don’t have to wait until Friday night, send in your vote now. Make your check out to Mush For a Cure and put in the memo “BBB and the name of the guy you would MOST LIKE TO SEE HAVE THEIR HEAD SHAVED. The contestants are: 

Ring #1
Cook County Sheriff, MARK “I Don’t Want to be a Cueball” FALK
vs. 
Chief Deputy, LEIF “Remind Me Again, Why I Said I’d Do This” LUNDE 

Ring #2 
Gunflint Trail VFD Chief MIKE “Good Thing I Sleep With My Hat On“ PROM
vs.
Deputy Chief, BOB “I’m Good Looking Enough, I Don’t Need Hair” BAKER  

8:00 – 10:00 p.m.: NEW THIS YEAR…Pink Prom!!!!!!! at 8:00 there will be a Grand March for everyone who wishes to attend The Pink Prom. We’ll have a band playing music as an appetizer to Saturday night’s Finisher’s Party.    

9:00 p.m.: Pink Prom King and Queen Crowning come and see who is most popular in pink and voted King and Queen. While the royalty is enjoying their victory dance, the Bald, Brave and Beautiful monies will be tallied. (King and Queen get “first shave” on the heads of the BB & B competitors)     

9:30 p.m.: The Bald, The Brave and The Beautiful HEAD SHAVING!!!! Whoever has more money in their bank account at the end of the night between the two pairs will have less hair as he will have his head shaved.     

SATURDAY, MARCH 13TH      

9:00 a.m. – 11:00: Musher check-in/Registration and Pancake Breakfast at Gunflint Pines.     

10:00 a.m.: Skijor Start at the Cross River on the Gunflint Trail and finish at Gunflint Pines.     

11:00 a.m.: Musher Meeting on Gunflint Lake (location TBA).     

12:00 noon: Sled Team Mass Sourdough Start on Gunflint Lake.     

Noon-3:00: Opportunities to see the dog teams along the trail. Suggested sites: Start: Gunflint Pines, Gunflint Resort. Along the trail: Gunflint Lake boat landing, Iron Lake Access, Old Gunflint Trail (both west and east ends) Poplar Lake: Windigo Lodge, Nor’wester Lodge and the finish at Trail Center Lodge.     

2:00-5:00: Finish at Trail Center Teams coming into the finish line at Trail Center Lodge. Finisher’s bonfire, hot dog/marshmallow roast and party tent sponsored by Sarah and the gang at Trail Center Lodge.     

5:00-6:00′ish: Awards/Prizes Prize selection to largest pledge collector(s) in order, and fun trophies for special awards at the big tent on Poplar Lake in front of Trail Center     

7-10:00: Finishers Dance Hang out on the Gunflint Trail for a great time with Sarah and the gang at Trail Center and your mushing friends and dance the night away to Cook County’s Most Wanted: Rod ‘n Real!  

     I spent the past weekend off the beaten path at Black Magic Kennels.  What a wonderful weekend it was.  I volunteered to kennel sit while Mark, Mary and their handler Tara went to Ely to participate in a sled dog race.  Mike had plans to ice fish all weekend, Josh was invited to a friend's house so Abby and I made the journey together.

     The drive to their place isn't really too bad, especially in the winter.  From Grand Marais it only takes about 30 minutes to get to where the plowed road ends; about half on highway and half on gravel.  When you can go no farther in the car you get to hop on a snowmobile for a six and a half mile snowmobile ride to their house. 

     Their place is a jewel tucked away in the woods with no visible neighbors.  Traffic doesn't flow past their house and quiet envelopes their oasis.  Only the howling of the dogs or chirps of the birds break the steady silence. 

     They have solar panels for electricity and an outhouse for a septic system.  Water is hauled in from their well in five gallon buckets and a sauna outside is their shower.  All Abby and I had to do was keep an eye on the two house dogs, one house cat and the unlucky dogs who weren't chosen to race.

     Twenty-two sled dogs looked at us in anticipation as their 16 buddies and three masters left the dog yard.  It was a beautiful weekend for caring for outside dogs with temperatures in the 40's.  Neither Abby nor I minded mixing up their food in three five gallon buckets with a blender on a hand drill.  I didn't even mind scooping poop; fresh or the stuff that kept appearing from thawing snow.  

     It was a welcome weekend of relative relaxation for me.  While staying at someone else's place my unfinished projects or housework couldn't nag at me.  The phone couldn't ring for me and no visitors to Voyageur could find me.  If I had left my computer at home and their internet hadn't been working then it would have been a real retreat.

     As it was I spent some time on the computer, did some light reading, played a few games of Yahtzee, took care of the dogs, and went skijoring a couple of times.  That's a blog entry for another day.  Until then I'll just leave it at it was a wonderful weekend off the beaten path.

     If I wasn't happy yesterday with the sight of slash on the side of the Gunflint Trail then I'm certainly not happy today when I watch this video.  http://www.wdio.com/article/stories/S1432168.shtml?cat=10335&v=1

     Hopefully it doesn't bug the moose as much as it bugs me.

     OK.  So sometimes I act like a major granola chomping tree hugger, I admit it.  But I'm just a bit concerned with the work being done to clear dead trees at the end of the Gunflint Trail.  Who is supervising the work the crew is doing and how well will they be expected to clean up after themselves?

     I might be a bit of a neat nick and rake gravel to make it look like a just vaccuumed carpet so all of the fibers are going the same way.  I might even like to have every little stick and leaf raked up after brushing out an area but I can be a bit flexible. 

     When I drove the Gunflint Trail yesterday I just wasn't happy to see how much debris has been left along the roadway.  It looks like crap on top of what was pretty white snow.  Not to mention the fact it's like kindling and will make my spring litter clean up almost impossible.  I'm sure I'm overreacting and the plan really includes someone coming back with a rake but I would prefer the clean up be finished as they finish each section.  Otherwise it just isn't acceptable to me.  Would it be to you or am I just being a spaz?

     If you ever need to find me then check the Minneapolis airport, that's where I've been for the past 15 years or so.  I've been hanging out on a vending machine there since Mike and I were part of a Minnesota Office of Tourism photo shoot years ago.   It shouldn't come as a surprise they sell Diet Coke in this machine as people always say I should be a spokesperson for my favorite beverage.  It looks like my sister-in-law visited me there recently and took a photo that she posted on facebook.  The next time you're at the airport keep your eyes peeled for me, I'll be there.