John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon

I almost forgot to mention that on your way home from Grand Marais and the Moose Stomp Festival you can check out the excitement of the 24th running of the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon.   It begins in Duluth on the 29th of January and is an incredible event to be a part of.  John Beargrease was a Native American who along with his brothers delivered mail between Two Harbors and Grand Marais from 1879 to 1899.  Until 1899 there were no roads for easy travel along the shore so when the brothers were running their trap lines they decided to bring the mail along on a weekly basis.  They used boats, canoes, horses and in the winter dogsleds.  When he traveled with his sled and mail it took John Beargrease around 30 hours to get from Two Harbors to Grand Marais.  Today the race in his namesake is 400 miles long and begins in Duluth with the halfway point on the Gunflint Trail.  Teams should arrive at Trail Center Lodge sometime on Monday the 30th and won’t finish the race until sometime on the 1st of February.  So check out their website and come and be a part of the excitement or mush your own team of dogs at Gunflint Lodge.