Originally published Jan. 14 on KTVB.COM.
In just a few weeks, some of the best mushers in the region will race through Valley County for the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge.
From muddy Middleton trails, to the snowy peaks near McCall – a mother/daughter duo has been bonding over barking and blazing trails as they each prepare to compete in the event.
On Sunday mornings when many folks are hitting the snooze button, Liz Nevills is hitting the trails with her four-legged force. Her love of dog sledding started as a teenager and grew in college – when she got to experience Alaska’s Iditarod after skipping a math class to volunteer at the race.
From playing hooky to playing Husky, Nevills will be mushing for glory in the 100-mile Idaho Sled Dog Challenge race with her team of eight dogs – mostly Alaskan Huskies and Alaskan Husky mixes.
“Before I even get to the 100-mile races, my dogs have a couple hundred miles, maybe 500 to 800 on them in training before we get to the race,” Nevills said. “So we go out for training runs.”
She straps her dogs into their harnesses and attaches them to a motorless ATV for training. She told KTVB she removed the motor for weight purposes.
Nevills’s team, called the Miracle Sled Dog Team, has mostly been training on muddy terrain near their home, just over an hour away from where they’re set to compete next month in the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge.
“It’s a tough race,” Nevills said. “It’s close to home, it’s nice to have a long-distance race that I don’t have to travel very far for.”
A musher – and a mother. Her 17-year-old daughter Caroline is also chasing her dreams on the trails, training her own eight-dog team to race in the 60-mile event.
“I get to learn a lot from dog sledding,” Caroline Nevills said. “It’s fun for me to race against the adults, because I’m usually the youngest to compete against them.”
A mother/daughter mushing duo, that like their team’s name suggests – started with a miracle.
“I was headed off to my first race, and we hit black ice out of Ontario and totaled the pickup truck and my dog sled,” Liz Nevills said. “Luckily, all the people and the dogs were fine, but it was a miracle from God that we survived without any injuries. I figured it was pretty fitting, since it was a miracle.”
In a sport where temperatures drop but spirits soar, finishing can be a reward in itself.
“I’ve won a few races and gotten first and second before. I have a whole lot more Red Lantern Awards, which is the prize for last place,” Liz Nevills said. “The best part about that prize is it meant you crossed the finish line and you didn’t quit or give up.”
Call it a tale of tails – where humans and huskies form their own kind of pack.
“It’s a strong community, and we all love our dogs,” Liz Nevills said. “We all care for our dogs. We put them first, their needs come before ours.”
The Idaho Sled Dog Challenge kicks of with “Sled Dog Week” from Jan. 27-31. The 100- and 200-mile races will start at the Lake Cascade Boat Ramp on Feb. 3. The full schedule and list of events can be found on the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge website.
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