Warm temps, fast trails at Beargrease

GRAND MARAIS — As musher Alice White readied her 12-dog team to leave the Trail Center checkpoint on the Gunflint Trail, she gave a quick weather report.

“It’s 140 degrees,” said White, of Ely.

She was 100 degrees high — along the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon course, it was near 40 degrees Monday afternoon — but in a sport defined by cold conditions and where the dogs prefer temperatures near zero, everyone knew what she meant.

A few minutes later, David Burge, of Side Lake, Minnesota, left the checkpoint wearing just a long-sleeved shirt and no hat.

“The trail is getting soft on the lake … it just means lots of breaks,” said Mary England, of Sioux Lookout, Ontario.

She said she wasn’t running a competitive race, so she stopped every hour to let her dogs “have a cool off and let them bury their face in the snow.”

“They do a good job of cooling off that way and staying hydrated — that’s the main concern with the heat,” England said.

Morgan Martens, of Brule, Wisconsin,

was prepping his dogs to head back on the trail from Trail Center late Monday afternoon. He said he was looking forward to cooler temperatures overnight.

“It’s warm,” Martens said. “But we timed it so we’re only going to have a few hours in the heat of the day.”

Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group

Erin Aili, the 2021 champion

from Ray, Minnesota, took the lead Monday in the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon and appeared to hold it coming into the Skyport checkpoint in Grand Marais at 5 p.m. Monday.

But Erin Altemus, of Grand Marais, who entered the checkpoint 43 minutes later as the sunset behind her on Devil Track Lake with all 12 dogs, made up ground in the 60-mile section from Trail Center to Skyport.

Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group

But when the remaining rest time is subtracted, Aili leads Altemus by just six minutes. Each team must rest 21 hours at checkpoints throughout the race.

Aili, like her dogs, caught some sleep shortly after arriving at Skyport, but her husband,

Keith Aili, a two-time Beargrease champion,

said the next segment was hilly, and her dogs were good at hills. That could give her a slight advantage, even though she’s down a few dogs.

“She’s trying to win,” Keith said.

He said she dropped a couple dogs at Trail Center, and might drop a few more at Skyport.

“This trail’s been a little bit harder than I thought it would be on the dogs,” he said, citing the icy conditions early in the race.

The annual sled dog marathon was delayed by five weeks by a lack of snow and then shortened because of a lack of snow. Sunday’s start, traditionally in Duluth, was moved 40 miles up the shore to near Two Harbors.

The shortened race is 275 miles long and the first racers are expected to finish late Tuesday morning at Grand Portage Lodge & Casino.

Snow conditions were still marginal in the first few miles of the race but improved the closer mushers got to Cook County.

Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group

Despite warm temperatures, only a thin layer of mush sits on top of a hard-packed base, Keith said.

Altemus said the trail conditions were hard and fast despite the warm weather. So far, she and her team have taken advantage of that.

Several times, she has placed as high as fourth place in the Beargrease, but she’s hoping this year could be higher.

“This is one of the best Beagreases I’ve had … if we can hold it together to the end,” Altemus said.

Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group

Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group

Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group

Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group

Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group

Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group

Clint Austin / Duluth Media Group

Jimmy Lovrien covers environment-related issues, including mining, energy and climate, for the Duluth News Tribune. He can be reached at jlovrien@duluthnews.com or 218-723-5332.