FORT KENT, Maine – The 15th annual Can-Am Crown Sled Dog Race looped its way through northern Maine over the weekend and for one first-time racer, the experience was enough to keep him looking forward to next year.
Alf Bergman, of New Sweden, made his first run in the Pepsi Bottling Co. Can-Am Crown 30 race, and despite several mishaps in the weeks prior that forced him to race in a strange sled and with a borrowed dog, says he’ll be training for next year and perhaps a longer race.
In a race the previous weekend, Bergman damaged the runners on the sled he has been training with and was forced to borrow a replacement for this race. Meanwhile, Gypsy, a member of his team that had been training for the Can-Am throughout the fall went down with a paw injury.
“She probably could have done the race and she wasn’t thrilled about being left behind, but it wouldn’t have been worth risking further injury,” Bergman said.
He ended up borrowing a dog from Shawn Linendoll of Fort Ann, N.Y., who has become his mentor in the sport. Olga, a 3-year-old Alaskan Huskie, helped take the lead.
“I was worried about how that was going to go,” Bergman said, “but they worked together really well. Both of my leaders were a bit intimidated by the raucous on Main Street and they almost tangled, but it worked out.”
Autumn, a 6-year-old Alaskan, took lead as well, and because she was used to running in the Can-Am Crown 250 with her previous owner Amy Dugan of Shirley Mills, nearly went off course.
All competitors take the same course until they cross Eagle Lake. At that point, those running the Can-Am Crown 30 continue up over a hill and those running the 60- and 250-mile races veer to the right. Autumn, who had run the Can-Am Crown 250 three times previously tried to go right.
“I was counting on her to carry me and the rookies and she did a wonderful job,” Bergman said. “When the race officials told us we were going the wrong way and we went up over the hill, she seemed much more relaxed and really perked up knowing she was doing the 30 instead of the 250.”
The rest of the team was made up of Odin, a 2-year-old male Alaskan; his female cousin, 2-year-old Freja; and Charlie and Shy, both 3-year-old Alaskan males.
According to Bergman, training begins each fall with the team pulling training carts along ATV trails. Gradually weights and distances are added as the team gets stronger. Most of this year’s team had been training together for two years.
Race day proved perfect for spectators but harder for the dogs. A freshly fallen snow made for a slower race as dogs would punch through the surface on each step and temperatures in the 30s and 40s forced frequent cooling stops.
“The trails were beautiful,” Bergman said. “They did a great job grooming and it was a very scenic ride, but the new snow made it a little punchy and we had to stop several times to pack the dogs with snow and keep them cooled off.”
Bergman, who began sledding recreationally as a teenager in Sweden, says he kept his dogs to a trot through the race to make sure both he and they would make a strong finish. The team finished in five hours, 22 minutes and 21 seconds.
“I could not have asked for it to go better,” Bergman said. “My only goal was to make it through with all the dogs and make sure everyone had a good time … The organizers were a great help along the trail. They had a very good mushers’ meeting to make sure all of our questions were answered, the trails were very well groomed … it was all extremely professional.”
Another Can-Am rookie, Martin Belanger of St. Adolphe D’Howard, Quebec won the PBC CAC 30 with a time of 3:27:01; Rene Marchildon of South River, Ontario won the Willard Jalbert, Jr., CAC 60 with a time of 7:04:04; and Rick Larson of Sand Coulee, Mont., earned the win in the Irving Woodlands CAC 250 with a time of 34:33:02.
Bergman says he plans on entering the race again next year in either the CAC 30 or CAC 60. The musher says his racing wouldn’t be possible without the help of Caribou’s Gary Malenfant, who built his sled, New Sweden’s Emery Blanchette, who groomed his sledding trails this year even though he stepped away from racing for a little while so Bergman could train, and Caribou High School student Matthew Turnbull, who has been instrumental in caring for the dogs.
“I’m really appreciative of all the people who turned out,” Bergman added. “Often when you do this, you’re out late at night on your own on the trails. It’s fun to have sledding be such a main event and to see such a good turnout … We have a great mushing community that came out to help and offer their support.”
