No sh**: Nature plays roles in sled dog races

Dan Hanks will be in this weekend’s sled dog races at Priest Lake.

The Kootenai County man will be bringing along Mountain Man, Lucky, Louie, Lars, Lacey and Linus.

And he believes they can win — as long as they don’t take any wrong turns, get tangled up, or one of the dogs poops at the wrong time.

“Don’t make mistakes. Mistakes can mess up a dog race,” Hanks said Tuesday. “The race is fast. It’s pretty short, so there’s not a lot of room for error. You need a clean run.”

He told a story of a 2016 skijoring race when Louie came to a sudden stop about 10 feet from the finish line, squatted and did his business. Hanks and team ended up about 30 seconds out of first place that day.

“That’s the kind of difference it can make,” he said.

The Inland Empire Dog Association is putting on the annual Priest Lake 50th anniversary Sled Dog Race and International Federation of Sleddog Sports World Cup that starts about 9 a.m. Saturday and continues Sunday.

About 15-20 teams are expected to compete in different distances and classes, from sprints to more than 20 miles, and from single dog to eight dogs. Always popular is the pee wee category — kids going a hundred feet or so with one dog.

The starting and finish lines are just off Highway 57 beyond the Priest Lake airport and ranger station.

While money, about $1,500 total, is at stake in the World Cup races, it’s more about friendly competition, bragging rights and pride for most who will be there.

Shawn Gibson, IESDA president, said weather could be a big factor this weekend, as it’s been raining at Priest Lake, so some drivers are waiting on conditions before committing.

Trails that are normally covered in soft snow are icy and slushy, so courses for the longer races have adjusted from loops to out-and-back.

“The weather is not cooperating with us,” Gibson said. “We’re hoping to get some nice cold temperatures.”

The forecast, though, is for temperatures in the 40s and 50s and some rain.

Gibson, who has competed before, will be a race marshal and a chute boss at the starting line this weekend.

“I had no titles whatsoever when I started out,” she said, laughing. “Now, I have too many of them.”

As it’s the 50th year, special activities are planned including a banquet for drivers, a display of old sleds, and a presentation on sled-dog racing.

“We’re trying to encourage more people to come,” Gibson said.

The reason she dedicates so much time and effort to this annual race is simple: She loves dogs.

“I’m a dog person,” she said. “I just love being around the dogs.”

So much that one year she had a migraine headache but just kept smiling as the canines made her happy.

“Nobody even knew I had a migraine,” Gibson said. “Overall, it’s fun, everybody is there because they love the dogs and they love the sport.”

She added that as usual, volunteers are needed and people can help in many ways.

“If we get 20 people there, we’d be really happy,” she said.

The start and finish area is spectator friendly, and the dogs and drivers put on a great show, Gibson said.

Last year, nearly 200 people showed up to watch and cheer for their four-legged friends.

Hanks and his crew will compete in two categories — four-dog sled and skijoring, where the person on skis is pulled by dogs.

It will be his sixth straight year competing there. Last year, he placed second in skijoring and won in four-dog sled.

Hanks, who has also competed in the world championships of sled-dog racing, considers the IESDA a “must-race” that draws tough competition. He has high hopes his teams will do well.

“Depends on who shows,” he said. “We’re a little bit worried about the weather, but we’d love to be right at the top of the field, no matter who competes.”

Mountain Man, at 10, is his oldest dog, while Linus is the youngest at 2.

They race about five times a year, and train up to 20 hours a week.

“It’s a huge time commitment,” he said. “A lot of life gets wrapped around the dogs.”