Outdoors with Ken Higgins The world of dog sledding


By Ken Higgins While vacationing in Alaska


last month, I visited the Alaskan Sled Dog & Racing Association during one of their youth sprint races. The Tozier Dog Sled Track starts on the edge of Anchor- age and runs into the adjoining Chugiak State Park. The race I observed was for girls between the ages of 12 and 14 years old. They were racing sprint sleds


with a total of three dogs allowed. The race was a six-mile round trip. Trail helpers were stationed along the route to assist. This was a great outdoor event with entire


families helping out. My friend John Beavers intro-


duced me to his neighbors whose daughter Tasha was racing. They were using dogs borrowed from The Holy K-9 Kennel. The Holy K-9 Kennel is a church-run dog kennel that loans sled dogs to church families living in Anchor- age who aren’t able to keep dogs. The pastor, Rick Cavens, is also a Chaplain with the Alaska Na- tional Guard. An icon in the dog-sledding


world is Susan Butcher. Butcher has won the Iditarod Race to Nome four times and holds the record for most wins. She is a great role model for young girls.


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Dog sledding reigns supreme in Alaska. She had apparently mistaken a


snowy tank trail for a road. Her truck was at the bottom of a hill, in waist deep snow, 300 yards from the regular road. My uncle took the job after other wreck- er companies refused. She was wearing thick Arctic coveralls and peering over the steep hill at her truck that was barely visible


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In 1972 I met Butcher when she first started racing. I had moved to Alaska and gotten a job selling refrigerators to Eskimos. Things weren’t working out so


I took a job driving a tow truck for my uncle Chuck Higgins. He had a business philosophy of never turning down a towing/re- covery job. Butcher had been out dogsleding on Fort Rich, a mili- tary base next to Anchorage.


in the distance when I arrived. I took a Jeep Commander and


drove down the hill until I could reach her truck with the front winch cable. I winched her truck back to the Jeep. Next I winched the Jeep back up the hill with the wrecker. Her truck was now close enough to reach with the wrecker cables. After five hours of working in waist-deep snow, we had her


truck and dog team out. During this time I’d discovered she was single. She was very appreciative of my hard work rescuing her dogs and invited me for coffee. Alaska had five men for every three women, so the competi- tion was tough. I’d not met any prospective women in four or five months. Dateless and desperate pretty


much described my situation at the time. I gave her a big discount and said I’d meet her for coffee after work. Things were starting to work out for me. I got to the restaurant early and


waited. She came in and made her way to my booth. She was really cute, wearing a black fur hat and Arctic parka. As I helped her out of the big puffy parka, I suddenly realized that she was built like a


female lumberjack. This changed all my plans. I was hoping to take her on a


date. I decided I didn’t want to get a gal all liquored-up who could beat the tar out of me sober. She did offer me a free dogsled ride which I took. She later married a lawyer, I be-


lieve, and has a great life. I won- der if he ever wins an argument? Now here are a few tips on dog


sledding. First, if you’re riding in the sled basket, keep your mouth closed. Twelve dogs running full out don’t stop if one dog needs to go to the bathroom. You can fig- ure that out. Next, it’s better to stand up. If


you hit a half-buried log sitting in the sled, you are going to feel it. Last, if you fall off the sled, don’t stop!


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16 THE TRIBUNE/LEADER - February 24 - March 2, 2011


Deer expo, wild game dinner Tis weekend has two events that would be of interest to the entire


outdoor family. Te Eighth Annual Deer and Habitat Management Expo runs Friday (Feb. 25) through Sunday (Feb. 27) at the Western N.C. Agriculture Center. Te second event, and one of my favorites, is the Fifth Annual Wild


Game Dinner sponsored by Haywood Community College. Te event has been rescheduled for Friday (Feb. 25) and will take place at the Haywood County Fairgrounds. It starts at 6:00 and cost $10, or $5 if you bring a food item.


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