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Local girl races sled dogs

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Many people watch dog sled racing and imagine what it would be like to ride through deep snow in the backcountry powered by dogs. 

Fifteen-year-old Charmayne Morrison of Polson went beyond imagining it. 

On Saturday, her dogs pulled her across the starting line of the junior level 100-mile “Race to the Sky” dog sled competition that began in Lincoln.

Charmayne became fascinated with the idea of sled racing a few years ago after studying the sport for a school project. From there, she begged her parents to let her get enough Alaskan husky dogs to try it out. Her parents said “OK” to a few dogs. 

“I’ve loved animals my entire life,” she said, but there was just something about dogs. “Anytime I’m sad or not feeling great, I can go out and see their wagging tails.”

She now has 13 sled dogs and wants to get a few more, but her parents said the ultimate limit was reached five dogs ago — although they are still supportive.

“As long as she knows it’s her responsibility to take care of them,” said her father Travis Schweigert. He helps load up the dogs and drive the team to training locations and to the race. 

Charmayne uses money she saved from old 4-H projects to buy dog food. She also plans on selling a colt from her horse to buy more dog food. She said it takes a lot of food to feed 13 athletes. 

It also takes a lot of time to train the dogs. She put rodeo and 4-H aside to concentrate on training. She has her sights set on learning the sport so she can enter big races in Alaska when she turns 18.

Training was a little tough this year due to the lack of snow in Lake County, so she hooks her team up to a 4-wheeler and runs them on the back roads between Polson and Pablo, and sometimes, she gets to take the dogs to where there is snow.

“I keep adding miles,” she said. “We got up to 50 miles before the race.”

Training up in the mountains or out on the roads can be unnerving for her family at times.

“She is supposed to be back before dark,” Schweigert said, adding that he gets nervous if she is late. He said many things can happen. “She could smack a tree or lose the dogs.” 

But with three daughters and a wife all involved in various sports, Schweigert tries to focus on the positive aspects of those activities, and his daughter really loves dog sledding.

Charmayne said she talks about it all the time at home and at school, she dreams about it, and when she isn’t actually training the dogs, she is studying training techniques. She said the dogs love it, too.

“They are athletes,” Charmayne said. “They wouldn’t do this if they didn’t love it. It’s hard to hold them back when they want to go. It’s amazing.”

Although, the dogs need the training routines to be interesting.

“They have an attention span slightly longer than the average teenager, but you have to change things or they get bored and decide not to run,” she said.

Eight dogs are hooked together on one branching rope called a “gang” that is attached to a sled when they are in the snow. Morrison rides on the sled, watching the dogs.

“I check to make sure they are doing well,” she said. The health of the dogs is her first priority.

Her sled was packed for her first 100-mile race with an ax, sleeping bag and dog food warmer that could be used to melt snow. On Saturday morning she lined up with other mushers in Lincoln to start the race, but she was worried. She decided to run with seven dogs instead of the usual eight.

“One of my bigger dogs was having issues,” she said, adding that his paws seemed to be sore. She decided to leave him with her parents.

The shaky start evened out a bit.

“It was fun most of the time,” she said, but it was difficult to get up the hills without her bigger dog.

Halfway into the first day after about 25 miles, she felt like something was wrong. In the backcountry with deep snow, she had taken a wrong turn.

“I saw the trail,” she said. “There were markers on both sides and I wasn’t sure which one to take, and then, I felt like I took the wrong way.”

Race officials found her with snowmobiles. She could turn around and finish, but she was already behind with one less dog. 

“I was thinking about my dogs,” she said. She felt that her dogs need more training especially in the snow, so she decided not to finish. 

She was disappointed, but things happen all the time in the sport of dog sledding, so she focused on the next race, which could be as soon as March, depending on the dogs.

“Now, I’m even more determined to compete,” she said. 

 

 

 

 

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