Hannah's First and Last Canicross Race, Cranberry Bogs and Our Little Secret

Last week’s blast from the past newsletter talked about Meteorology Camp, and left off saying it would only be one short month before we saw Boo again. In October 2020, still in the midst of the COVID pandemic, we made the drive back up to Mountain, Wisconsin, for another weekend full of sled dog races and adventures. This was Riley’s first trip up there!

When we arrived in Mountain, Blair had an exciting day planned for us - she took us to the famous cranberry bog!!! If you’ve never been to a cranberry bog, it is magical.

This one in particular is a private lake, and the only way to get there is by balancing across planks. If you make it across numerous planks without falling in, you reach the lake and find “floating moss islands that bob up and down when you walk on them” (Blair’s words describe it best). 

If you stand in one spot too long, you start to sink. You can jump from island to island and make your way down the lake. It was thrilling and slightly terrifying at the same time, because it was freezing outside and we were trying not to get wet. That was a difficult task with Boo, Forrest, and Flame bouncing around.

As we were exploring the bog, the sun lit up the fall colors surrounding the lake before it began to set. 

The next day was the start of Doty’s Dusty Dog Dryland Race! The day began with a couple inches of SNOW! It was absolutely gorgeous! Nerves were kicking in as this would be my first ever sled dog race as a participant!

The races started and a couple classes went out before the races were delayed due to slick conditions.

A couple hours later, our friend Q raced in two dog bike with Pepe and Forrest.

We also had time to snuggle some cute sled blobs (what the mushing community calls sled dog puppies). This one peed on me lol.

Then, it was my turn. Thanks to Blair’s encouragement, I had signed up to race canicross with Boo! This was a 1.4 mile race through the woods and hills with a sled dog strapped to my waist. Typically, this is a mass start race with all the other canicross competitors, but due to COVID, they decided to start each runner with their dog individually. 

Folks, I am NOT a runner. I actually hate running lol. I was also not in shape for this, but I thought it would be a fun and somewhat less-scary introduction to running a race with a sled dog.

Luckily, the snow melted before our race. Running a canicross race is basically a dog dragging you down the trail while you try to stay upright and touch your feet on the ground every now and then. Although I did not run quite the entire way and had to walk part of it, we did finish our race, which was all that mattered! Boo was so proud of himself. It was like he was happy to take me to sled dog camp after we took him to meteorology camp all summer. 

When the races were over on Saturday, we went back to Crab n Jack’s for dinner. We had a few dogs with us, so we ate dinner outside with Q while it was like 20 degrees lol. I believe Forrest jumped up on someone’s table and tried to steal their leftover prime rib!

The next day, Boo and I had another canicross race where we improved our time by about a minute! The canicross racers at Doty are typically very good and train for it year round, so I got blown out of the water by the others. If I recall correctly, I finished 4th or 5th out of 9 competitors. I vowed to never run again after this lol.

When the races were over on Sunday, Riley got to finally meet Spike! This was the start of Riley’s obsession with him and his big noggin. And Flame being Flame, she had to steal the show in the background of this adorable photo.

Around sunset that night, Q took us on another local adventure - this time to the Wisconsin Dells. We hiked with headlamps next to the roar of the rushing water. Dogs were free running and jumping all around us. 

It was yet another unforgettable weekend and another big step for my mushing “career”. It was also a big step in my relationship with Riley! As you know, mushing and sled dogs has played a big role in our relationship. Time for a side story about that.

Riley and I had officially started dating at the end of September that year, so just a couple weeks before Doty. But we hadn’t told anyone yet. Especially with our jobs working together at the state, we decided to keep it to ourselves for a while. But clearly, everyone had suspicions.

Around Christmas that year, Riley and I posted a photo together basically announcing we were dating. Shortly after, this message exchange happened.

Hannah: Yep before doty haha

Blair: I’m glad I got to meet Riley. I really like him! He seems like such a great, kind-hearted guy and you two seem really wonderful together ❤️

Hannah: aww thank you! I’m glad you were able to meet too! Fun fact, Beth and JT didn’t even know we were dating at Doty in October lol

Blair: I know because they asked me if I thought you were dating 😂😂😂

Hannah: NO WAY. WHAT DID YOU SAY 😂😂

Blair: You two are such a good match! Beth was like you should ask hannah and I was like maybe I will! But I won’t tell you what she says 😂

Hannah: Aww thanks! Hahahaha omggggg

Blair: And then she was like WHAAAAAT YOU HAVE TO lmao

Hannah: I would’ve told you if you asked! Hahahah omgggg 😂

Blair: I asked Riley!!!

Hannah: WHAT. HE DIDN’T TELL ME!! What did he say lol

Blair: I was like “so Hannah’s pretty GREAT, huh?” And he was like yup she sure is. And I asked if you were dating and I think he just said something really positive like “anyone would be lucky to date hannah” 😂

Hannah: Omgggg thats great😂😂

Blair: It was the perfect answer😂 So my guess was that you were dating (and I hoped so because Q and I were both talking about how great you seemed together) but also he was a total gentleman and didn’t spill the beans. This makes me so happy. I’m so happy for both of you 😊

So Riley and I had just started dating, drove 8 hours to stay in the middle of nowhere together, and go to sled dog races. But hey, it all worked out!

Check back later this week when we talk about our first real snow of the season here in Indiana and how the dogs felt about it!

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How long have you been following Hannah and/or Riley? Hannah has been sharing stories since her first trip to Doty, and Riley has been for a couple years now, too.

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