Day Two: Allagash to Round Pond
Togo 261 Solo Memorial Dogsled Expedition
Day two of the expedition began for me at 5:30 AM. This was my team’s first night on the trail, and I wanted to get out of the cabin and check on them.
They say your brain continues working on problem-solving while you sleep. This is why you often wake up with a clearer perspective, but also why I would wake up at 2 AM with a “Ping!”—realizing I hadn’t fully researched a map or prepared for a specific eventuality. I thought the exhaustion of the expedition would help me sleep, but I continued getting only about five hours a night.
Kelly Sporting Camp cook Cheril Turner delivered a breakfast of homemade sandwiches and French press coffee. Her husband, George Turner, a Maine hunting guide, joined us to help piece together the unknown portions of the day’s route. We poured over the maps from Allagash to Round Pond. At 45 miles, this would be the most mountainous day of the expedition, and we would no longer be on hardpacked snowmobile trails.
It was nice to have my sons with me one last time to help hitch the team. In the past two years, they have become true mushers in their own right. For the next six days, however, 100% of the dog work and care would fall on me alone.
The Kellys saw me off, I shared one last hug with my wife, and we were off. Within the first two miles, we ascended from the river valley through a deer wintering area. The team caught sight of deer and broke into a sprint before settling into a steady work pace.
And work it was. I pushed with my ski pole, paddled, and ran uphill more on this day than in any race in the past twenty-five years. After one steep climb, I joked to myself, “George! I thought we were friends!”
The final two hours to Round Pond were done in darkness. With five miles to go, Zoe, my female wheel dog, quit. She put on the brakes and refused to move. I assumed she was cramping due to her heat cycle. Olaf, her partner, was also struggling with diarrhea. I placed Zoe in the sled bag for the final stretch.
When I arrived at the Blanchette Bridge, I was met by my friend Patrick Aldrich and the Jalbert Camp steward, Andre Landry. Andre noted my “bagged dog” and warned me that tomorrow’s route to Umsaskis Lake was not 35 miles as I hoped, but at least 45 miles of heavy climbing. I was crushed. Two days in, and I already had dogs failing to eat and one dog in the sled basket.
Patrick and Andre were consummate hosts, providing a wood stove to dry my gear and a lasagna dinner. I shared my concerns about the team’s energy levels.
“What will you do?” Patrick asked. “I’ll rest them, try to feed them in the morning, and see how things look in the light of the sun,” I replied. Join me next time as I share the journey from Round Pond to Umsaskis Lake.
Please consider donating to the erection of the Togo monument at the State House in Poland Spring, Maine:
