One-Tank Trip for
Feb. 17/18
(c) By Jim Fox
“On you huskies,” Kearney
is about to go to the dogs again.
Competitors from across
Canada and the U.S. will converge on this community of 800 people in what is
billed as the largest dog sled race in Ontario.
This iconic
Canadian tradition has races through the town on Feb. 24 and 25 on the western
border of Algonquin Park, just north of Huntsville.
 |
| A two-day, 10-dog race is a feature of the Kearney Dog Sled Races. |
The Kearney Dog
Sled Races are normally held on the first weekend of February but had to be
rescheduled “due to unsafe trail conditions,” organizers said.
There will be more
than 70 competitive mushers along with novice and future mushers taking part in
the sanctioned event.
The race courses begin
with a downtown start, challenging hills to climb, hardwood bush, and lakes and
marshes to enjoy while racing through the natural beauty of the area.
The highlight event
is an overnight trek through the wilderness.
It’s a two-day, 10-dog
stage race covering about 60 kilometres a day, with the best accumulative time
being the winner of a $5,000 purse.
All the trails have
been brushed, packed and groomed in anticipation of the races that feature
four-dog and six-dog sprints and one-and-two dog men’s and women’s skijoring.
In this case,
skijoring is a winter sport where a person on skis is pulled by
one or more dogs, with the term derived from the Norwegian word meaning ski
driving.
 |
| Skijoring is a fun way to move through the snow being pulled by dogs. |
The event began 24
years ago as the Kearney Winterfest in what was formally a logging town.
The logging roads “paved
the way for the dog sled race trails and continue to do so today.”
Organizers say
there are “many things to see and do in addition to the races such as
skijoring, children’s events, skating, a bonfire, fine food and fun
entertainment.”
One popular event
had to be cancelled due to rescheduling problems were the dog sled rides from
the Sugar Dogs Adventure Company. For more information: kearneydogsledraces.ca
Park it
It appears there’s still lots of winter
left for outdoor fun at 26 Ontario Parks that are open at this time of year and
19
with cross-country ski trails.
Special events this
Family Day weekend are at six parks along with ice fishing, said Jeff Brown of
Ontario Parks.
This is the time to
experience winter fishing as the Ontario government makes the long weekend a
licence-free time.
 |
| Landing a big one while ice fishing. (Ontario Parks photo) |
In southwestern Ontario, join the fun at
MacGregor Point, Pinery and Rondeau parks.
At Rondeau through Monday, are owl
prowls led by a park naturalist, making a suet feeder to take home and a park
photo scavenger hunt.
On the Monday
holiday at Pinery, learn winter survival techniques and join a park naturalist
on guided owl prowl and feed the chickadees.
Warm up in the
Pinery’s visitor centre and watch a special screening of The Messenger, a
documentary film about song birds.
MacGregor Point has
16 heated yurts for winter sleepovers and the park’s 400-metre ice oval is open
from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Further afield, Ski
Wasaga Beach’s groomed Blueberry Trails are available with ski rentals along
with a scavenger hunt-on-skis.
In the Toronto
area, children will enjoy special Family Day events on Monday at Bronte Creek
Provincial Park in Oakville.
The Children’s Farm
and Nature Centre will be open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. to meet the park’s farm
animals.
Visitors can
“climb, jump and explore the children’s play barn” and make crafts. To learn
about events, go to: ontarioparks.com/winter
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Jim Fox can be reached at onetanktrips@hotmail.com
For more One-Tank Trips: http://1tanktrips.blogspot.ca
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