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Thursday, January 20, 2022
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Gearing up for the Eagle Cap Extreme
dog sled race in
Wallowa County
returns Thursday
By RONALD BOND
Wallowa County Chieftain
E
nTErPrIsE — Both
Morgan and Craig ander-
son are set for another run
at the Eagle Cap Extreme
sled dog race, which returns at
noon Thursday, Jan. 20, after a year
away due to COVId-19.
“It’s so nice. I’ve done no other
big race yet (besides the ECX, but)
it’s definitely one of my favorite
races to go to,” said Morgan ander-
son, an Enterprise high school
graduate.
Though just 22, anderson
already is a veteran when it comes
to running the Extreme. This will
be her sixth time competing in the
ECX, and her second time taking
to the path in the 200-mile race, the
longest and most grueling of the
four running this weekend.
“I did the junior race my first
year, then the 31-mile race three
times, then the 200 and now the 200
again,” she said. “I kind of skipped
the 100. Someone offered me the
dogs and I said, ‘Why not?’ ”
Ground and pound
The younger anderson has
spent most of the last five months
in Pinedale, Wyoming, training for
the race with fellow ECX racer and
family friend Clayton Perry. In fact,
most of the dogs she’ll be running
with in the race this week belong
to Perry.
“at this point, we’ve been train-
ing dogs since the beginning of
september,” she said.
Wallowa County Chieftain, File
Morgan Anderson and her 12-dog team start the 200-mile race in January 2020 in the Eagle Cap Extreme. The
race returns Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022, after a year’s hiatus due to COVID-19.
Getting the dogs’ endurance
built up for a 200-mile race starts
before there is snow on the ground.
anderson said at the beginning of
training season, rather than a sled,
they used teams of 16 dogs and
would pull an aTV four-wheeler.
“We would go 5 miles,” she
said. “We call four-wheeler train-
ing the weight training. It’s off and
in neutral, or a lower gear.”
The early stages are not run at a
high speed, with anderson saying
they would go about 5-8 mph.
“Once snow hits, we can start
getting more distance and more
speed going,” she said.
Top speed, she noted, is about 16
mph. It’s a pace anderson’s group
will maintain for short stretches,
with the average closer to 8-10 mph.
The heavy training days are
long, for racers and dogs alike. Late
last week, anderson and Perry went
on about an 85-mile training run.
They took off at about 11 a.m., ran
until about 7 p.m., rested until about
midnight, then finished the final
stretch, getting back about 4:30 a.m.
The training days are wearing,
but anderson had a team largely
of younger racing dogs — seven of
them are “puppies” that are about
1½ years old — and their energy
does rub off.
“as soon as we started getting
them dressed,” they’re excited, she
said. “They are always way more
hyped than I am.”
A family affair
Meanwhile, her father, Craig,
will be running in the ECX for the
second time. he said he entertained
thoughts of running the 100-mile
race, but settled for the 31-mile race,
which was the distance he ran previ-
ously.
a combination of items resulted
in Craig competing — previously
volunteering for the race, acquiring
more sled dogs, the proximity of the
race to his hometown of Enterprise
and his daughter racing are among
If it’s winter, then it’s show season
the reasons.
“It’s kind of good for the dogs,
too,” he said. “It’s good for the dogs
to see other dogs and pass other
dogs.”
as the younger anderson got
more involved, so did Craig. In fact,
four of the sled dogs he owns are
siblings to Morgan’s lead dog and
the one she owns, Gale.
“I moved away to college, so my
dad no longer had me to look after,
so I think I got replaced by dogs,”
she quipped.
running sled dogs has resulted
in Morgan and Craig getting several
opportunities to run together
through the Eagle Cap Wilderness,
which for both is a highlight.
“Just a lot of good memories. My
dad and I are pretty good at going
out and having fun,” Morgan said.
“The first time I ever got my dad on
a sled, I think it was Jan. 1 (a few
years ago) and it was a super moon.
It was so light out you didn’t have to
have a lamp. It’s created more fun
times with him.”
“It’s fun to be out there and not
have headlamps on,” Craig said.
“Visibility is high. That’s a pretty
neat deal. It’s fun to run with her.”
Given the two are running differ-
ent races, they actually won’t be
racing the trails together. Indeed,
Morgan said, she likely won’t see
her dad until she completes the
200-mile race sometime Jan. 22.
But she is hopeful he’ll be there
at the finish line to greet her.
and as for Craig, he said getting
to watch his daughter compete in
the Eagle Cap Extreme is special.
“It’s a pretty neat thing. It’s fun
to watch her. she does quite well
with it,” he said. “To know the kind
of conditions they are going through
and the lack of sleep it’s a neat thing.
… It’s probably one of our favorite
events of the whole year.”
ON THE SLATE
THURSDAY, JAN 20
TOM
CLAYCOMB
BASE CAMP
I
had planned to write
about varmint hunt-
ing, but maybe next
time.
a more time-sensitive
topic popped up. I’ve been
writing columns since
2014. you might think after
a year or two I’d run out of
topics to write about. But if
you love something there’s
always something new, a
new angle or maybe you
just get up in the mountains
and get refreshed and have
five more articles you’re
dying to write.
Like right now I’m
sitting in the dallas-Fort
Worth airport leaving the
dallas safari Club Conven-
tion and Expo. suddenly it
hit me. I miss Katy. I’d pay
$100 if she was sitting here
with me right now for 10
minutes holding hands.
It’s weird, we just cele-
brated our 38th anniver-
sary, and I think I love her
more now, than when we
got married.
OK, I better switch back
to hunting because if Katy
sees that I’m comparing
our love with my love for
hunting this could be my
last column.
anyway, now is the
show season and it makes
sense. hunting season
is pretty much over. so
due to being a dead time,
January to March is the
perfect time to schedule the
shows. The shOT show
is the mother of all shows.
It’s Jan. 17-21, so every-
thing else falls somewhere
around it. although this
year for some reason the
Tom Claycomb/Contributed Photo
The Diamond Blades/Knives of Alaska crew poses for a pho-
to at an outdoor show. They’re the leaders in the hunting
knife world, and their products have stood the test of time.
safari Club International
Convention moved back to
Vegas and is on the tail end
of the same week at shOT.
usually, it is in February.
But with all the above
said, let’s talk about why
you ought to hit the shows.
We’ll start with the shOT.
Monday is Media day
at the range. They invite
writers to test out all of the
new (and old) rifles, pistols,
shotguns, crossbows and
ammo. Of course, that’s a
fun day. The show actually
runs Tuesday-Friday. all of
the big manufacturers are
there. I don’t know if every
country is there but nearly.
Firearm manufacturers,
ammo, backpacks, knives,
optics, outdoor clothing,
backpacks — you name it.
The reason I’m there is
to see all of the new gear
for 2022. I’ll be finding
new product to test and
write about, lining up spon-
sors, trips, etc. It is by invi-
tation only, but if you ever
get to go, you should.
next let’s talk about
the club conventions like
sCI and dsC. Probably
two-thirds of the booths
are guides. If you want to
book the hunting/fishing
trip of a lifetime, these are
the shows to hit. I want to
take Katy and Kolby on a
South Louisiana redfish/
spec fishing trip and to
Alaska for some fishing, so
I hit some of those booths. I
met a good sounding group
of Cajuns that run salt-
grassoutdoors.com. Then I
talked to Waterfalls resort,
which is where I went for
my first Alaska fishing trip
years ago which instigated
my writing career. I may
take them there.
Then you have the
state shows like the Idaho
sportsman show, The
Great northwest Outdoor
Expo (I hope they’re
having it this year) and so
forth. I love these shows.
They’re local so you meet
a lot of local manufactur-
ers with a new product that
they’ve invented. That’s
how I met the sneaky-
hunter BootLamps crew.
Then of course there
are a lot of guides there
too. you can usually tell by
talking to them if they’re
legit but check references.
you don’t want to save your
pennies for the trip of a
lifetime only to end up with
some bozo for a guide.
Then I love hitting the
seminars. But take with a
grain of salt seminars put
on by celebrities if they’re
promoting their sponsors
products. Like any shop-
ping check around and do
some research. I conduct
40 to 60 seminars each
year. I had a seminar at the
dsC, two at shOT and
three at the sCI conven-
tion. I try to give honest
reviews because if I say
this airgun is the best some
kid may be saving up his
paper route earnings to buy
that airgun. If it’s a dud he’s
stuck with it until he gets
out of college and gets a
real job.
But still, here’s a couple
of words of warning:
• remember the old
proverb — a gift blinds
the eyes of the wise. If the
speaker is sponsored, the
gift will sway his opinion.
• Marketing is made to
create discontent. a few
years ago the .300 Win.
short Mag was advertised
as the best rifle ever and
the .30-06 was relegated to
the museum. Then the 6.5
Creedmoor came out and
overnight the .300 Win.
short Mag was deemed
worthless. Manufacturers
have to breed discontent
or you’ll use the same rifle
your dad did, you kid will
use it and your grandkid
will. That’s bad for busi-
ness. They want you to buy
a new rifle every year.
Everyone likes new
inventions, but products
also have to stand the test
of time. so investigate and
make wise buying deci-
sions.
———
Tom Claycomb is an
outdoor writer from Merid-
ian, Idaho.
Prep girls bowling
Southridge at Hermiston, 3 p.m.
Prep girls wrestling
Hermiston at Hanford, 6 p.m.
Prep boys wrestling
La Grande, Redmond, Ridgeview at
Pendleton Duals, 5 p.m.
Hermiston, Chiawana at Hanford, 6 p.m.
College women’s wrestling
EOU vs. Southwestern Oregon CC,
Salem, TBA
EOU at Corban, 5 p.m.
FRIDAY, JAN. 21
Prep girls wrestling
Hermiston at Othello, 5 p.m.
Prep boys wrestling
Heppner at Grant Union, noon
Prep girls basketball
Riverside at Vale, 5 p.m.
Redmond at Pendleton, 5:30 p.m.
Pasco at Hermiston, 5:45 p.m.
Pilot Rock at Weston-McEwen, 6 p.m.
Irrigon at Burns, 6 p.m.
La Grande at McLoughlin, 6 p.m.
Umatilla at Nyssa, 6 p.m.
Enterprise at Heppner, 6 p.m.
Union at Stanfield, 6 p.m.
Griswold at Pine Eagle, 6 p.m.
Nixyaawii at Joseph, 6 p.m.
Echo at Trout Lake, 6 p.m.
Ione/Arlington at South Wasco County,
6 p.m.
Prep boys basketball
Riverside at Vale, 6:30 p.m.
Redmond at Pendleton, 7 p.m.
Pasco at Hermiston, 7:30 p.m.
La Grande at McLoughlin, 7:30 p.m.
Irrigon at Burns, 7:30 p.m.
Umatilla at Nyssa, 7:30 p.m.
Enterprise at Heppner, 7:30 p.m.
Pilot Rock at Weston-McEwen, 7:30 p.m.
Union at Stanfield, 7:30 p.m.
Griswold at Pine Eagle, 7:30 p.m.
Nixyaawii at Joseph, 7:30 p.m.
Echo at Trout Lake, 7:30 p.m.
Ione/Arlington at South Wasco County,
7:30 p.m.
College men’s wrestling
EOU at Missouri Valley Invitational, Mar-
shall, Missouri, TBA
College women’s basketball
EOU vs. Oregon Tech, 5:30 p.m.
College men’s basketball
EOU vs. Oregon Tech, 7:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, JAN. 22
Prep girls wrestling
Hermiston at Othello, 10 a.m.
Boys prep wrestling
Hermiston at Post Falls, TBD
Prep girls basketball
Umatilla at Vale, 2 p.m.
South Wasco County at Echo, 2 p.m.
Irrigon at Nyssa, 3 p.m.
Riverside at Burns, 3 p.m.
Hermiston at Hanford, 3:15 p.m.
Grant Union at Pilot Rock, 4 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Union, 4 p.m.
Enterprise at Stanfield, 4 p.m.
Wallowa at Griswold, 4 p.m.
Lyle/Wishram at Ione/Arlington, 4 p.m.
Prep boys basketball
Umatilla at Vale, 3:30 p.m.
South Wasco County at Echo, 3:30 p.m.
Irrigon at Nyssa, 4:30 p.m.
Riverside at Burns, 4:30 p.m.
Hermiston at Hanford, 5 p.m.
Grant Union at Pilot Rock, 5:30 p.m.
Enterprise at Stanfield, 5:30 p.m.
Wallowa at Griswold, 5:30 p.m.
Lyle/Wishram at Ione/Arlington,
5:30 p.m.
Weston-McEwen at Union, 6 p.m.
College women’s basketball
Columbia Basin at Blue Mountain, 2 p.m.
EOU vs. Southern Oregon, 3 p.m.
College men’s basketball
Columbia Basin at Blue Mountain, 4 p.m.
EOU vs. Southern Oregon, 5 p.m.
TUESDAY, JAN. 25
Prep girls bowling
Walla Walla at Hermiston, 3 p.m.
Prep girls basketball
Kamiakin at Hermiston, 5:45 p.m.
Stanfield at McLoughlin, 6 p.m.
Umatilla at Irrigon, 6 p.m.
Condon at Echo, 6 p.m.
Ione/Arlington at Bickleton, 6 p.m.
Pendleton at La Grande, 6 p.m.
Prep boys basketball
Pendleton at La Grande, 7:30 p.m.
Kamiakin at Hermiston, 7:30 p.m.
Stanfield at McLoughlin, 7:30 p.m.
Umatilla at Irrigon, 7:30 p.m.
Condon at Echo, 7:30 p.m.
Ione/Arlington at Bickleton, 7:30 p.m.
Prep boys wrestling
Hermiston at Sunnyside, 7 p.m.
Prep girls wrestling
Hermiston at Sunnyside, 7 p.m.
College women’s basketball
EOU vs. College of Idaho, 5:30 p.m.
College men’s basketball
EOU vs. College of Idaho, 7:30 p.m.
WEDNESDAY, JAN. 26
College women’s basketball
Yakima Valley at Blue Mountain,
5:30 p.m.
College men’s basketball
Yakima Valley at Blue Mountain,
7:30 p.m.
THURSDAY, JAN. 27
Prep girls wrestling
Kennewick at Hermiston, 6 p.m.
Prep boys wrestling
Kennewick at Hermiston, 7 p.m.
Prep girls basketball
Riverside at Umatilla, 6 p.m.
Nixyaawii at Powder Valley, 6 p.m.
Prep boys basketball
Riverside at Umatilla, 7:30 p.m.
Nixyaawii at Powder Valley, 7:30 p.m.