Steven will be
making his way across Canada from Ste Lucie de Laurentides, Quebec with his
partner Melissa and 12 Siberian Huskies from his kennel, Tuuluuwak Sled Dogs.
When I asked how
long he has been involved in dog sledding, this 46 year old replied, 47
years. I'm not sure he was actually born
on the runners, but he was most definitely born to run dogs.
His grandfather used
strays to build up his team of dogs... Not for racing, but out of necessity as
they could not afford horses. The dogs were used as their main mode of
transportation to take them to church, shopping, run his trap lines and haul
wood.
Stevens dad
continued to raise dogs but ran them more out of a hobby than a need.
When Steven grew up
and moved out he knew he too wanted to run dogs, but wasn't content to do so as
a hobby. By starting up a touring
business he found a way to run his dogs full time and still support his family.
It is not unusual
for him to hook up his team and leave for impromptu trips that could last a few
hours to many days.
He says he loves the
freedom to go any distance at any time.
I asked him if he
had a dog that stood out, and he was quick to talk about a dog named Kinu. He is grandson to a favorite dog who has
since passed on. It's been 10 years and
up until now he had yet to meet another dog like her.
He told me about the
time he and a friend had gone off on a quick run that could have turned deadly
when they were caught in a blizzard without any provisions, including a
headlamp. Darkness fell and he was
unsure where to go as the trail had all but blown in. Deciding to put this yearling in lead was a
good choice as it was he who got them all home without any trouble. Kinu, he says, is pure magic and has his
heart and soul.
Steven admitted to
me that racing dogs was never the direction he intended to go. In fact he discovered a challenge in how he
will camp at the race. He is used to
packing up a sled full of gear that would include a large cook stove and tent,
and now he is learning how to race.
So what got him into
racing?
His oldest daughter,
Laquasha was the driving force for this idea and Dad supported her in training,
working along side of her. Laquasha
recently graduated school and has at the moment head out into the world to do
some traveling, leaving Dad to race the
dogs.
You could say that
Dad is following in his daughters footsteps.
Although racing was never in his plans he is
looking at using the Canadian Challenge as a qualifier since he now dreams of
running the Yukon Quest one day. He
would love to meet and run along side with those that he has read about and
other like minded mushers.
"It's like
coming home when you are with others who share the same passion."
Photo Credit: Stevens Facebook page
1 comment:
Love this man and his ethics.
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