Name: 2014 Trappers Special Dog Sled Races at Allegany State Park
Start: 2014-03-01T09:00:00-05:00
End: 2014-03-01T17:00:00-05:00

Allegany State Park, Quaker Area, Camp Turner
(Take I 86 to Exit 18, Route 280 to ASP 3)

This is a two-day event. Saturday is historically the best day for the race.

MEETUP IN THE DINING HALL AT CAMP TURNER at 9 AM on Saturday.

This event is dependent on SNOW. The sponsors will cancel the event by 2/28 if there is not enough snow. DO YOUR BEST SNOW DANCES!!

Follows is their latest press release:

Canadian American Sledders Inc. hopes to break the tradition of bad luck as it aims once again to host the Trappers Special Sled Dog Race at Allegany State Park after a three-year hiatus. The decades old tradition was held off the past three winter seasons due to insufficient weather conditions to hold the races. This year the group is planning to hold the dog sled races March 1 and 2 at Camp Turner on the Quaker side of the park, according to Ron Filjones, race coordinator and Can-Am Sledders Inc. vice president. “We’ll know around the 26th of February if we’ll have enough snow for the race,” said Filjones. “You need to have some kind of a base so if you have some kind of trouble you can put your snow hook down and regain control.

“On a dog sled, say a dog’s leg gets hooked on a section of the gang line, you have to stop to unhook so he doesn’t get hurt. If the snow isn’t deep enough the snow hook won’t stay in the ground. Plenty of snow makes life a lot safer.”

Filjones said this year Can-Am Sledders plans to hold a mid-distance race beginning at 9 a.m. the first day and ending the 25-mile run around noon, at which time the sprinters will start their six-mile trek.

“The schedule will depend on how many mid-distance people we get. If we don’t have enough people to complete that, then we’ll go right to sprint,” said Filjones.

If weather conditions are good, the race coordinator projects 10 racers in the mid-distance competition and 25 to 30 in the sprint. In regard to the typical number of spectators, he said, “They’ll fill the parking lots, let’s put it that way.”

John Mann, camp director of Camp Turner in Quaker, said he expects the sledders to arrive a few days before the event, and the Camp Turner facilities will be made available to participants for overnight stays and dining.

According to Mann, the camp dining hall will also be open to spectators who want to come in for food and drink or to use the restrooms. Additionally, the race finish and starting lines are located right outside the dining hall.

“Any proceeds we make from the race benefit Camp Turner, a non-profit organization run by the Catholic Diocese of Buffalo,” said Mann. “It also increases our exposure to people that don’t know who or where we are, and maybe they’ll send their kids to summer camp here.”

All parties involved agree that State Park provides a beautiful backdrop to host the races, a feature rarely seen at the summer camp location said Mann.

“It’s spectacular, a winter wonderland really. It’s a very different place in the winter here. Different animals, different birds, and everything a little prettier when it’s all covered in white,” he said.

Filjones also offered his perspective on the Trapper’s Special race at State Park, having participated in the race himself the past 13 or 14 years and being inspired by the one held at the park.

“I wasn’t involved in bringing the first race (to State Park), I just had one dog at the time and went to watch and got a big kick out of it. Then I got another dog, then three and there it went,” said Filjones.

“Three years ago there was beautiful snow, plenty of it. They treat us good there at State Park and groom the trails well,” he said. “When the weather’s good it’s just beautiful, like racing on a magic carpet. That’s why we do it. It’s being on the sled and getting away and just enjoying yourself.

“Anybody that comes there won’t regret it. They’ll enjoy themselves seeing an animal like that work.”

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2014 Trappers Special Dog Sled Races at Allegany State Park

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2014 Trappers Special Dog Sled Races at Allegany State Park

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