Jesse Flory of Hesperus recently completed the 300-mile Race to the Sky sled dog race in Montana, taking a big step toward his goal of qualifying for the 938-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska.
To qualify for the Iditarod, Flory said mushers must complete two approved 300-mile races and one 200-mile race. With his first 300-mile race in the books, he plans to finish qualifying next year and race in the Iditarod in March 2024.
In Montana, Flory and his Alaskan huskies completed the race in two days and 22 hours. The race began on Feb. 11. He said the race featured a lot of elevation gain and elevation loss but wasn’t very high, so it was easier for the dogs. Flory and his dogs train at elevations as high as 11,200 feet near Mancos, he said.
Although the elevation was lower in Montana, the race still had plenty of challenges.
“It was really good,” Flory said, but he added that it was a tough to complete. "You get all sorts of highs and lows when you aren’t getting (much) sleep. There were definitely times when I thought, ‘This is dumb, I should quit.’“
Flory finished eighth out of the eight mushers who completed the 300-mile race. Four teams did not finish.
He started the race with 12 Alaskan huskies, which he called “high-performance mutts” that are “bred for pulling.” When he crossed the finish line, eight dogs were pulling him. Three hurt their wrists in some punchy snow, and a fourth dog got sick, he said.
“I tried to reduce some unnecessary stuff,” he said about adjusting to the injuries. “Essentially, I started working harder.”
The distance to each checkpoint was 50 to 60 miles. Flory said he tried to balance racing with resting. After completing the first 60 miles in six hours, he and his dogs rested for six hours before heading out again.
“My goal was to run and rest even,” he said. “None of my dogs had gone that far before, but it’s super-impressive what they’re capable of. It makes me super-happy to be a part of it, and their joy for it makes me enjoy it.”
Flory and his dogs also have completed the 100-mile Idaho Sled Dog Challenge three times.
Controlling animals that love to run, however, isn’t always easy.
“Some say it’s an illusion of control,” Flory said. “When the dogs are amped up, they can be fairly difficult to control. But I literally spend all day every day with my dogs, so it’s pretty easy to get them to do what I want them to do.”
Flory is the owner of Grateful Dogs, a kennel of racing huskies. He lives and works at the Durango Dog Ranch in Hesperus, where he runs winter dog sled tours for guests with Gregg and Gretchen Dubit. “The dog sledding here is great,” he said.
Flory has also managed the Alaska Icefield Expeditions Tour Co. for the past eight summers.
He said dog sledding is “like stepping back in time.”
“Dog sledding is one of the oldest forms of transportation,” he said. “To have it all animal drawn, it’s my favorite thing in the world to do. You have a connection with the dogs, and you’re all one when you’re out there. It’s really a fantastic feeling.”
Next year, Flory plans on racing in the 300-mile race at the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge and in the Race to the Sky. He’s also considering running the Eagle Cap Extreme Sled Dog Race in Oregon to complete the Rocky Mountain Triple Crown.
“The biggest thing I’ve learned is never underestimate your dogs,” Flory said. “They’ll step up and show you can they can do more.”
