|
|
top |
 |
 |
 |
  |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
DOGS MUSHERS BEGINNERS BOOKSTORE FANS FEATURES FIND IT LINKS RESOURCES RACING TRAINING |
|
Carl Brown of CB Sleds can
use your support at a difficult time
Mushing Friends and Community: Please send your virtual good thoughts and energy towards sled builder extraordinaire, musher Carl Brown of Cherry Mountain Kennel and CB Sled, Whitefield, New Hampshire. Virtual hugs are needed for his wife, Cindy; sister, Wendy and the rest of the Brown family as they help and support Carl during this difficult time. Carl has been battling prostate cancer, diagnosed in 2007. "There were never any 'time clocks' given by his doctors but we looked up statistics and he has outlived those numbers by a wide margin" said Cindy. He is now in hospice care at Weeks Medical Center--and knows he won't be returning home (unless he somehow surprises and proves the doctors wrong again). His sister Wendy posted, "Carl is...still fighting the good fight." His wife Cyndi also posted: "If anyone would like to send him a card or note of encouragement, the address is: Weeks Medical Center, 173 Middle St., Lancaster, NH 03584-3508." As a musher, one of Carl's favorite sled dog adventure stories and claim to fame is being one of very few mushers to date to have made an ascent of Mt. Washington by dog team: running his team on the notorious Mt. Washington Auto Road in New Hampshire's Presidential Range--and summiting! Not an easy feat for a mountain known for the highest, record breaking winds and wild, unpredictable weather. Cindy proudly helped me get the facts straight that Carl is "...one of only three or four people to have ever accomplished the feat! I know Arthur Walden did it with Chinooks. Florence Clark, too. (She and her husband founded ‘Clark's Eskimo Dog Ranch’ which later became Clark's Trading Post.) I think Jean Bryar did it and I think I'm forgetting another.” Cindy continued, saying it was “…definitely winter conditions up there but the calendar said it was spring – April 13, 1992. Carl drove the team and was accompanied by a hiker named Peter Capucilli. If I remember correctly, the ‘sled climb’ was a fund-raiser for the Kidney Foundation. Peter…previously had a kidney transplant and other organ transplants but had climbed Mt. Washington in winter more than once.” So this was one heck of an accomplishment for both of these men and Carl’s dog team! Sadly, all the other details Carl shared during our casual conversation weren't recorded by me--and they've now escaped my memory--but I do remember the smile on his face as he was telling me about that adventure! A great story teller, Carl also loves to tell the story of running across the U.S.-Canada border on his sled, unable to get the team to stop--so blew through customs without showing his passport and answering the usual questions. If memory serves, I think he took care of that on his return. Carl's skills as a sled builder are equally, if not more, impressive. His love for technology and his engineering mind and skill sets are combined with his love of wood and traditional sleds. For those of us lucky enough to own and ride one of Carl's "power steering" sleds or have a non-CB sled that he repaired or rebuilt, treasure that sled--as well as all the memories of time and fascinating conversations with Carl. That combination made for many really fun, interesting conversations covering a wide span of topics--especially when tweaking a sled design for personal preferences, needs and wants. Carl was extremely proud when Lance Mackey placed a sled order and drove it during a win of the Iditarod. Emails and photos were flying electronically as images of the sled during the race were spied via the Internet. More sled orders from other "big name mushers" after that race really made Carl's smile even broader than usual--as well as the orders from the "not that famous yet" mushers. To learn more about Carl:
http://juneauempire.com/stories/031108/sta_255843459.shtml
Smile and think good thoughts for Carl when you're having a spectacular run on a trail.
top of page | home | feedback | search
|
Copyright © 1997-2012 Sled Dog Central, all rights reserved.
Email the webmaster
