The best part of the Eagle Cap Extreme sled dog race, according to organizer Troy Nave, comes half an hour before race start, when more than 200 Alaskan huskies fill the parking lot at Ferguson Ridge Ski Area with a cacophony of joyous howling.
“You have to succumb to it,” said Nave, who serves on the event board of directors. “The excitement is so contagious.”
Mushers from across the Northwest and Canada will head deep into the Wallowa Mountains for the 13th running of the Eagle Cap Extreme, beginning Thursday, Jan. 19. Kickoff is at noon for the 200-mile and 100-mile races, as well as the first stage of the two-day pot race, which runs 31 miles both days. The 22-mile juniors race and second leg of the pot race will begin at noon on Friday, Jan. 20. All races leave from Ferguson Ridge, about nine miles outside of Joseph. A shuttle bus will be available at 9:45 a.m. on race days.