Last musher pulled from Can-Am trail

FORT KENT – Mary Wolf, an 18-year-old St. Francis woman who scores of people cheered for and hoped she would complete the Irving Woodlands 250-mile Can-Am Crown Sled Dog Race was taken from the trail late Tuesday afternoon.

Wolf was the last competitor on the trail and had been traveling in a major snowstorm from Allagash. Her effort was scratched just hours before the mushers’ banquet where awards are made for the annual event.

Wolf had left the Allagash checkpoint just after 7 a.m. Tuesday morning. She had until the banquet to complete the race.

“She and her dogs were okay,” Gary Pelletier, one of the rescuers said. “They had been through some tough times.”

Earlier Tuesday, the same rescue personnel had taken Liz Como off the trail. Both had traveled to within 15 miles of the finish line.

Both women were competing in their second 250-mile race at Fort Kent. Como finished in 16th place when she ran the race in 2002. Wolf scratched at Big Machias Lake in her first attempt in the 250-mile race last year.

The 48-mile trail from Allagash to Fort Kent was covered with nearly a foot of snow. The going has been slow in the annual Irving Woodlands 250-mile Race since Sunday when mushers were hit with between three and 12 inches of new snow.

A total of 16 mushers finished the race. Thirty teams had started the race that is a qualifier for the Alaska’s Iditarod and the Yukon Territory’s Yukon Quest, both 1,000 miles races.

Some $25,000 in purse money was distributed among finishers at the annual banquet attended by some 200 people Tuesday night at the Lonesome Pines Ski Lodge.

Martin Massicotte of St. Tite, Quebec took home the first prize of $4,500 and several hundred more dollars in stage prize money given to the fastest teams between checkpoints.

“Two dogs, that have never let me down, stayed with me and helped me get through a very tough race,” a very emotional Massicotte said at the banquet. “They have been with me through nine years of Can-Am.”

“We train for these races,” he added, stopping to regain his composure. “We do it from the heart, despite others saying they have faster dogs.

“I was going to retire from mushing this year,” the 36-year-old veteran said. “But, I will be back next year.”

Barry Dana of Solon, the last finisher of the race who arrived at Fort Kent at 10:25 a.m. Tuesday received the Red Lantern Award Tuesday night for his placement.

“When you look at the course we did, in the conditions we did it under,” Dana said, “I am extremely proud to be receiving this award.”

Rene Marchildon of South River, Ontario, the second finisher in the race, received the Rookie of the Year Award.

Musher Ward Wallin of Two Harbors, Minn., told organizers at the banquet that they could keep his racing bib deposit because he was not turning it in.

“I ask all mushers to sign this bib,” Wallin said. “I will be sending it to a fellow musher who is serving in Afghanistan.”

All three of the races had full complements of 30 teams each Saturday. It was Fort Kent’s largest race in the 13 years it has been run. Thousands of people watched the Main Street start Saturday morning.

There was $40,000 in cash up for grabs in the three races. Irving provided $20,000 for the 250-mile race. The winner receives $4,500 and the other top 11 mushers split the remainder with the 12th musher receiving $600.