FORT KENT, Maine — Fort Kent’s Can-Am Crown International Sled Dog Races are just one month away, and the region’s cold winter has organizers happy.
Warm weather and lack of snow during recent years led to the first-ever cancellation of the races in 2024, but last year’s race saw more than 1,000 spectators lined up on Main Street. This year’s colder winter temperatures seem to bode well for the event.
“The weather looks a lot more positive than it did a couple years ago, and we are confident that the race is going to proceed like it’s supposed to,” Can-Am media adviser Andrew Birden said.
In January, Fort Kent averaged 18 days and nights below normal average temperatures, according to AccuWeather data.
Mushers and dogs are slated to take off at 8 a.m. on Saturday, Feb. 28. The event features three different races, the Can-Am 30, 100 and 250. The 30-mile race is typically finished within a day, but the 250-miler takes place over the course of several days, with mushers expected to finish on the following Tuesday or Wednesday.
As of late January, roughly 10 racers had registered in each category. That’s a little low compared to previous years, but the bulk of signups typically occur as the race draws closer, Birden said.
Mushers have signed up from Maine and Canada, with one traveling from as far out as Monona, Iowa.
And as the race approaches, Birden said hundreds of volunteers are working behind the scenes to make sure everything goes well.
“A lot of what’s going on is going to be maintaining the trails and making sure that the paths are where they are,” he said. “They’re also having to reroute a couple trails as conditions change out there.”
Birden said some checkpoints were relocated this year to make the trail easier to follow. Mushers in the Can-Am 100 have one checkpoint at the Allagash Town Office. In the 250 race, checkpoints include Portage Lake, across from Dean’s Motor Lodge, as well as at the Two Rivers Lunch Restaurant in Allagash.
All races will finish at the Lonesome Pine Ski Resort in Fort Kent.
Volunteers are also coordinating with veterinarians and making sure that the people stationed at checkpoints have all of their gear ready, Birden said.
Overall, mushers and organizers are looking forward to another successful event, by far the largest of its kind in the area.
“It’s a great time for family to come out and see the community at its best,” Birden said. “It’s an exciting time for the dogs, an exciting time for the mushers. For so many people in Fort Kent, the whole year revolves around it. It’s going to be an amazing time.”
