At all times, all participants should have on their person, matches, a knife, a disposable survival blanket. This is especially important in the event that a musher should become separated from his/her team.
At all times, participants should have on their sled or in their pack, an axe, change of clothing, suitable warm-weather parka and footwear, emergency personal food and water, food and feeding equipment for dogs, a headlight, first aid kit for self and dogs, snowshoes
ALL PARTICIPANTS IN THE STAGE RACE MUST CARRY THE FOLLOWING MANDATORY GEAR/EQUIPMENT
Every musher will have in their possession during the entire race the following items:
- Dog bag suitable for expired dog (sled bag is adequate)
- Race bib (to be worn by the musher at all times)
- Harnesses - all harnesses shall be padded around the neck and chest areas. It is recommended that each harness have two inches of reflector tape on each side of the neck and on each side farther back to reflect snowmobile lights from the front and side
- Some type of sled shall be drawn that is equipped with an adequate brake, brush bow and snow hook
- Mushers are required to be in possession of functional necklines for the entire team at all times
- All gang lines must be made of cable or have a cable core in the center line
Participants in the Race must also have the following items on their sled
- Hand axe with overall length of 22 inches (56 centimetres)
- One pair of snowshoes and bindings
- Light (flashlight or headlight)
- Equipment for feeding and watering dogs
- Vet record book
- 1 lb of food for each dog on the ine at the start of a stage
- 4 booties for each dog (at start of race)
- Food for musher
Penalty - One hour per missing item will be added to musher’s total running time. Teams missing any of these items at start will not be allowed to leave until they are present. Race bib must be worn at all times and must be returned in good condition.
Spectators are welcome to come and view Thursday’s pre-race Stage Race Vet Check (time and place to be announced) and also the Thursday evening Swearing In of all mail carriers (to take place at the A&W on Two Mile Flat at 8:30 p.m.)
Trails used by cross-country dog mushers tend to be quite isolated…that is part of the allure for most people involved with back-country travel. The best place for spectators to be part of the “On Trail” action is at the START/FINISH staging areas….a different one for each day. These are described on the website under the Mail Run and Stage Race Information tabs. The Quick Overview buttons give an estimated time line for each day’s events. Saturday at Troll Resort will provide a relaxed opportunity for spectators to meet the mushers and their dogs, to view the dog teams coming and going and to watch the Fun Weight Pull and Musher’s Sports event, all of this before the start of the Banquet and Auction. On Sunday, it will be possible to view the teams both coming and going in the meadow that runs between Wells and Barkerville. The Grande Finale will take place along Barkerville’s main street in front of the Post office, where all of the mail carriers will hand over their mail pouch to the Postal Superintendent where the mail will then be placed into the regular mail system for delivery all over the world.