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2010 GOLD RUSH TRAIL DOG SLED MAIL RUN - PRESS RELEASE
November 14, 2009 - Countdown #6
The organizing committee for the 18th Annual Gold Rush Trail Dog Sled Mail Run announces that planning for the event to be staged January 22 - 24th 2010 is well in hand. The Mail Run is a truly unique event, not duplicated anywhere else in the world. Dog mushers drive their sled dog teams over 85 kilometres of backcountry trails, accompanied and supported by snowmobilers, skijorers, cross country skiers and even participants tavelling on snowshoes.
The Mail Run was first staged as part of the Northern British Columbia Winter Games which were held in Quesnel British Columbia in 1991. Since that date the event has evolved from being a mid-distance sled dog race to a large participation event for outdoor recreation enthusiasts.
One constant over the past 18 years has been the transport of official Canada Post Mail by dog team. Anyone can purchase a specially-created Dog Sled Mail Run envelope from event organizers and post it in one of the unique Canada Post mail boxes located throughout the communities of Quesnel and Wells, British Columbia. The envelopes are collected by Canada Post and then packaged for transport by dog sled over the Gold Rush Trail. At the end of the journey they re-enter the regular mail system for delivery anywhere in the world. The envelopes are also available on the internet through the Mail Run website at www.dogsledmailrun.ca
The main purpose for the Annual Mail Run is to celebrate all that winter has to offer outdoor enthusiasts in the Cariboo region of central British Columbia. It is an opportunity to experience the winter weather while traveling over rugged terrain on the many trails left behind by gold miners and loggers. The Mail Run is an opportunity for family fun, and parents and their children often participate together. By the end of the three day Mail Run, participants, organizers, volunteers and spectators have become one big family.
The Mail Run also provides a venue to celebrate a very unique part of Canadian heritage. During the 18th and 19th centuries, throughout the northern parts of Canada, when waterways were frozen and snow lay deep on the land, sled dogs represented the most efficient way of traveling from one point to another. Many of these dog teams carried the mail. It wasn’t until the 1920’s, when a group of daredevil WWI fighter pilots pioneered the art of flying bush planes throughout the Canadian north, that mail began to be transported by aircraft, rather than by dog teams. But sled dogs continued to carry the Queen’s Mail in very isolated areas right up until the 1960’s. The Gold Rush Trail Dog Sled Mail Run may be the only place left where regular Canada Post mail is transported by dog team.
This event also offers a unique way to remember and honour the Cariboo Gold Rush of the 1860’s. Most of the route will once again parallel the Cariboo Waggon Road, with overnight stops and celebrations on Friday night in Cottonwood, adjacent to Cottonwood House, a preserved roadhouse, and on Saturday night at Troll Ski Resort, the site of the former Pinegrove House, which was another roadhouse along the old gold rush route. On day three, participants will travel over the actual Cariboo Waggon Road from Stanley to the main street of Barkerville, before racing the final 10 kilometres from Barkerville to Wells in a fun race known as the Barkerville Dash.
The envelopes are hand cancelled in Quesnel (formerly Quesnellemouth), Barkerville and Wells British Columbia. In addition to the unique artwork and the special "Carried by Dogteam" stamp, the envelopes also display logos representing other communities along the route where post offices once existed, the route passes by or through the locations of Cottonwood House, Stanley, Van Winkle and Richfield. All in all, the Mail Run passes through the sites of seven former or existing post offices. Mail Run envelopes have become collectors items. Envelopes from each of the 18 years boast unique artwork and collectively they tell a compelling story that highlights the main reasons for the Mail Run’s existence.
NOTE: All media are encouraged to reproduce this press release or to use this information as they see fit. For more information regarding this event, please see the "Contact" section of this website.