Onlookers cheer Sofie Kaaen of Baker City and her dog team as they take off from the start of the Eagle Cap. Extreme Sled Dog Race at Ferguson Ridge Ski Area on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. Kaaen was the lone competitor in the 22-mile juniors race.

Sofie Kaaen is used to starting a race among a pack of competitors.

She’s not used to doing so while balancing on the back of a sled being pulled by five enthusiastic and athletic dogs.

Kaaen, a 14-year-old freshman at Baker High School who placed 37th at the Oregon Class 4A cross-country championships in November, has swapped her running shoes and shorts for insulated boots and other attire more suitable for an arctic excursion.

On Thursday afternoon, Jan. 20, Kaaen guided her team of five dogs for 22 miles through Wallowa County’s backcountry in the first stage of the Eagle Cap Extreme sled dog race.

She said her debut as a musher was all that she hoped it would be.

“It was pretty exciting,” Kaaen said in a phone interview that evening from Joseph, headquarters for the race, which returned this year after being canceled in 2021 due to the pandemic.

“Everybody was very supportive and I learned a lot from the veterans.”

That assistance actually started long before the mushers led their teams away from the start at Ferguson Ridge Ski Area east of Joseph.

Kaaen said Chantelle Chase, a musher who also lives in Baker City and is competing in the Eagle Cap Extreme, helped train her dogs, including on days when Kaaen was at school.

“She was a huge help,” Kaaen said of Chase, who is competing in the 31-mile race this year.

(There are also 100-mile and 200-mile races.)

Kaaen’s entry into competitive mushing is not exactly coincidental.

Her grandfather, Wayne Kaaen, is a longtime musher who competed in the inaugural Eagle Cap Extreme in January 2005.

Sofie said her grandpa, who lives in Halfway, has been a valuable mentor.

“He would always teach me stuff and tell me about mushing,” she said. “He helped me with getting dogs and training them.”

She has three dogs, two of which were part of her team on Thursday, Jan. 20.

Ellie May, who is the lead dog, and Sparky, the wheel dog, are both 11-year-old Alaskan huskies.

As wheel dog, Sparky is the first dog in front of the sled. He’s the strongest runner, Kaaen said.

Ellie May, the lead dog, is at the front of the team and responsible for heeding the musher’s commands, such as for turns.

To round out her team of five dogs for the Eagle Cap Extreme, Kaaen borrowed dogs from two other veteran mushers, Bino Fowler of Bend and Craig Anderson of Enterprise.

Kaaen said that sort of cooperation among mushers has been one of the more gratifying parts of the experience.

“I was really impressed by how much of a community the mushers are,” she said. “They help each other even though it’s a competition.”

She said veteran mushers gave her advice during the first 11-mile leg of the route, from Ferguson Ridge to Salt Creek Summit.

As the only competitor in the Junior race, Kaaen said she was pretty much alone during the 11-mile run back to Ferguson Ridge.

She started the race at 12:52 p.m. and arrived at Salt Creek Summit at 2:12, covering the 11 miles, most of it uphill, in 80 minutes.

“You can get going pretty fast,” she said. “Definitely a lot faster than I could run by myself.”

After a 14-minute rest at Salt Creek Summit, Kaaen and her team made the trip back to Ferguson Ridge in 96 minutes.

Although the second leg was mainly downhill, Kaaen said her average speed was lower because a dog she borrowed from Craig Anderson had a toothache and a fever, so the dog rode in the sled.

Looking out for the dogs is a vital part of sled dog racing, and Kaaen said the veterinarians who work at the event have great advice.

She said mushing, despite its obvious differences from cross-country, also bears some similarities.

That was especially true at the start, with the competitors gathering, and during her return leg when she was by herself. Cross-country runners often have a similar experience, at least at times during a race.

“Out on the trail it’s kind of just you and the dogs,” Kaaen said. “It was peaceful and nice.”

The weather was eclectic.

“It was a little foggy, then we had a little sun, and snow and rain — a little bit of everything,” Kaaen said.

She said on Thursday evening, Jan. 20, that she probably wouldn’t be able to do the second 22-mile stage on Friday, Jan. 21, not with one dog unavailable.

“That would be a lot for four dogs to do,” she said.

Now that she’s actually strapped on a numbered bib and guided a team in an official race, Kaaen said her enthusiasm for mushing has only grown.

“I definitely want to do it again next year,” she said. “I’ll be more prepared.”