Thirteen-year-old Manie McClelland driving the lead sled during her family dog sledding adventure with the J Team last week. Musher and guide Jessie Royer was in the basket in front.
Musher Jessie Royer poses with Ranger. Ranger is 11-years-old and just retired this year but is still doing tours. "He is my main guy. He has led me through storms and whiteouts and across the finish lines of eight Iditarods, including last year." In the kennel to the left, Royer has three, four-month old puppies named Blue, Sunday and Fancy after their great grandmother Reba.
The McClelland family - parents Colburn and Angie with their children Manie, Walker and Bronson. They are from Katy, Texas, 25 miles west of Houston and came for an adventurous dog sled tour for three days. Royer also helped them arrange two days of snowmobiling with the Rich Ranch. During the McClelland's first full-day tour, they stopped for lunch, built a fire and enjoyed homemade moose stew and biscuits that Royer made the night before. "It was so authentically real, it was just lovely," said Colburn McClelland.
Musher Jessie Royer gets a kiss from one of the dogs from her race team. Royer has been breading dogs for 27 years and has five generations in her kennel. She considers them all her family. "They have to be two years old before they even race and three years old before they enter my Iditarod team. So I've got 30-35 dogs that are too young to race," said Royer. "Then I have my 25-30 main racing team. The 10 retired dogs do tours and help train the puppies. They are my buddies."
SEELEY LAKE - "From the moment we finally met [musher Jessie Royer] through our first two days of sledding with her, it was everything and then some - from the quality of her equipment, to the quality of the instruction, to her professionalism" said Colburn McClelland when speaking about his family's tours with Royer and the J Team. "More importantly than all that, is her character and true love and passion for what she does with this sport."
Royer moved to Shining Shirt Road near Placid Lake this fall and started her own dog sled touring business with her 70 Alaskan Huskies she calls the J Team. Royer's goal is for her clients is to have a fun time, enjoy the dogs and learn about the sport of mushing through half-day, full-day and multiple day adventures. She tailors the experience for all ages, physical abilities and the client's appetite for adventure.
Royer grew up on a cattle ranch near Ennis, Mont.
"I've been around horses and dogs my whole life," said Royer. "If it has anything to do with horses, dogs or shooting, that is what I do."
Royer started raising dogs 27 years ago. She won her first race and was the first female winner of the 500 mile Montana Race to the Sky in 1994 at age 17.
Also at age 17, she started Spirit of the North Sled Dog Adventures at Moonlight Basin Ranch out of Big Sky, Mont. She ran it for four years before moving to Fairbanks, Alaska. Her parents Jim and Connie Sperry took it over and currently have 110 sled dogs giving tours to 2,000-3,000 people each winter.
Royer ran her first of 16 Iditarod races, 1,140 miles across interior Alaska, in 2001 taking 14th place and was named Rookie of the Year.
Royer lived in Alaska for nearly 14 years before returning to Montana. She moved to Darby after her friend Tammy Billingsley, world champion mounted shooter, invited her to come and train with her for the summer. After being injured in a shooting competition and unable to run the Iditarod, Royer had to find another way to support her dogs. Billingsley encouraged her to contact Triple Creek Ranch to see if she could run dog sledding tours for them.
"I basically told Triple Creek I know Montana, I know Montana's weather and I know how to train down here since I'm from here," said Royer. "It was great. I loved it there."
After seven years with Triple Creek, Royer was offered "an insane amount of money" to train a Utah billionaire to run the Iditarod. She moved to Utah for more than a year but he passed away before seeing his dream come true. Royer returned to Montana this fall, settling on Seeley Lake. She knew Seeley Lake was a great place to run dogs and wanted to try working for herself.
"I like being able to do my own thing. I can basically cater to whatever anyone wants to do," said Royer.
Royer is fully licensed, insured and has the required permits to guide on The Nature Conservancy and state land around Seeley Lake and on the Lincoln Ranger District by Ovando. She hopes to finish the permit process with the Seeley Lake Ranger District this winter. Jeff Pace is currently working for her and she hires other handlers and guides as needed.
Royer and the J Team offer half day, full day and multiple day tours for groups of two to 10. The half day tours travel up to 15 miles with a stop for hot chocolate and homemade cookies. Full day tours range from 20-50 miles and include lunch over the fire. Everyone that wants to drive has the opportunity.
Royer also hopes to offer a longer experience for those that are more adventurous.
"People that come for three to six days could come and learn the dogs – learn how to feed them, learn how to take care of them, learn how to hook them up, learn how to run them and run them every day," said Royer. "We would start at 20 miles and work up to 40-50 mile runs and maybe do a camping trip."
The camping trip would be tailored to the clients' preference, tenting out or running to an area lodge for those that aren't quite as adventurous.
"There are so many trails here in Seeley Lake and so many options," said Royer. "By doing that I could keep my dogs on longer runs and still train for the Iditarod."
Because Royer's tour dogs also her racing team, they are well trained and she has the ability to do more with them. This allows her to offer a different experience than other sled dog touring companies where the dogs are trained for the trail and are safe but don't do anything fancy.
"My dogs are so much better mannered, they are good loose, they all know their name and come when called and they are super personable," said Royer who added she will turn 40 dogs loose at the end of a run and they will all load up when told.
Royer loves to teach her clients about the dogs. She said some of the biggest misconceptions are the dogs are too skinny, are cold and are forced to work.
"Sled dogs love the cold, they love to run and they love to pull. Running is what they are bred for. I would say their favorite temperature is 20 below," said Royer.
In response to the comment that her dogs are too skinny she said, "Have you ever seen a fat marathon runner? Since when do we think a human athlete is healthy and a dog is skinny? My dogs are a healthy weight and can run up to 100 miles a day."
Royer said showing her clients around her kennel and letting them work with the dogs has opened peoples' eyes and changed some opinions about the sport of mushing.
"When people come, they see how friendly these dogs are, how much they love attention and how personable they are. I just love educating people about the sled dogs, what they can do and how amazing of an athlete they are," said Royer.
The McClelland family described their experience with Royer and the J Team as fantastic.
"My family is much more adventurous than the run of the mill family. We didn't want the dude ranch experience. We wanted to know about the dogs, to hook them up and to drive our own sleds...to go out and build a fire and have lunch," said McClelland. "For any families that are looking for a real experience of dog sledding, not the Disneyland, not the fairy tale, but the real honest to goodness experience of what it really feels like and smells like, the whole event is something like no other."
"I love the winter, the cold and anything outdoors," said Royer. "What better way to make a living working with your best friends outside in the fresh air and gorgeous country. Even my worst day is better than a great day inside. I enjoy sharing it with people."
For more information and rates visit http://www.huskypower.com/jessie/ or call 406-210-9729 to schedule a tour.
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