{"id":41978,"date":"2022-02-26T02:52:52","date_gmt":"2022-02-26T02:52:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/jesse-flory-takes-step-toward-qualifying-for-iditarod\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T09:04:22","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:04:22","slug":"jesse-flory-takes-step-toward-qualifying-for-iditarod","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/jesse-flory-takes-step-toward-qualifying-for-iditarod\/","title":{"rendered":"Jesse Flory takes step toward qualifying for Iditarod"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Jesse
Jesse Flory of Hesperus competes in the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge. Flory is working toward qualifying for the Iditarod. (Courtesy)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Jesse Flory of Hesperus recently completed the 300-mile Race to the Sky sled dog race in Montana, taking a big step toward his goal of qualifying for the 938-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska.<\/p>\n

To qualify for the Iditarod<\/a>, Flory said mushers must complete two approved 300-mile races and one 200-mile race. With his first 300-mile race in the books, he plans to finish qualifying next year and race in the Iditarod in March 2024.<\/p>\n

\"Jesse
Jesse Flory shares a moment with one of his sled dogs. Flory is trying to qualify for the Iditarod Sled Dog Race. (Courtesy)<\/span>cca<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

In Montana, Flory and his Alaskan huskies completed the race in two days and 22 hours. The race began on Feb. 11. He said the race featured a lot of elevation gain and elevation loss but wasn\u2019t very high, so it was easier for the dogs. Flory and his dogs train at elevations as high as 11,200 feet near Mancos, he said.<\/p>\n

Although the elevation was lower in Montana, the race still had plenty of challenges.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was really good,\u201d Flory said, but he added that it was a tough to complete. \u201cYou get all sorts of highs and lows when you aren\u2019t getting (much) sleep. There were definitely times when I thought, \u2018This is dumb, I should quit.\u2019\u201c<\/p>\n

Flory finished eighth out of the eight mushers who completed the 300-mile race. Four teams did not finish.<\/p>\n

He started the race with 12 Alaskan huskies, which he called \u201chigh-performance mutts\u201d that are \u201cbred for pulling.\u201d When he crossed the finish line, eight dogs were pulling him. Three hurt their wrists in some punchy snow, and a fourth dog got sick, he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI tried to reduce some unnecessary stuff,\u201d he said about adjusting to the injuries. \u201cEssentially, I started working harder.\u201d<\/p>\n

The distance to each checkpoint was 50 to 60 miles. Flory said he tried to balance racing with resting. After completing the first 60 miles in six hours, he and his dogs rested for six hours before heading out again.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal was to run and rest even,\u201d he said. \u201cNone of my dogs had gone that far before, but it\u2019s super-impressive what they\u2019re capable of. It makes me super-happy to be a part of it, and their joy for it makes me enjoy it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flory and his dogs also have completed the 100-mile Idaho Sled Dog Challenge three times.<\/p>\n

Controlling animals that love to run, however, isn\u2019t always easy.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome say it\u2019s an illusion of control,\u201d Flory said. \u201cWhen the dogs are amped up, they can be fairly difficult to control. But I literally spend all day every day with my dogs, so it\u2019s pretty easy to get them to do what I want them to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flory is the owner of Grateful Dogs, a kennel of racing huskies. He lives and works at the Durango Dog Ranch in Hesperus, where he runs winter dog sled tours for guests with Gregg and Gretchen Dubit. \u201cThe dog sledding here is great,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Flory has also managed the Alaska Icefield Expeditions Tour Co. for the past eight summers.<\/p>\n

He said dog sledding is \u201clike stepping back in time.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDog sledding is one of the oldest forms of transportation,\u201d he said. \u201cTo have it all animal drawn, it\u2019s my favorite thing in the world to do. You have a connection with the dogs, and you\u2019re all one when you\u2019re out there. It\u2019s really a fantastic feeling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Next year, Flory plans on racing in the 300-mile race at the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge and in the Race to the Sky. He\u2019s also considering running the Eagle Cap Extreme Sled Dog Race in Oregon to complete the Rocky Mountain Triple Crown.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing I\u2019ve learned is never underestimate your dogs,\u201d Flory said. \u201cThey\u2019ll step up and show you can they can do more.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Musher completes 300-mile Race to the Sky in Montana<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41979,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[28],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-41978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-headlines"],"acf":[],"author_name":"Website Administrator","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41978","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41978"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41978\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85172,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41978\/revisions\/85172"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41979"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41978"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41978"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41978"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=41978"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}