Deirdre Fleming article in Maine Sunday Telegram

February 4th 2007

OUTDOORS Team Maine to gun it for Labrador and one VERY tough snowmobile race 

By Deirdre Fleming Maine Sunday Telegram Sunday, February 4, 2007  

It probably was inevitable that Robert Gardner would end up hauling his snowsled to an outback marathon in northern Labrador, since he's already ridden trails and open country in Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Brunswick, Quebec, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island.

"I ride 15,000 miles a year. Last weekend I left Quebec City and went to the Ontario border. I was in the wilderness and my sled broke down. I do that. I get stranded a lot. Eventually I get out," said Gardner, of Mercer. Cain's Quest in Labrador runs 1,200 miles from Labrador City through the barren, remote mountains above Goose Bay and back. No American has entered the race in the two years it's been held. This year, Team Maine is one of two.

On March 6, Gardner and teammate Rich Knipping will drive 24 hours to Labrador for the race, which begins on March 10. It is expected to take more than a dozen teams four to five days to finish the race that requires riders to stop at 11 checkpoints, finding their way to each by GPS. Racers must bring tents, sleeping bags and emergency equipment. They have to be ready to camp in the wilderness if they don't make it to a check station.

Gardner and Knipping think they can finish in the top five. Gardner, 34, only rode a snowmobile in Labrador for the first time last year and decided to try to cut through the mountains. He found himself in the middle of a storm and out of gas.” The terrain, you can't imagine how rugged it is. And, add 8 to 10 feet of snow," Gardner said. Knipping, 30, has only been to northern Quebec, and only in the summer for fishing trips.  He knows this unknown terrain will be even more alien in wintertime. "There is as much water up there as land. I've ridden snowmobiles in 30-below. I've ridden a lot at night. Just the topography of the land is what I won't be used to. The visibility will be a big thing. If you get on a huge lake and run 20 to 30 miles you lose your depth of perception," said Knipping, who lives in Monmouth. Certainly, this winter has not been the best to prepare for such an extreme expedition.

Gardner and Knipping have traveled to Quebec to train. But Cain's Quest is not on groomed trails. And, they will ride through the night at times in areas where whiteouts are common, plummeting temperatures are expected and the mountainous terrain is treacherous. For the first time, the course will run through the rugged Mealy Mountains, where Gardner had the luck (or misfortune) of trying to navigate last year. "It's a really tough section. The altitude goes from 1,500 feet to 3,000 feet. When you start going up and down like that, especially in eight feet of snow, there is nothing to compare it to. It's not even remotely the same (as Maine's trails)," Gardner said.

Most of those entered will be from Labrador. Of the 32 racers last year, 24 were local Labradorians. However, physically and mentally, Knipping thinks he and Gardner still will have an edge over most.

"I think we're in the younger half of the race field, compared to last year," Knipping said. "Personally, I have a lot of experience winter camping. I've slept on Mount Washington for a week at a time."

They'll have a two-man support crew, but they'll find their way alone. "The climate can go to 20 below or 30 below with the windchill. All of a sudden, a storm can come in. The odds are not in their favor. But they'll be right up there and be competitive," said Team Manager Dana Blackstone of Winthrop.

All the money raised by Team Maine above the cost of the race will go to Pine Tree Camp, the Rome camp for those with disabilities.

The nonprofit is one the Maine Snowmobile Association has sponsored since 1974, including at its annual Newport ride-in that is held this weekend. The Cain Quest awards $20,000 to the winner and parts of $20,000 to other winners.

Staff Writer Deirdre Fleming can be contacted at 791-6452 or at: dfleming@pressherald.com