Three Old Guys push the limits from Minnesota to Alaska
The Three Old Guys, Rob Hallstrom, Rex Hibbert and Paul Dick, in Inuvik, during their spring Minnesota-to-Alaska snowmachine trek. Courtesy Rob Hallstrom
If you think Iron Dog is a challenge, talk to these Three Old Guys, who last spring spent 38 days traveling more than 4,000 miles by snowmachine from Minnesota to Alaska. Paul Dick, 72; Rex Hibbert, 70; and Rob Hallstrom, 65; set off on March 6 from Grand Rapids, Minn., intent on making it to Fairbanks. Their journey, which they dubbed “Three Old Guys Ride to Alaska,” was meant to be an adventure among buddies – two of whom raced the Iron Dog back in 1994. And to that end, they were not disappointed.
“The Iron Dog was obviously a competitive run, and it was very cold up there the year I first raced,” said Paul Dick, who with Rex Hibbert placed third in the race. “I even froze my toe off during that race. But this last trip was all off trail, and in deep snow and slush, and it was a heck of a lot of work digging those machines out. We’d go through miles and miles of ice jams. It was a lot.”
Hibbert and Dick, Iron Dog Pro Class veterans, placed third in the 1994 Iron Dog Gold Rush Classic. Here they are in Minnesota just prior to departure on their 4,000-plus trip to Alaska. They all rode Arctic Cat snowmobiles, thanks to generous support from their local dealer. Courtesy Rob Hallstrom
WORD GETS AROUND
By now, most Iron Dog fans know all about the Three Old Guys. Before they left, Hallstrom said he and the guys created a Facebook page to help keep their respective families in the loop. For the first week or so, the page had a robust following of their grown children, their grandchildren and other riding friends. But on March 16, Iron Dog Race, Inc., featured the Guys’ trek on its own Facebook page. That post was shared more than 80 times, prompting the Three Old Guys site to go viral and top out at more than 39,000 followers who wanted to experience the adventure vicariously.
“That really took us by surprise,” said Hibbert. “It started taking off. Rob’s daughter did a nice job adding history to it, too, so people got interested. It was pretty weird to think that there’s 39,000 people watching what you are doing. “
“It was amazing,” Hallstrom said. “If my daughter didn’t get something on that page, they’d call her, and say ‘Where are they?’ It amazed us that anyone cared.”
While the threesome was not on a clock racing for a finish line, they had hoped to finish within a month. And for the first few days, they stayed on schedule, making between 200 and 300 miles each day. But soon they discovered that the old trapping routes they had mapped out had not been used for decades.
“That was a lot of work, with two days of cutting trail,” Dick said of their first full week. “Once you got into it, you couldn’t get out, so you just had to go slow and be cautious. The locals were so helpful, they’d give us advice on which way to go. I think part of it was they kind of felt sorry for us, thinking, ‘these guys must be a bubble off.’”
Rex Hibbert and Paul Dick at the start of the 1994 Iron Dog Gold Rush Classic, where they placed third. Courtesy Johnny Dean
Hibbert said he thought the roughest part was between Manitoba and Saskatchewan, in the Reindeer Lake region.
“We thought there would be a lot more people out trapping and using those old trails than there was,” he said. “They don’t travel around there much. It got rough.”
“In so many places, we just assumed that somebody would ride a snowmobile from town to town — that those trails would be used,” Hallstrom said. “It was tiring, but we got through it. And the people, of course, make such a difference.”
In fact, thanks to their Facebook following, most locals knew who the Three Old Guys were as they came into each community. Hallstrom said it was unsettling at first, but they soon came to appreciate the extreme hospitality and kindness of strangers.
“Circle, Alaska, was one of them,” Hallstrom said. “We don’t know anybody there. We ride into town and people are flagging us down and said, ‘you gotta go to the school. We have supper for you at the school, and here are the keys to the fire hall.’ It was a heated building to work on our snowmobiles and thaw them out. … Everywhere we went, we got into the towns, and they were anxious to visit with us.”
While all this travel was going on, Hallstrom’s daughter Kasie Plekkenpol continued to keep the Facebook page up-to-date. In this post, for instance, she shared the Three Old Guys arrival in Fort Resolution, Northwest Territories, just about at the halfway mark:
Chief Louis Balsillie with Rob Hallstrom. Courtesy Rob Hallstrom
Day 14 / Mar 19
Guys made it to Fort Resolution. Greeted once again by the warm and welcoming local community. Photographed here with Rob is Chief Louis Balsillie who has served as Chief for the last 16 years. Others are coming together to bring the Guys supper shortly. What a highlight after a long (~12 hour) day navigating the Slave River. They will work to complete the run towards Hay River tomorrow.
The posts received dozens of comments, likes and shares, and fans cheered on the Three Old Guys as they inched across the map. Here, another post:
The guys take a break on their “crazy day” after spending much of it getting “unstuck” from broken-up ice and overflows. Courtesy Three Old Guys
Day 20 / Mar 25
The Three Old Guys called in their trail report last night recounting the ~140-mile adventure from Fort Simpson to Wrigley; as they provided the quick update, two things radiated from their voices: exhaustion and pure joy.
“Today was so fun! Crazy, absolutely crazy, but fun. Never, ever want to do it again.”
It was an extreme riding day in every sense and super challenging. Rex, who has the most experience riding in these conditions of the three, said “that’s a double black diamond route.”
The river route brought broken-up ice, overflow, and creeks to cross throughout the day. All of them were stuck numerous times and in some cases had to use their axes and chisels to get the machines back on track. The trail also brought striking views from morning till night.
“It’s the most beautiful land you’ve ever seen.”
The Three Old Guys sure sounded like teenagers recounting their trail report. I guess the quote is true: “You don’t stop having fun when you get old, you get old when you stop having fun.”
A JOURNEY COMPLETE
While their journey was slowed by blocked trails, nonexistent trails, and even a sled (or two) that caught fire, the Three Old Guys’ sense of adventure never waned. If they had to break trail, they did. If they had to clear trees, they did. No one considered bailing. They reminded themselves that they are three retired guys with time on their hands.
Hibbert and Dick celebrating their 1994 Iron Dog Pro Class run. In March, they and friend Rob Hallstrom embarked on a 4,000-plus mile snowmachine trek from Minnesota to Alaska.
“In Iron Dog, we was racing,” Hibbert said. “Here it was more relaxing, we just traveled in the daylight, so we got to see the country. In Iron Dog, we was under the stars half the time, at least. So even though it was more challenging having to break trail, it was a lot more relaxing because we wasn’t on a time schedule.”
Hallstrom said that lack of urgency allowed them to just roll with whatever came their way. They met each challenge as best they could and made sure to appreciate the gift they each have of their health – and the ability to undertake such a grand adventure.
For Dick, the adventure culminated with their arrival on Alaska soil, at Rampart House, which Plekkenpol explained in her Facebook post is known locally as “Gindèh Chik and refers to the little creek that runs through the middle of the historic site; Gindèh Chik is the fish spear carried by a legendary person in a long-ago story. “
“When we got to the Alaska border, that was the highlight of my deal,” Dick said. “That was the goal and we said, ‘well, we made it to Alaska.’”
“For me, it was mostly all the neat people we met,” Hibbert said. “There is a lot of nice people in that country. All the way through, everybody was so good to us.”
The Three Old Guys rolled into Fairbanks on April 12, about two weeks later than they planned, but with grins from ear to ear. All three of their Arctic Cat snowmobiles weathered more than 4,000 miles, and the men were ready to celebrate. Plekkenpol posted:
Mission accomplished: The Three Old Guys, Rob Hallstrom, Paul Dick and Rex Hibbert arrived in Fairbanks Alaska on April 12 after 38 days on the trail. Courtesy the Three Old Guys
FAIRBANKS, GO MEET THE THREE OLD GUYS! They are en route, albeit a bit different than originally planned, they will be in Fairbanks tonight if you want to buy them a beer at Pike’s (Waterfront Lodge) — these guys need one! Paul says, “Fill the cooler!”
For now, the Three Old Guys are settling in for a long winter, and they all said they will continue to ride around their homes in Minnesota and Idaho. None think they can top their Minnesota-to-Alaska trek, but they aren’t ruling out another itinerary sometime in the future.
“Every bend in the river was a new trail,” Hallstrom said. “For us, it kept it fun and exciting, even though it was a real long trip – there was always something going on. Who knows? We may do something else… We know each other, we trust each other, and we get along.”
Asked if that “something else” could be Iron Dog’s Expedition Class, all three seemed game.
“Maybe someday, although it isn’t going to happen this year,” Dick said of a future Expedition Class entry. “I think Rob and Rex would be up for it too.”
“That Expedition Class has always kind of intrigued me the last 10 years,” Hibbert agreed. “I would kind of like to do it, maybe involve my boys if they could get away.”
An old Iron Dog race program from the 1994-1995 season.
As for Hallstrom, the idea of a well-established trail with regular re-fueling options sounds like a luxury after six weeks of bushwhacking by snowmobile.
“We are getting pretty old,” joked Hallstrom, the youngest of the Three Old Guys. “It could be fun.”