Sled dog races this weekend

Saturday and Sunday are the dates for the annual Sierra Nevada Dog Drivers Sled Dog Races.

Those races will be held at Hope Valley, Calif. Hope Valley is located about 35 miles south of Carson City, via U.S. 395, Nevada S.R. 88 and California S.R. 88.

The start of the races will be held about one mile west of Pickett's Junction. That junction is located just past Sorensen's Resort on the north edge of Hope Valley, Calif. Pickett's Junction is the intersection of S.R. 88 (to Kit Carson Pass and Jackson) and S.R. 89 (to Luther Pass and Lake Tahoe).

The first race will begin at about 9:30 a.m. on each day.

The racers will be competing with teams of three, four, six or eight dogs.

The three-dog teams will be racing against the clock for three miles, the four-dog teams will be racing four miles, the six-dog teams will run six miles, etc.

Some of the other racing classes will be:

The "Ski Jouring," where a cross country skier on skis is pulled behind a sled dog team.

The "Junior Class," where a 1-2 dog team with a youngster driver races the clock for 1-2 miles.

For information, call Jay Hawkins at South Lake Tahoe at (530) 577-0925.