Mushers working with Lincoln Ranger District to honor Race to Sky founder

After Jack Beckstrom died unexpectedly of a heart attack last March, Seeley Lake musher Roy Etnire began looking for a spot along the Race to the Sky trail for a sign or plaque to honor the man who founded the event in 1986.

"There are a lot of people who use this trail who would, I think, enjoy knowing the story of Jack Beckstrom," said Etnire. "He affected so many people that we shouldn't ignore him."

Pam Beckstrom, Jack's widow, said the idea for a sign to honor him came from the mushers.

"It came about because he was the one who founded the Race to the Sky. It was his vision to bring distance mushing to Montana," she said. "They have already raised the money for the sign. It took about 15 minutes for them to do that. It was pretty humbling."

Etnire originally contacted the Seeley Lake Ranger District, which administers the race's trail permit, to find a suitable location. When they couldn't think of a good spot, they referred him to Lincoln Ranger District Recreation Management Specialist Josh Lattin, who had an idea.

Next summer, the district is slated to install a new, permanent bridge across Beaver Creek near the Pine Grove Campground as part of the Upper Blackfoot Non-winter Travel Plan. It will be in roughly the same location spot as a temporary bridge that has been hauled in every winter by Race to the Sky volunteers.

"Jerry Cain hauled the bridge in there for years," Lattin said.

The new bridge will serve the Lincoln Gulch ATV and mountain bike trail system, and be open to snowmobiles and dog sleds in winter, Lattin said.

"It looked like a good location, good opportunity to put (the sign) up," he said.

Although expected to be referred to as the Jack Beckstrom Race to the Sky Bridge, Lattin said there aren't plans to officially name the bridge. Nevertheless, Etnire hopes it will become official at some point. He also hopes find a way to name at least a section of the Race to the Sky route for Beckstrom.

"My original thought was, I'd like to get this trail with Jack's name on it on a map somewhere, so that 200 years from now, somebody's gonna say 'Who was Jack Beckstrom?' That's my goal, but I don't know if it will ever happen," Etnire said.

Lattin said he doesn't have an objection to naming the trail for Beckstrom, but said it's not something they normally do and ultimately it wouldn't be his decision. He admitted conceptualizing how they could do it officially, and what that might look like, is a struggle since the route includes several different existing roads and trails.

Etnire said that just because the Forest Service doesn't normally do something, doesn't mean it can't happen. He pointed out that they named an entire wilderness area after Bob Marshall.

Lattin noted that naming trails for peoples isn't something that's unheard of.

"They do nominate trails as national recreation trails dedicated to individuals," he said.

Etnire said he would love to have the whole community understand Beckstrom's role in the history of the Lincoln community, the history of Montana and the history of the United States. He believes that without Beckstrom's influence, dog mushing in the United States may have ultimately disappeared.

In an obituary for Jack she wrote for Mushing magazine last year, Pam Beckstrom said Jack had been a big part of the Montana mushing community since 1976, when he purchased the ZIMA harness company and re-christened it as Adanac sleds and Equipment.

Though Lincoln had been home to the LOST 170, a race from Lincoln to Ovando to Seeley Lake that was run every February from 1978 until 1985, Beckstrom brought sled dog racing in Lincoln to a new level with the Race to the Sky, which began in 1986 as the Governor's Cup 500.

Etnire and Pam Beckstrom both agree that, any way you look at it, Jack was an icon in the mushing world.

"He mentored many, many dog mushers over the years," Pam said. She described him as a giant in the field of nutrition for sled dogs and said his desire to know everything about the dogs and their needs prompted him to partner with a veterinary school in Washington to monitor the vitals of his team for a year. The effort gathered some of the first scientific data on sled dog needs.

She said that for 16 years, from 1986 to 2002, he brought an annual Race to the Sky mushing symposium to Montana, focused on dog care and musher training.

"He really did change the trajectory of the way mushing was going," she said. "It's a good thing that we know more about sled dogs and we know more about their health and well-being."

"This man touched a lot of lives in a lot of ways," Etnire said.

For the time being, Etnire is focused on seeing the installation of the sign commemorating Jack through, without stepping on any toes.

"It's important to understand how important jack was," he said. "I think it's a great idea, but I'm not willing to say this is the end of the story."