Dickie is taking the journey, along with 72 other snowmobilers, to raise money for diabetes research.
“There are lots of organizations out there that could use fundraisers, and diabetes is everywhere,” Dickie said. “A lot of people have it, so we want them to find a cure and bring it to an end.”
The trip is called MichCanSka – a combination of Michigan, Canada and Alaska. The trip is the brainchild of Michigan resident Bill Bradfield – a Vietnam veteran who got diabetes, which he attributes to being exposed to Agent Orange, a herbicide used by the U.S. military during the war.
Dickie, who has been snowmobiling for about 41 years, said he was on board with the plan the instant Bradfield mentioned it to him.
“As soon as he said, ‘Do you want to ride from Michigan to Alaska?’ I said, ‘Put my name on the top of the list. I’m ready to go,’” Dickie said. “It’s just a fun adventure.”
The 21-day trip, averaging 200 miles a day, will begin at Sault Ste. Marie and will end at Tok, Alaska. The 72 snowmobilers will be split into four groups, with each group having teams of four.
Each team will have someone driving a truck and trailer nearby, which will carry supplies.
The first group, which Dickie will be a part of, will leave Feb. 15, the second Feb. 17, the third Feb. 19 and the fourth days later.
Once everyone arrives in Tok, they will begin their return to Michigan – but this time in the comfort of a truck.
Dickie said safety shouldn’t be an issue. Everyone is fully equipped with proper gear and the groups will be using GPS transponders, which can also alert officials if something goes wrong.
“We put safety at the forefront of the whole trip,” Dickie said, adding the biggest concerns are the temperature, weather conditions and the fact no one has taken this particular route before. “It’s a totally new experience. So the unknown, I guess, is what we fear the most.”
Because each team will have a SPOT Satellite GPS transponder, people can track Dickie and the other groups’ progress by going to SPOTadventures.com.
Dickie also plans to write about his experiences on Facebook, as well as posting at the forums on the Michigan Snowmobilers Association’s Web site msasnow.org. He is hoping to provide an update every day, but that could be depend on Internet availability.
Dickie said this trip is significantly longer than any other snowmobile trek he has done before, with his previous record being a 1,800-mile round trip.
“This probably will be the longest trip that any of us have made,” he said. “I generally average somewhere around 4,000 miles a year. I’ll be getting my year’s mileage in one trip.”
So far, more than $12,000 has been raised for the event, with the proceeds going to the Diabetes Research Institute. Dickie said the group is hoping to do the event on a regular basis, but it may pick a different charity or cause each year.
People can donate in Dickie’s name through michcanska.com; by mailing a check made out to the Diabetes Research Institute to Dickie at P.O. Box 418 in Chesaning; or by mailing a check to Bradfield at 6131 W. 48 Road in Cadillac.
