FORT KENT, Maine — EDITOR'S NOTE: The video above aired Friday, March 4, 2022.
On Friday, NEWS CENTER Maine shared the story of 17-year-old musher Caleb Hayes and his sled dog team, attacked by a moose last week while training for Saturday’s 100-mile Can-Am Crown International Sled Dog Race in northern Maine.
For Caleb and his team, the adversity didn’t stop with the moose.
The weekend started well for Caleb, who met Gov. Janet Mills at The Swamp Buck Restaurant and Lounge on Friday night. In a Facebook post, Mills called Caleb "a local hero" and "a true Maine sportsman" for how he protected his team and dealt with the moose.
On Saturday, race day, things were going smoothly until about three-quarters of the way through the 100-mile event. That's when Caleb had to pull over because he had two female dogs coming into heat, causing his lead dogs to become unmanageable and making it impossible for the team to advance.
"We knew they were going into heat before the race but it had not hindered performance for the first half, so we decided not to pull them from the team the second half," Caleb's father and coach, Jonathan Nathaniel Hayes, told NEWS CENTER Maine via Facebook message. "As the team coach, that was my mistake. If we'd dropped the dogs we would have stayed on schedule. It would not have adversely impacted the team power nearly so much as their presence diminished it."
After running with the dogs for multiple miles and even acting as the lead dog himself, Caleb got exhausted and pulled off on the side of the trail, where he curled up with his dogs and fell asleep while waiting for race officials to perform a trail sweep.
Caleb slept for about three hours before the searchers found him lying in the trail, cold and disoriented, according to a blog post by Jonathan Nathaniel Hayes.
After officials located Caleb and his team, his parents' attention was split between their son and his team of dogs. Luckily, fellow junior musher Tara Crossman, 16, of Topsham and her mom were at the finish line. Tara had finished 17th in her 30-mile race and was waiting to cheer for Caleb. She and her mom jumped in and took care of the dogs while Caleb's family met him at the hospital.
"We had raced together back in 2020 in the Can-Am 30, and as a fellow [junior] musher I know how hard and discouraging it can be when your team is struggling to keep going," Tara told NEWS CENTER Maine via text. During the 2020 race, Tara's sled broke, and her hip was dislocated.
Tara said she knew Caleb's father would be busy making sure Caleb was OK, and she wanted the dogs to get the best care possible.
"I know those dogs mean the world to Caleb, so I wanted to make sure they were also a top priority," Tara said. "The dogs got unharnessed, stretched, they got some food and water, and lots of love and praises."
"They were very willing to help, and we were very grateful," Jonathan Nathaniel Hayes said.
Tara added it was comforting to see Caleb's team was in good condition other than being discouraged and tired.
"When we heard the update about Caleb being fine, everyone was relieved," she said.
RELATED: Maine filmmaker debuts 'True North Legends of Dogs and Men' following solo sled dog expedition
Caleb was taken to a local hospital for minor hypothermia and is recovering at home, according to his dad, who said they are praying for smooth sailing next mushing season after the intense experiences they've had this year.
To read more about the moose attack Caleb and his father experienced, click here.
To read more about Tara Crossman's goal of racing in Alaska next season, click here.