Pam Flowers explored Alaska and Canada on a dog sled.
By Samantha C. DePoy
Staff Writer

RANGELEY – Elementary schoolchildren yearning to hear adventures of gutsy Arctic explorations and get an autograph from their favorite author instead picked up some priceless life lessons Monday.

Arctic explorer Pam Flowers trekked into Rangeley on Monday as part of a two-and-a-half week tour of speaking engagements around the state, including much of next week in the Auburn area.

In February of 1993, the 5-foot tall Flowers of Alaska set out on a 2,500-mile dog sled exploration across the icy Arctic from Barrow, Alaska, to Repulse Bay, Nunavut, Canada, finishing less than a year later.

Her journey, tales of which she shared with Rangeley students, was the longest solo dog trek by a woman in recorded history and the first solo by an American over the route.

“You are never too young to have a dream and you are never too old to make it come true,” Flowers, now 57, said.

Along the way, she learned that size and strength couldn’t defeat a good attitude, citing her dog Anna, the star of Flowers’ children’s book “Big Enough Anna,” as an example.

Both in the book and in life, Anna was the runt of the litter, but had determination well beyond her size. Flowers looked at the dog’s personality, instead of her measurements and chose to use Anna as the lead dog for part of the journey.

The message of the story, Flowers said after the presentation, is that dogs, like children need to earn their responsibilities.

Dogs on her team that could follow directions were given leading positions and those that could not were placed in the back. “We all have our place,” Flowers said.

At one point in her trip, the ice began to melt. Preparing to crash through with her dogs and fall victim to the numbing waters below, Flowers took a final photograph of herself in hopes that someone years later would find the camera on the ice. Then she realized she couldn’t quit. Never giving up was one of the lessons she discussed.

Others include the need to work together as a team to achieve a goal, the importance of treating one another with courtesy (even dogs need good manners), not quitting when things go wrong, especially when you did nothing to deserve what happens to you, and the joy of completing a difficult task.

And after Flowers survived that solo trip with the same team of eight dogs, all crossing the finish line with good spirit, she didn’t just chock one up and head for warmer climates.

In 1997, she completed a 740-mile solo snowmobile expedition from Resolute Bay to the Magnetic North Pole and back, the first ever winter expedition to the Magnetic North Pole.

She’s also done the Iditarod Sled Dog Race and in 1996 won a gold medal from the Society of Woman Geographers.

In 2006, Flowers will be back in Maine to start hiking the Appalachian Trail with her dog Ellie. As she hikes from Katahdin to Springer, Ga., she’ll be encouraging thousands of children around the country to pledge to walk their dogs for a certain distance, with a total goal of up to 1 million miles.

The goal is encourage kids to get outside, and to connect with their animals.

“I learned how you should always follow your dreams,” said student Allie Hammond. But the 10-year-old admitted she wasn’t brave enough to do what Flowers had done. “She risked her life. I wouldn’t want to do that.”

sdepoy@sunjournal.com

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