Cabin Fever Days is set for this weekend

Cabin Fever Days marks its 40th anniversary this year, with the famous bar stool races scheduled to start at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The races draw thousands to Sugar Hill in Martin City. But they had a decidedly humble beginning.

It all started when Jerry Downing and some buddies gave Southfork Ike a push down Sugar Hill.

“I owned the Southfork Inn in 1977,” founder Jerry Downing told the Hungry Horse News in 2011. “I opened up every morning at 8 a.m. sharp.”

And every morning Southfork Ike was waiting, like clockwork, for the bar to open. His drink of choice was Yukon Jack.

“One day he came when I opened and I said, ‘Ike, you should find yourself a hobby rather than sit on this barstool all day. You should try skiing,’” Downing said.

Evidently Ike told Downing that he couldn’t get off the barstool long enough to take up a sport like skiing.

Undeterred, Downing told Ike, “We’ll mount the barstool on skis, take you up on Sugar Hill and give you a big shove.”

There were eight participants in the barstool races. The next year, word of the event had spread and there were 64 entrants, from inside and outside Montana and Canada.

Now, if Downing’s story is correct, the Barstool Races would actually be 41. But who’s counting? Time has a way of shifting in the dark days of winter in the Canyon.

The charitable giving connected to Cabin Fever Days has generated tens of thousands of dollars through the years for Canyon-area organizations.

The Trapline Association is the nonprofit muscle behind the annual Cabin Fever Days, a three-day winter bash that has grown in popularity through the years and includes events in Coram, Martin City and Hungry Horse. The organization’s name is a nod to those communities’ early years, when some old-timers say the Canyon supported close to three dozen bars during the construction of Hungry Horse Dam. A favorite pastime was “running the trap line,” which meant imbibing at the local watering holes from one end of the Canyon to the other.

Today, folks can go from place to place safely — there’s a free shuttle.

A full lineup of events is available at cabinfeverdays.com

Friday, Feb. 9

7 p.m. — Mixed doubles pool, Southfork Saloon, Martin City

7 p.m. — Dart tournament, Stonefly Lounge, Coram

8:30 p.m.— Marshall Catch live music, Packers Roost, Coram

9 p.m. — Badger Hound live music, Stonefly Lounge

Saturday, Feb. 10

10 a.m. — Biscuits and gravy, Packers Roost

10 a.m.-noon — Sign-up for barstool ski races, Southfork Saloon

1 p.m. — Barstool ski race qualifying run, Sugar Hill, Martin City

1-3 p.m. — Moonshine Mountain live music, Stonefly Lounge

1-3:30 p.m. — Arm wrestling weigh-in, Stonefly Lounge

1-4 p.m. — Killer pool tournament, Dam Town Tavern, Hungry Horse

2 p.m. — Hog roast, Packers Roost

3 p.m. — Shuffleboard tourney, Southfork Saloon

3 p.m. — Mountain Man competition, Packers Roost

4 p.m. — Craig Barton live music, Southfork Saloon

4-7:30 p.m. — Arm wrestling tournament, Stonefly Lounge

5 p.m. — Larry Myer live music, Packers Roost

6 p.m. — Flathead V-8s, Deerlick Saloon, Martin City

8 p.m. — Pedacter Project live music, Stonefly Lounge

6 p.m. — Dirty Old Men live music, Southfork Saloon

8:30 p.m. — Comatose Posse live music, Packers Roost

11:30 p.m. — Chach & Triple T live music, Stonefly Lounge

Sunday, Feb. 11

10 a.m. — Biscuits and gravy, Packers Roost

10 a.m.-noon — Sign-up for barstool ski races, Southfork Saloon

11 a.m.-2 p.m. — Hangover Cures, Stonefly Lounge

1 p.m. — Barstool ski race qualifying run, Sugar Hill, Martin City

1 p.m. — Free soup, Deerlick Saloon

1-3 p.m. — Moonshine Mountain, Stonefly Lounge

2 p.m. — Hog roast, Packers Roost

2 p.m. — Craig Barton, Southfork Saloon

2 p.m. — Sonny King, Deerlick Saloon

2-3 p.m. — Roshambo (rock, paper, scissors) sign-ups, Stonefly Lounge

3 p.m. — Barstool race finals, Sugar Hill

3 p.m. — Mountain Man competition, Packers Roost

3-5 p.m. — Roshambo tournament, Stonefly Lounge

4 p.m. — Larry Myer, Packers Roost

4 p.m. — Dirty Old Men, Southfork Saloon

5 p.m. — Mountain Man Finals, Packers Roost

7 p.m. — 40th annual barstool race awards, Southfork Saloon

Children’s events

Saturday, Feb. 10

9:30 a.m. — Kids pool tourney, Dam Town Tavern

11-11:45 a.m. — Kids sled races sign-up, Lietz Fire Hall, Martin City

11:30 a.m. — Dedicated shuttle for kids from Dam Town to Martin City

12 p.m. — Kids sled races, Sugar Hill, Martin City

1 p.m. — Gunny sack race, Lietz Fire Hall

2 p.m. — Magic show with Magic Dan, Lietz Fire Hall

Sunday, Feb. 11

1 p.m. — Cupcake Walk, Liez Fire Hall

2 p.m. — Haystack search, Lietz Fire Hall

Coloring contest all weekend at Lietz Fire Hall