A repeat performance for Lynn Johnson

TALKEETNA -- The 14th-annual Mountain Mother contest was held Sunday, July 11, at the VFW grounds in Talkeetna, during the 32nd-annual Moose Dropping Festival.

With a dozen challenging opportunities to excel or fail, the contest gave mothers of all ages the chance to test themselves with a variety of skills. Each woman started by donning a pair of hip waders and a backpack with a weighted 10-pound baby -- actually a giant floppy-headed doll -- strapped inside.

Next, they picked up two bags of "groceries" and walked across a fallen log and across a series of staggered stones. It looked easy enough, but those who have competed in this legendary Talkeetna event say it isn't.

From there, contestants have to split a round of wood into quarters, load it into a wheelbarrow, race to the next station and dump out the wood.

From there, they blow up a balloon -- for some, this was difficult after they had just finished chopping firewood -- and pin it to a target. Using a bow and up to six arrows, contestants then try to pop the balloon. When they pop the balloon or run out of arrows, they move on to the next station.

Those lucky enough to pop the balloon receive a special bonus -- five seconds are removed from their final time for the event, which often makes or breaks the winning time.

Contestants then race to the next station, where they have to hammer a nail into a 2-by-4 until it is flush with the wood. At the next station, they cast a fishing rod until the line and lure land across a designated set of markers. All these tasks are tests of the women's "mountain" skills.

Then comes the "mother" part of the contest. In a true test of parenting skills, each contestant then races to the next station, where they remove the backpack with the baby, rip the diaper off the doll and rinse it in a bucket of water before pinning it to the clothesline to dry.

Finally contestants have to "make a pie" by spraying whipped cream onto a pie plate and topping it with a cherry. With pie in hand, they race to the finish line and ring the dinner bell, signaling the end of their individual run.

This year, there were 16 contestants, ranging in age from a 21-year-old mother of one to a mother of five whose children are in their mid-30s to mid-40s. Her age, at her request, was not released.

Lynn Johnson of Big Lake raced through the obstacle course in record time, winning the contest in only 2:58, after receiving her five-second credit for popping the balloon. This was the fastest time ever run in the history of the event, according to race director Mandy Jo Hartley, herself a former Mountain Mother winner.

For her efforts, Johnson received a coveted Mountain Mother "winner's jacket" and her name engraved on the Mother's Cup, for the second year in a row.

The Mother's Cup trophy is displayed at the Talkeetna Historical Museum throughout the year.

Talkeetna's own Sandra Ault had the second-fastest time with 3:09, and Rep. Bev Masek took home third-place honors for her respectable 3:10 finish.