Yukon Quest, discussion

[Moose]

Really enjoying the updates, recaps and misc. reports. Thank you all. The conditions sound brutal out there. Good on dogs and mushers for making the best of it under the worst of circumstances.

[flowerpower]

Sevi in Dawson-The runner plastic came off so I had to stop and then this guy started acting like a jerk when I gave the command to go and holding the team back.I thought they were tired but when we got going they just pulling and going like crazy. "Why did you stop 8 miles outside Dawson? Unsure where you were?" Yes, I stopped to snack they dogs and these boys starting acting like jerks again. I rested for 3 hours and was booting them when Hugh caught up to me. "Who are the jerks?" Oh, Elmer, Nulato, and Dr. J.

[JLJ]

This may have been posted before, but I hadn't seen it or found it -- tripped over it a couple levels down in the YQ menus, so if anyone is looking for the YQ musher profiles

http://www.yukonquest.com/race-central/ ... r-profiles

[Eggs]

Squid posted Sab's latest:

Armchair mushing time:
As I write this, Ed Hopkins is about go down the Switchbacks after Eureka Summit. It is a heck of a lot more fun to go down those switchbacks than going up. Once at the bottom the trails weaves through active ( in the summer ) mining camps. Mining is the only reason those trails ( roads in summer ) even exists. The name of the game last night was once again to stay a bit more in the high country. Strategie wise I had wondered if Ed would have tried to do a longer run, to get closer to 2nd and 3rd Place teams Paige Droby and Matt Hall. He did not, matter of fact Laura Neese is hot on his heels, about 10 miles behind and she has passed Vebjorn Reitan while he was resting before Eureka Summit. I wonder if he scrambled out of his sleeping back quickly when her team passed by. It still take about 30 minutes before getting going in such a situation, with packing up and putting booties on the whole team.

So far all front 6 teams have continued to run a very traditional, almost conservative schedule. A safe way to run from Dawson to Pelly is in 4 runs. ( 200 miles, each run about 50 miles long ) Leaving Dawson climb over King Solomon with its beautiful vistas north towards the Tombstone Mountains. 1st stop near the Indian River Bridge. In this inversion weather…. It is cold right at the bridge, so going another 2 miles is the ticket, to get up a little higher. Yes it is a big difference if its 40 below or only 30 below at a campout. From Indian River Bridge they run to Scoggy Creek which sits pretty much smack dab in the middle after about 100 miles from Dawson. Mushers have half a bale of straw there, there is a veterinarian, volunteers and a warm cabin to sleep in. Building that cabin was initiated by Quest mushers and spearheaded by William Kleedehn. The cabin walls serve as a big display of all the current standings from the past decades races.

Leaving Scroggy the trail is narrow, exiting with quite a bit potential for sidehill. Usually that is also one of the lower snow areas. Breaking up the run to Pelly into 2 equally long sections is a bit more tricky. As half way is nothing…., meaning a campout. Whereas after an about 10 hr run sits the wonderful place of Stepping Stone. Most years welcome signs announcing Burritos and other yummy meals line the trail leading up to the hospitality stop. That is sure hard to pass up on. Time will tell how many mushers runs straight to Stepping Stone…. And from there it is a much shorter run to Pelly Crossing.

Allen Moore is on his way towards Stepping stone, while both Paige and Matt are resting in Scroggy. They are still 2 and 3 the same order in which they have left Dawson.

I find it very impressive that none of these front runners have dropped any dogs in Dawson and most of them still driving 13 or 14 dogs. That is very big strings 600 miles into the race. That requires an incredible amount of dog care in these temperatures. And a big team means lots and lots of dogfood having to be packed in the sled. Room is tight on this long 200 Mile run. Talking to Bernhard on the phone last night, we planned for the same 3 stops, with one emergency meal in the sled, meaning somehow he has to cram 4 full meals, snacks and of course straw into the sled. Driving a taildragger helps with that, specially being able to strap the straw onto the seat part and out of the way from the sled bag. In the old days we used to carry the bale of straw on top of the sled bag, which made it not only much more tippy, it made getting at any snacks and gear very cumbersome.

There are only 17 to the 26 mushers still on the trail. As exiting as things are for the front runners, quite a bit of hardship for other mushers. When Severin Cathry was 1st withdrawn, my heart sank, knowing that this was already his 2nd attempt in the Quest, specially with coming all the way from Switzerland. Last year it got cut short right before the race. The more exited I was reading that his withdraw had been retracted once all circumstances became known. He is far back in the race, but he is still IN the race which is much more important than placing. Many other teams have been far behind in Dawson before, yet finished just fine. Go Sevy go!

It is 40 below in Carmacks right now. Can’t find a weather station for Pelly, but it will likely be much the same. From the looks of it…. Only one more real cold night lays ahead… till it finally warms up a bit. But then again…. They have talked about a warm up for almost a week now…..

[mira]

More bad news

This morning at 9am PST veteran musher Torsten Kohnert (bib #2) from Sweden scratched from the race in Dawson City, Yukon. He made the decision for the health and well-being of his team, stating he felt the dogs needed to recover due to the cold weather.

This isn't that bad after all:
On Monday, February 5th, veteran musher Luc Tweddell (bib #26) received a one-hour penalty in Slaven’s Roadhouse Dog Drop for not leaving the required amount of food for dogs he dropped.
According to Trail Procedure Rule #42 the required amount of food is two pounds per day per dog.
Tweddell will serve this penalty in Dawson City.

[mira]

Paige is currently in Scroggie, Matt's GPS hasn't showed anything for the last four hours, I kind of doubt he is sitting 1 mile from Scroggie so I guess he is there.

Ed Hopkins is also in Scroggie.

Allen is 50 miles in front of them.. this is his to lose. The next places though is hard to tell. Paige is doing a great job, but I think Matt will give her a fight. Then we have Ed and Laura and Vebjørn. Laura has passed Vebjørn at the moment.

[txbennett]

This is Ed Hopkins "home field". His team has practiced on these hills for years. He is a very experienced Quest Musher and usually finishes very well. He is perhaps 4 to 5 hours behind Paige and Matt. If he is going to make a move it needs to start soon with shorter rests and longer runs. He might be able to pick off one or both teams, particularly if they happen to falter and give him an hour or two back.

Allen's lead is 7+ hours. He is not likely to give that much away, but strange things have happened in prior Quests and Iditarods.

Keep hitting the refresh button.

[Eggs]

More serious than earlier info led one to believe (which was bad enough):
Jason Campeau – Atka Kennel 7 hrs · https://www.facebook.com/atkakennel/pos ... 5074968422

Thanks for all the well wishes and prayers!!. Jason pushed his help button after he had bedded down his team and fed them he then felt his legs giving out beneath him and knew he was in trouble and pressed his help button on his sled. He really should have pressed his sos button as he then passed out and when rescuers came we were told he was unconscious and hypothermic and was about an hr away from dying. They took him to a nearby homestead To be warmed up then a military helicopter flew in (thank you so much US Military!!) and took him to the fairbanks hospital where he had many tests done. Jason exerted so much energy his muscle masses were starting to break Down which is pretty serious. They did find a small mass in his brain. Photos are being sent to a neurologist to find out more. Thanks again for all the well wishes Jason was flown to eagle yesterday where is dogs were being sent to and today he will fly with his dogs to Dawson where we will finally be able to see him.thank you to Outdoor Survival Canada #OSC for the fantastic gear rescuers said that he was lucky to be wearing such fantastic gear which definitely helped save his life!!

[elsietee]

I love this story from Matt Hall's handlers:
Tails from the Trail: SAK Handler Crew vs Truck

Now that Matt’s out of Dawson and we know the truck is running great (KNOCK ON WOOD), we have an crazy story to tell you all and so many thank you’s to send out!

So…There we were, sitting in Circle. Matt had just checked in from the long grueling & cold (but not the coldest) run down Birch Creek. He was tired and Amanda was standing by to direct him around the checkpoint—Fuel, is here. Dog water over there. Sleeping quarters, here. Cris had just gone back to the truck to lay down to get his rest before the next drive. Suddenly, he sneaks up and whispers the most feared words any handler ever wants to hear—The truck is dead. Not like battery drained, needs a jump dead. Not like ran out of gas dead. But like alternator, we’re in the middle of nowhere, DEAD. No garage. No parts. No nothing. WHAT do we do? “OK, DON’T TELL MATT, find Aaron, he knows trucks.” Aaron worked with us at Dog Camp on the glacier and just so happened to be handling for Darkhorse Kennels this year. So off Cris went to quietly find Aaron and get the shimmy on the truck.

Before the race we had a handler's meeting with just our crew to go over the in's and out's of handling for this race. One of the main topics we discussed was the possibility of something happening to the dog truck. We informed the crew that even if it catches on fire or explored, we were not to tell Matt. He has a race to run and dogs to care for. He doesn't need to be worrying about us while he's in the middle of no where testing his survival skills against the bush of Alaska in 50 below temps.

So, we waited for Matt to go through his checkpoint routine and after a little over an hour he finally laid down for his res and the handler team was finally able to secretly discuss the plan. Aaron had already deduced that it was the alternator, how he did it is beyond me. They were able to get it going again with a jump to keep it from freezing down in the 30 below temps. If it shut off for more than a couple hours, we would never get it to start (little did we know then but the oil pan heater was no longer working) and it wouldn't be going anywhere. Jess and Cris had already connected with Jason Avery (Logistics Extraordinaire). Jason was expediting the part out to Circle on the charter plane scheduled to transport vets from Circle to Eagle. Horst Expediting & Remote Operations, Inc. worked the other side of things, ensuring that part would be there. The part was scheduled to arrive @ 11 am and Matt was scheduled to leave at 8:20 am. This meant that we were already falling behind schedule. We were at the furthest point away from Dawson that we could be on this race. There’s a trail from Circle to Eagle to Dawson, but there’s no road. It’s a 1,200 mile trek from Circle to Dawson by road system and it takes roughly 24-hrs. We couldn’t afford to lose this much time. And what if it wasn’t in fact the alternator? What if there were more things that went wrong while replacing it? At 30 below things like to break. We didn’t have tools, we didn’t have a garage, we had nothing.

In the mean time, there were MANY other things to figure out—We needed to hit the road to get to Dawson and set up Dog Camp before he arrived. It was mandatory that we be there if Matt was going to be able to stay in this race. WE had half of the Dawson supplies in our truck. Half at home at the kennel. How the heck were we going to make this work? We started talking to our fellow handlers and top competitors. Everyone was SO GRACIOUS with their space and willingness to lend a helping hand. One dog truck is barely enough room for one teams worth of stuff, so space is limited and valuable. Mark Hibma from SP Kennel - Aliy Zirkle and Allen Moore said he had space in his truck for Cris to get back to Two Rivers, where the Toyota FJ was waiting to make the trek to Canada. Squid Acres Kennel Renae Counter said she had space for not only half of our dog truck supplies, but also another handler and her gear. Jess took this spot. Josh Skerritt with Tagish Lake Kennel/Ed Hopkins had no idea what was even going on, but came up to me and offered that he’d do anything and everything to help. He carried lumber, the arctic oven and a few other essential items to Dawson. Stephanie Crawford & Justin Crawford offered their small truck if all else failed. Because, even though this stuff was making it across the border, it all needed to get loaded up into something at some point. Mark offered to come back and get me. Abbie WestA offered to tote stuff to town to meet recruited help, if we couldn’t find a means to transport them. Thom Swan offered his trailer. Abbie also offered her truck but warned us it would probably leave us worse off.

Pixie Ingram, head of the YQ PR crew, heard the catastrophic news and hooked me up with 6 hrs of wifi tokens to try and connect with the outside world. All I had to do was say the word. I was able to get a few msgs off, one to Marinell who was flying up from attending a lower 48 wedding that day, was supposed to land and meet up with the truck and the handler team for the 2nd half of the race. I messaged her and told her that there had been a change of plans and that she wasn’t going to have any support crew to drive those 1,200 miles to Dawson. I asked her if she was up for the challenge. Marinell, without hesitation said, “I can do it”. Unfortunately, the wifi crashed and that was the end of the communication going out over the web nor anything else for that matter—Remember, Circle was the end of the line, the start of the Last Frontier! Luckily @Alex let Amanda phone Luther Buhr to get him up to speed, “Luther, Just make it work. I don’t know if we’ll have a truck, but cram as much of that Dawson stuff at the kennel into that little FJ and just make it work.”

So, half the gear was with the Squids. Half with Taigish Lake. One handler with SP. The other with Renae. Amanda was left in Circle. Marinell in mid flight. Things were taking shape. The alternator landed at 11:00 a.m. sharp and Ryan Hughes our hero in frosty bearded armor/Board President/YQ Logistics Crew was ready to tackle this beast of a problem. This man is a miracle worker and could build a truck on the moon if need be. He carries around a diagnostic tool in his back pocket like a cowboy would carry his gun. Ryan was able to get the truck running again and kept it from freezing down. He reset the computer by reversing battery cables (all outside in 30 below temps, you try touching metal in that kind of cold!). He found a corroded cable and bad battery terminal. He found a garage to work in. He had all the tools and he popped that bad alternator out and the new one in. Slick as rick. The truck was on the road by 1:30 pm, 30 minutes ahead of their 2 pm projected schedule.

It was ALL coming TOGETHER! I was so relieved my heart swelled with gratitude for my awesome fellow handler’s and the rallying Quest family. On the drive to Fairbanks I reflected on what we all had just made happen. It was epic.

So the truck still needed to be seen by a mechanic for a few more touch ups. Then it still needed to get to Dawson!
The tank was empty so I filled it up with the two emergency gerry cans of diesel. Jason had me stop in Central (I love this little town) and ask for Rick to get the truck filled. I jumped in the truck, refueled in Central, checked in with Marinell, talked to Luther to find a garage that’d be open when I got to town in 5+ hrs and hit the road.

By the time my co-pilot (Maddie) and I made it to Fairbanks it was 6 pm. Luther, after calling every shop in Fairbanks, finally found a garage who were willing to stay open for us. I called a random personal cell phone and it was Mike from Simard Automotive Inc. It turns out, Mike is another one of our many hero’s. He said he’d stay late just for us. It also turns out that he has a soft spot for mushers (he and his wife own 35 huskies!) and he did the same emergency fix mid-race for Lance Mackey the first year he won the Quest! Mike’s mechanic swapped out our corroded cables, re-soldered the battery terminals and cleaned up all our connections. The truck was road ready. Mushers are you listening? This garage is cheap, fast and willing to go out of their way to get you back on the road. They understand that all our money is invested into our dogs and our trucks are usually held together by duct tape and bubble gum. It’s like finding a sled dog veterinarian, except for your truck! We were in and out in under an hour.

Marinell had just landed and I met her at Walmart to replace our old jumpers for new ones. We raced back to the kennel, unloaded the truck, reloaded it with the lumber for the dog yard that didn’t fit in the FJ and she set off to Tok to meet the rest of the crew. Matt had left at 6:20 am that morning and it was 10 pm when she left Two Rivers. We were 16-hrs behind schedule, but it looked like our luck was changing.

Cody Strathe from Squid Acres informed me that our stuff had was at our campsite and had safely made it to Dawson. Josh texted to say the other half of our gear was waiting for us at Ed’s site. The FJ with 3 handlers and the dog truck both made it to Dawson and the SAK dog camp was erected. Then they waited for Matt like nothing had ever happened.

The dogs have come and gone from Dawson and the race goes on. But it did not happen on our own accord, and we are so appreciative to the gracious group of extraordinary people who made our race continue on. Thank you to our handlers who were willing to roll with the punches. This race is one of the greatest races in the world and is made that way because of the special group of people who join the race every year. It’s one big Quest Family and we are so happy we are a part of it. Thank you!

#QuestFamily #YQ2018

[elsietee]

And here's a report from someone we haven't heard much about, Riley Dyche:

We are about 20 hours into our 36 hour layover at the half way point of the 2018 Yukon Quest and all of the dogs are looking great. I have dropped four dogs along the way for minor athletic injuries on the cold and hard packed trail but the remaining ten are all looking 100%.

This year's race has been below the average temperature and we've been consistently seeing night time temps on the trail of -50 and colder with day time highs of -35. These extreme conditions can wear on both the dogs and musher's moral so I've had to be very cautious and give long rests to the dogs along the way to keep spirits up but overall everyone is looking incredible.

Last night during our final stretch into Dawson City I remember thinking that other than the team size I would not be able to tell the difference between the team 500 miles in versus 50 miles in if I were to watch a clip of the dogs in action post race, which is a great feeling. Coming into the half way point with a strong and happy team was a huge goal of mine and watching the dogs drag me around with wagging tails on our morning walk 6 hours into our rest has confirmed that we've accomplished that.

Our speed has been consistent and relatively high considering the steady head wind and -40 temps we've been seeing for the last 300 miles on the Yukon River. Yam and Fuse have taken the reigns and been driving forward every run with no hesitation in lead. I havent had to say more than a single go command at any rest so far for Yam to stand up off her straw and start charging down the trail, the rest of the team in tow. I'm very excited to head into the final 450 miles with a hard pulling and enthusiastic team.

A huge thank you to Alaska Icefield Expeditions, Inc. for all of their support in getting me this far, my good friend Sven Haltmann and his winter tourism and aurora viewing business Arctic Winter Adventures for loaning me three rockstar athletes from his kennel to help fill the team out, and to my dad Keith and friend Aaron for coming all this way and being all star handlers the entire race and taking care of the dogs while I rest in Dawson. See you in Whitehorse!