2024 Yukon Quest Alaska 300
This was as challenging of a race as I've ever done to this point. The temperatures were frigid (frequently -30 to -50F), there were many sections of over flow (water flowing on top of the ice, knee deep in some sections), two significant summits (Rosebud and Eagle Summit), and 150 miles of mushing on a windy river in COLD temperatures. I had the additional challenge of running the "puppy" team - a team of mostly 2-year-olds running their first ever 300 mile race.
Overall, we had a really great time! It was exciting to see young dogs running their first race, and by the end, many had "figured it out". I also had many good friends that helped at the start and handle for me on the race, not to mention all of the support from folks before, during and after the race through texts and Facebook.
Run 1 - Start to mile 57 - The start was cold and the ice fog was thick! These were the coldest temps I had ever mushed in. As always, things were hectic at the start but we got out in great fashion.. particularly my good friend Cole Harmon who drove a "tag sled" behind my sled for the first mile or so of the race. A local middle school teacher got to ride in the sled that Cole was driving. We continued on our run up through the Two Rivers checkpoint (mile 41), where we picked up straw and snacks and continued down the trail. We eventually made camp on the side of the trail around mile 57. This was so as to split the 113 mile trip to the next checkpoint (called 101) into two even runs. We camped for about 4 hours at this spot on the trail, but it was too cold for the human to get any sleep!
Run 2 - Mile 57 to 101 checkpoint - This was the most challenging run of the race for us. Almost immediately after leaving our camp we had to cross sections of overflow. The dogs, especially the young dogs, do not love to plow through the water, and they needed some encouragement to get through. Then we went up a long, steep climb known as Rosebud. This hill required a lot of pushing and running to get to the top - I was pretty tired by that point. After the top we continued down into the 101 checkpoint, which seemed like it took forever to get to! In 101 we decided to drop three of our dogs - one (Soda) because of a wrist injury, one (Mecca) because she was a little overwhelmed and mentally wasn't enjoying the running anymore, and one (Boatel) for an ear laceration he sustained in a tangle. We then took our mandatory 6 hr break (plus start time differential) in 101.
Run 3 - 101 to Central - This was probably the most enjoyable run of the entire race. We quickly climbed Eagle Summit after leaving the checkpoint. It was just about sunset and it was sunny and nice at the top of the summit. We stopped to enjoy the scenery and have a snack for the dogs. Then we plunged off the backside of the summit down onto Crooked Creek. The creek had significant overflow in sections, sometimes up to my knees! Luckily it wasn't a long distance from the creek overflow to the Central checkpoint. Once in Central it would take me 15 minutes to get my boots off, as they had turned into frozen ice blocks. We took another 6 hr break in Central, where we got to eat a wonderful burger at the Skookum Roadhouse.
Run 4 - Central to Circle - Deke and I ran the beginning of this leg together. It was pretty special to mush together on the Quest trail under the Northern Lights with 20 dogs between our two teams that we've been training all year. Deke soon left though because he had a faster team and I continued down Birch Creek. The mushing is fairly monotonous and I was running on about 2.5 hrs of sleep at this point, so I was fighting pretty hard to stay awake on the runners. We eventually made camp 55 miles into this 75 mile run, where the dogs took a 2 hr nap in the mid morning sun. Then we got up and finished the run into Circle. In Circle, we took an 8 hr break before our final run to the finish line.
Run 5 - Circle to Central - This run was a repeat of the route taken on the previous leg, just in reverse.. 75 miles of river and cold! We found two new leaders on this run, Pancho and Hoodoo, who would lead us all the way to the finish line. We were the final team of the 300 to cross the finish line, winning us the prestigious Red Lantern trophy. I was super proud of the dogs and extremely happy to have finished this tough and grueling race!
Dogs: Pancho, Hoodoo*, Toonie, Maple, Patron, Hawkeye, Oasis*, Ivory J*, Turtle*, Soda*, Mecca*, Boatel*
Handlers: Will Samuel, Lauren Yancy, Lillian Nelson, Izzy Nicollier
Dates: Feb 3-6, 2024
Weather: COLD! (sub 50 below for much of the race)
* = Two-year-olds on their first 300 mile race!