YQ: Saturday Night Recap

As at the time of writing, Allen and 13 team mates are on their way towards McCabe Creek ‘dog drop’ between Carmacks and Pelly Crossing checkpoints. They are 7 miles from there.

Aliy and 10 Red Team mates are blazing a trail back towards Whitehorse in the YQ200 and are currently about 30 miles from the finish.

What happened between seeing them leave the start to this point?

Black Team – Braeburn

Allen and his 11 frosty faced canine mates pulled into Braeburn checkpoint at 10:21pm giving them a run time over the 89 miles of 10 hours and 6 minutes – that includes the half hour break they took where Allen actually bed the dogs down in the straw he’d carried from the start so they could take a good but fast rest. They were pretty vocal when they pulled in and didn’t want to waste time waiting for the officials to check Allen in to the checkpoint.

This arrival time gave them an eventual check-out time including time differential (the extra time teams stay to level the playing field from the staggered start) of 10:33am. As Bib 26 they had to stay an extra 12 minutes over the mandatory 12 hours.

It was COLD. When you hear a bunch of hardy, Yukon Quest veterans say “it’s cold” they really mean it! It was hovering around -40 at the checkpoint and reportedly it was colder out on the trail. Add the 10 mph they were travelling and… well… it was “wear your big mitts” cold.

The dogs were frosted as they came over the line due to them exhaling and their breath freezing on the guard hairs (outer layer) of their coat. One good shake from nose to tail and it just falls off – pretty amazing to watch actually. The humans on the other hand don’t have the built in insulation of a double fur coat so they were a little more frosted and took a little longer to thaw. At those temperatures extremities are particularly vulnerable – feet, fingers and faces so they have to pay serious attention to their own protection.

The teams had travelled through some wet patches of overflow and open water about an hour from the checkpoint but other than that, Allen said the trail was great and gave kudos to the Canadian Rangers for making such a nice trail.

Unusually, due to the section of trail between Braeburn to Carmacks being closed for business this year, handlers were able to step in as soon as the team was checked in and help the team navigate the road crossing (with help from volunteers) then lead them directly to the truck were we took booties off, undressed harnesses and coats while the vet teams did their mandatory checks on every dog. It was an amazingly coordinated effort from the vet team so kudos to them – there were many teams pulling in yet they were able to see to them all very quickly whilst still performing a very thorough check and provide advice on any issues. Karolyn was able to give the dogs their second omeprazole dose as soon as they arrived and after half hour they each got a snack of beef, chicken and poultry skins to enjoy once they were boxed after their checks. It was a great lesson in teamwork seeing all the teams in very close proximity efficiently and effectively getting their teams from trail to dog box.

When we got a moment to look up from all this activity, we were treated to a fairly modest green aurora display, welcoming us all to the Yukon.

This was where the handler crew split up. Bridgett, Karolyn and Mark took Allen and the team north to Carmacks to see out their remaining rest. I waited in the heaving Braeburn Lodge to greet Aliy and the Red Team. Yes, a cinnamon bun was consumed.

Here’s a few pics from Braeburn

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Carmacks

After a good long rest in the Carmacks Community Centre and excellent meals made by the volunteer team, the handler crew was able to help Allen get the team ready – essentially it was a restart. Just to be contrary, Carmacks is around -50F right now so they dressed the dogs in one more layer – dressing them in a wind blocker jacket and the insulated jackets with extra fox fur ruffs for the boys. “Nippage” (not a technical term) is a very real problem for the boys at these temps and something all mushers will be fending off their dogs.

Felix and Clyde were added to the line and they set off right on time at 10:33. The dogs were very happy to get back on the trail after an unusually long rest. The line up when they left was Commando and Junior still leading the way with Amber and Dutch backing them up in swing. Chipper has been moved up the line to run with Spark – she’ll be happier there – with Nomex and Clyde running together, Rodney still on his own for now, Iron and Bruno then Felix took up his wheel position with his partner-in-crime Violet. They have an excellent working relationship back there and seem to enjoy each other’s company. Champ will be added to the line in Pelly and will add some pent up enthusiasm to the roster.

Here’s a few pics from Carmacks:

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Red Team – Braeburn

A rather eventful run for Aliy and her team with a loose team to be caught (not hers), overflow to negotiate, equipment lent to others and the frigid cold, they were pleased to get in to Braeburn at 2:05am. Funnily, in Aliy’s race plan estimates before the race she said she’d be in around 2am. I guess she knows this trail and her dogs pretty well! Their run time was 10 hours 47 minutes, including their rest on the trail. They were the fastest team over that section by about 30 minutes.

Again, the vet crew did a sterling job to carry out all the YQ200 mandatory checks in Braeburn also, as this is the only checkpoint in the race. Thank you to the entire crew for their tireless and cheerful work.

After snacking, removing booties, bedding the team down in cozy straw and covering in fleece blankets Aliy left them to sleep for a few hours as they saw out their mandatory six hours stop (plus 18 minutes time differential). Jefe and McCaw were very comical as they prepared their sleeping quarters. They took a good deal of time getting the straw “just so”, turning is circles, pawing, shaping and testing until it was exactly to specification. Silly boys.

Aliy prepared the dogs’ meal and left it in the cooler to soak then she herself spent time in the Lodge and enjoyed beef and barley soup and the amazing fresh baked bread. A quick hour and a half nap in the mushers sleeping quarters then back out to feed the dogs and prepare for departure.

Bang on time, Aliy left with ten team mates as the sun was starting to rise in front of them. You’ll never guess who were the most vocal… yep – the two coffee boys Perky and Decaf. Lydia and Cayenne are still leading the pack and Five moved up into Mismo’s swing position.

Aliy left Mismo with me to do the last leg in the truck. She had been thinking of running him only the first leg as he was a little “under done” in miles due to an earlier minor injury and she didn’t want to push him too hard, but just enough to try to get him match fit. So, rest assured, he is not injured – he is currently enjoying a nap in the truck after a huge meal. He’ll enjoy greeting his team mates later this evening at Ship’s Creek in Whitehorse.

A huge thank you to Phil – Marcelle’s handler – who helped our team exit and also helped me rake and bag straw. It was much appreciated Phil!

General Comments

Due to the much-mentioned temperatures (did I tell you it is COLD?), cameras and phones don’t fare well so we don’t have a great deal to show you. Not only that but fumbling around in your coat pocket and taking your glove off to use a touch screen device isn’t that appealing so I have tried to paint you the picture with words – ha. I love you all but not enough to lose a finger 🙂 Note: I have taken some video but it will take some time to edit and post so stay tuned for that… eventually.

I wanted to mention one of the many amazing things I saw over night. I watched as Hendrik Stachnau and his team of Greenland Dogs and Alaskan Malamutes pulled in to Braeburn with no extra coats, just their thick natural coats and they were very happy and looked quite comfortable in such extreme temps. They were pulling the sled so hard after 90 miles it took many strong volunteers and snow hooks to keep them from continuing down the trail while he was trying to check in. Don’t get me wrong, I think Alaskan Huskies are the shizzle but these dogs looked incredible. The other spectator I was standing with and I both said “wow, that’s amazing” at the same time.