YQ: Start Day Photos

Black Team

12:15am local time Allen and 11 of his eventual 14 left the start line in Whitehorse. He left with Junior and Commando in lead, Dutch and Amber in swing, Spark and Nomex, Rodney is running the first leg on his own, Iron and Bruno then little wheel dogs Violet and Chipper. Once Felix gets put on the line, Chipper will move up.

It was incredibly crisp this morning in Whitehorse with temperatures according to our phones varying between -30F to -35F to “who knows because the phone just died due to the cold”. It was the kind of day that freezes your eyelashes together!

We took the dogs out of the truck soon after arriving so the vet team could check microchip numbers and note the tag letters for the vet book. Because it was so cold we decided to box them again for an hour or so until it was time for harness, booties, insulated coats and for a couple of the boys – a fox fur ruff around their personal area.

Nicole from Coast High Country Inn was Allen’s Quest Guest and Karolyn rode the tag sled for the first two miles of the trail. Every Quest Guest I spoke to said they were so excited about the prospect of going out on the Yukon Quest Trail.

The team is on the way to Braeburn as I write and I will rendezvous with the handler crew up there later tonight. Also joining us is Bridgett, Allen’s daughter who will be there for the checkpoints from there on.

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Red Team

After getting the Black Team on the trail it was time to send Aliy and her enthusiastic Red Team in the same direction at 3:18pm. They were dressed similarly with insulated jackets due to the frigid temps along the river. With some help from volunteers we got them to the line uneventfully and they are currently a few hours behind the YQ1000 pack.

She lead out with Leaping Lydia and Cayenne with Chena and a roaring Mismo in swing, Sanka and QT, Five get to run on his own, Jefe and brother McCaw then the crazy brothers Decaf and Perky closest to the sled in wheel position.

Not quite so many photos as the battery life of cameras and phones is limited in these temperatures but we captured a few pics.

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Please keep an eye on the GPS trackers for the YQ1000 here and the YQ200 here. Also I’d recommend refering back to the YQ Facebook page often for updates and live feeds.

Worth reminding you here also that due to the distance between checkpoints you will often see mushers stopping and camping on the trail. Don’t be alarmed if you see this – it doesn’t mean they are in trouble, they are just resting.

I’ll update again when I can.

Cheers, Moira