Enjoy following along on the Black Team’s journey through the 2020 Yukon Quest.
ID 2020: Food Drops
It is just under 3 weeks until Race Time and Allen and Sam delivered over 1,500 pounds of Iditarod dog food and gear to Airland Transport in Fairbanks yesterday. Each Iditarod checkpoint has individually labeled bags. The sorting will happen in Anchorage this weekend with many Iditarod volunteers. Each musher’s drop bags will be weighed and sorted into Checkpoints. The Iditarod will then fly all of this out along the trail to the individual Checkpoints over the coming weeks.
Getting ready…
YQ: 977 Thank Yous
977 miles – 977 thank yous.
First of all, and most important of all, thanks go to Dutch, Spark, Amber, Five, Jefe, Bruno, Commando, Rodney, Scooby, Clyde, Chipper, Violet, Perky and Decaf. You are amazing.
A great handler crew can really enhance the race for a musher and we felt we had an unfair advantage with Bridgett and Aliy (ably supported by Padee on the AK side and Ingabritt and Stephen on the YK side). To be able to hand the team over in Dawson and know they are getting the best care imaginable is an amazing feeling. Thanks to Wendy and Karolyn for holding down the fort while they others were away playing. That is the unglamorous side of handling but so, so important. Thanks also to Lisa, the Bristols and Ryan for Alaska side support.
To all our competitors and friends out there on the trail. Congratulations on even just making the start line – sometimes that is the hardest part. We hope you achieved some of your own goals and had some successes.
Thanks to all the volunteers throughout the race – the checkpoint managers and their crews, the team updating the website and social media, anyone selling merchandise at events, those raking straw when the handler crew couldn’t be there (Eagle), the cooks who feed the mushers, those with the unenviable task of waking mushers up on time… you all make this race possible.
To Nina and her vet crew – thank you. Working in tandem with the crew is what makes this race special. Your obvious ‘dog first’ approach is so important and appreciated.
To Mike Reitz and his trail crew including his volunteers on the Alaska side and the Canadian Rangers on the Yukon side – thanks for your care and attention in putting in the trail.
The hospitality on the trail is legendary and thank you to all for feeding and caring for our mushers. Slaven’s Roadhouse, Trout Creek, Clinton Creek, Scroggie Creek, Stepping Stone and McCabe Creek
All the race officials were awesome. Cool, calm, sensible heads at the helm gives everyone confidence. Thanks to the logistics team who do more than most people could imagine. Thanks also to the Quest organisation. You work so hard all year round to stage this race, most of it unnoticed or under appreciated. Thank you. Race sponsors are so important to the staging of this race, thank you to all especially our bib sponsors Mushing Tech in Fairbanks and Lumel Studios in Whitehorse.
Thank you to Fort Wainwright, City of Fairbanks, North Star Borough, 1st Canadian Ranger Patrol Group, City of Whitehorse, Dawson City, Kwanlin Dun First Nation, Little Salmon/Carmacks First Nation, Selkirk First Nation, Ta’an Kwach’an First Nation, Tr’ondek Hwech’in First Nation, Village of Carmacks, Village of Pelly Crossing for your partnership with the Quest to make this race possible.
Thanks to the visual content team keeping all the race fans and supporters up to date with great words, photos and live stream videos. You bring the Quest Family together even if they are thousands of miles away (like, in New Zealand for instance).
Thanks to all the Black Team members: Leanna Anderson, Joy Ayala, Lisa Barricella, The “Other Ruth”, Rita & Tom Beer, John & Karolyn Bristol, Marilyn Cozzens, Marilynn Davis, Joe D and Dorothy M McCain, Dorothy & Girlee, Ms. Eliason, Fergus & Hamish Emerson, Kathy Ferrell, Freeman Family, Marti Guarin, Carrie Hopkins, Chica Hopwood-Dean, Kate, Badger, Tracker & MooMoo, Stephanie Kuhns, Layman Crew, Lisa Locke, Peggy Long, Val Lycette, Lyn MacDougall, Vivian & Greg Martin, Lisa McDonald, Bob & Jane Nelson, Nessmuk & Shanti, Becky Pacas, Heidi Phillips, Angela & Bob Pressley, Louise Rathswohl, Debi Riley, David Robertson, Cindy Schaus, Jeanne Seward-Wallberg, Sherry Smith, Midnight Steiner, Toni Tadolini, Tammy, Sue, Willow & Palmer, Sue Thelen, Barbara Thompson, Margaret & Alfred Wirtenberg, Diana & Harry Workmon. Your support went directly into helping the Black Team throughout the race and we appreciate you.
To all our other kennel sponsors and supporters, VIPs, Champions, Dog Fan Club members – thank you. We have the best fans and supporters in the world!
YQ: Festivities
That’s a wrap for another Yukon Quest.
We still have a little more to share but tonight was the finish banquet and prize giving where we heard from the mushers and officials. It is one of the fun bits of the Quest where we get to hear stories from out on the trail – stories of heroic dog teams, great sportsmanship, hallucinations, hospitality and friendship. Congratulations also to all the special prizewinners. Attendees also got a sneak peek at the visual content team’s 2020 movie from their incredible footage taken during the race. Keep an eye out for that on the Quest Facebook Page.
Thanks to the Kwanlin Dun Cultural Centre Sewing Group for their special presentation to all mushers of beautiful beaded sitting dogs. They are real treasures.
Allen told some fun stories from this year and years past, and thanked everyone that helped the team get down the trail.
2020 is the first year the Quest has had a perpetual Champion’s Trophy and Allen got to award the trophy to Brent (as he was the last winner that wasn’t Brent). It is a beautiful trophy that celebrates all the winners over the years and Brent will be the first to claim it.
Here are a few more pics from the evening from Bridgett:
YQ: Back at the Kennel
Aliy and the dogs headed home on Thursday while Allen and Bridgett stayed behind in Whitehorse for the post-race festivities and meetings.
It is cold again, -37F in Two Rivers when the team arrived home so everyone had a straw lined kennel set up in the dog room. This room has a dog door out to an enclosed pen, also with straw lined houses, so they could choose where they slept, who they slept with and for how long.
By Friday they have started to get rowdy and full of energy and as soon as it warms up a little Aliy will get them back out on the trails to stretch out and keep their fitness up. There’s another race coming up so they want to be fit and ready to be in the running for that one.
YQ: Quadruple Dog Fan Club Draw
To celebrate 4th place we drew four winners in our Dog Fan Club. Thank you to all our dog fans, we appreciate you all!
Congratulations to Cindy Dathe who is a fan of CLYDE, Mike and Beth Metcalf who are fans of Junior, Scout fan Lisa McDonald and Lexie Little Bits who is a fan of Chipper. The human winners each will receive a packet of the treasured SP Kennel M&M’s and a set of YQ stickers, plus a glam shot of their dogs. The canine winners will get extra treats back at the kennel from the Dog Fan Club biscuit barrel.
Clyde was the oldest dog on Allen’s Quest team and has had a long and successful racing career. He was one of those child proteges who was picked to run the Iditarod as a yearling and has never looked back. His ability to finish a bowl of kibble is one of his stand-out traits and has passed that down to his offspring. Clyde is a lovely, friendly chap and is the confident leading man.
Junior is taking after her mama Olivia in her champion sled dog abilities and juggling motherhood. She is the Mom of two of our yearlings: Dr Bill and Wu. Junior is talkative and sweet but also a very determined and competitive dog. She was a quiet influence on Karolyn’s YQ300 team this year. She is the well-spoken, professional leading lady.
Lovely old Scout has earned his spot in the lounge. He can get a little grumpy but, he’s Scout so can do whatever he wants. Scout has seen and done it all and is a Champion racer. Check out his race history – it’s pretty impressive. He has a good deal of nieces and nephews in the kennel who are doing him proud.
Chipper is such a sassy little being. She is the teeny-tiniest slip of a thing but has enormous talent and attitude. At seven years old you might think she would be maturing but she still acts like a yearling and has the energy to match. Everyone loves Chipper – the clever little punk.
To find out more about our athletes look at the “Dogs” page. To join the Dog Fan Club you can hit the “Become a Dog Fan” tab at the top of the page or click here. We will have a Fan Club Draw twice a month or more during race time and special events. It’s fun. Support your dog or dogs!
YQ: 4th Place Proud
Congratulations Allen, Dutch, Sparkie, Amber, Five, Jefe, Bruno, Commando, Rodney, Scooby, Clyde, Chipper and Violet plus Perky and Decaf. We are so very proud of you!
At 1.20pm this afternoon our team trotted through the finish chute after a marathon 18 hour, 34 minute run from Braeburn. Allen stopped the team for a rest along the trail as it was a slog from start to finish, even right around the corner from the finish where Allen had to wade through waist deep snow to find the trail for the dogs. The blizzard conditions were constant through the night. It will continue to be a challenge for the mushers and teams still out on the trail.
They looked great coming over the line and I captured a few screen shots from the Quest’s live feed.
The dogs wolfed down a large celebratory meal and are sleeping in the truck as I write. The crew is back at the hotel enjoying some food and beverages before they leave Allen to sleep. The roads are not great at present so Aliy and Bridgett will likely drive the team home tomorrow.
There’s still a bunch of teams to come and some festivities for the rest of the week so you’ll hear more soon. Until then though, thanks for following along with us!
YQ: Towards the Finish
Its 10:45am Yukon Time.
Firstly, CONGRATULATIONS to Brent and his team, Michelle and her team, and Cody and his team on fantastic races. We’re really happy for you all and your respective kennel crews. Nicely done, friends!
It is currently blizzard-ing and has been most of the night. Allen, Dutchman, Sparkie-doo-dah, Amber, Hi-Five, Jefe The Boss, Brunes, Mando, Rodney, Scoobes, Clyde, Chippy and ViVi are just 14 miles from the finish line. It’s been a long, slog of a run overnight but they stayed the course, they endured, and will be rewarded soon with plenty of love, food, massage and rest.
They are currently running on the Takhini River and will very soon pass under the Klondike Highway and hop onto the mighty Yukon River. They follow that up all the way to Whitehorse. We’re excited to watch this last section and cheer them on. I feel sure they can hear us, or at least sense us cheering them.
It could be a little while before we hear from the crew as they need to tend to the dogs and Allen first. The Yukon Quest Facebook Page will be streaming the team’s finish so hop on over there to watch them arrive. It’s very considerate of him to arrive in daylight.
Aliy just sent this through from the hotel window – blergh.
I’ll bring you more once I have it.