Yukon Quest 2005 & DAWSON CITY

Hello Everyone! Feb. 16th 2005 11:00 pm

DAWSON CITY, YT
Thanks for following John and our AK shelter race team in this years Yukon Quest 2005.
I'm sitting at the YQ Checkpoint in Dawson City this evening after a nice dinner at the Eldorado Hotel. It's great to be back in Dawson! This town is lovely with it's remodeled Hotels, lively Resturants and specialty Boutiques. If you're to read about the Gold Rush days and flip through pictures of what it was like back when..that is what it's like now but with a modern twist. It's picturesque to say the least. The last time I sat in the Eldorodo Hotel was for a musher meeting back in 2002 for my third ever distance dog race; The Percey Jr.
A 100 mile race that ran from Dawson City to the Fortymile (unofficial YQ checkpoint) on the Yukon River. We would have a mass start right on the Yukon River; run aprox. 50 miles, set up camp with our dogs at the Fortymile check and have a restart the next morning racing back to Dawson. I placed 3rd out of ..8 I believe. Maybe it was 9. I was running Bill Cotters yearlings that year having handled for him 2002. It was a great experience & alot of fun!

First of all; let me tell you that things are going well on the Yukon Quest !
I hope you've had a chance to view John's pictures, videos and race coverage from interviews on the YQ homepage....he's quite a topic of interest in this years race with the AK shelter team. Noone is quite sure what to think about his race and competing for a top 10 finish.
It's been an interesting race thus far with some surprises early on! The race is the fastest it's ever been already breaking record setting times on the trail. The leaders are pushing early in the race and moving fast toward Dawson City. The weather is warm for the Questers this year with temps ranging anywhere from 10F to -15. The trail conditons are faster than past years due to the wild fires and clearing of trees and stumps, and the competiton is hot with experienced mushers.
Our race team has shifted from 14 to 11 dogs in the last 48 hours due to minor issues that we felt could potentially turn for the worse if we let the dogs keep running the race to Fairbanks.
For those of you who emailed me asking the names of the team members in this years race; here it is!

The update as follows: Race start 14 dogs
Wilbur Pitch Henry Gabby Trapper Landslide Zither
Probe Chuckie Streak Cookie Pheobe Tucker Zoom

Feb. 14/15 Dropped are: Zoom, Zither, Tucker

We're doing our best to keep you informed on the latest news from the trail as we drive, arrive, hurry, wait, work, eat and sleep and then repeat.
I don't think we got a wink of sleep in Braeburn; up for 24 hours that first night waiting in anticipation for our musher from 7:20 pm till 2:00 am. Most of us ran our trucks with the heater on high on and off most of the night. We would have coffee in the lodge and talk with other handlers. Some are mosre experienced than others handling many times for their husbands and friends..then there were a few with no prior Quest handling experience (like us) ... so we would talk, listen to stories, tips on the trail. laugh and then run back outisde to see who was coming in when the race checkers would holler .."MUSHER IN!"

The lead dogs into Braeburn would fly in quite early to everyones surprise. John had a planned schedule and he was sticking to it; nomatter. I must brag that I'm inspired daily with his measure of confidence, his well balanced calm nature and endless supply of genuine kindness. John is loved by many and for good reason.
This year the Yukon Quest is allowing the handlers to lead the team in and out of checkpoints, talk ot the musher and interact once away from the holding area. We can stand by the team at any time in the designated area; either by the lead dogs or the sled and not anywhere inbetween. If a vet is to check the dogs; the handler is dismissed.
John would arrive and we would be there awake on hand to watch dogs, join him for dinner, and discuss in detail the run, the dogs and overall health and performance of each dog. John would sleep one hour on his 5 hour rest; and I would stand by to make sure he had his wake up call on time. The checkpoints thus far have been great; very accomodating and open all day and night for mushers/handlers to eat, sleep and wait for their mushers. They provide food and drinks to mushers/handlers. I have enjoyed so far the most; Pelly Crossing. The folks there always had a smile on their face 24 hours around the clock; and the atmosphere seemed relaxed, clean and spacious. The holding area was dog friendly and highly accesible to the public. We're grateful for each checkpoint and all it's local people and volunteers.

Chapin and I wouldn't have a clue how to schedule ourselves for this first 24 hours of the race and checkpoint procedure- sleeping none and working till we hit the wall.
3 days into the race, 3 checkpoints later- we are in the groove and working/sleeping in shifts to make life more efficient, managable and fun.
Chapin has been a great help and good friend on the road and off. We work together well and get the job done in a timely manner. I think we're both learning a great deal here on the scene and it's exciting as the race progresses and changes. We keep the craziest hours as we are scheduled around the musher's race. We've discussed the possibilities here; one could go mad completely and loose their head or learn to flex and bend all together. We're flexing & beding..and it's working itself out just right. One must have a sense of humor!

John is in good health and high spirits about his race & confident that the dogs will have their best finish in Fairbanks. However it should turn out; I think we can all give him a great big applaud when all is said and done. He's doing a terrific job, sticking with his plan and looking out for the dogs best interest.
I was happy to lead the team out of Pelly lastnight just after 9:00 pm; the dogs had rested just over 5 hours and looked good to go as they made their depart for Dawson. He had Pitch and Wilbur in lead, Cookie and Pheobe in Wheel. Streak has actually gained weight on the trail plumping up a few extra punds; Cookie is bouncy and happy as ever. We're so proud of these dogs and the progress they've made in the last 12 months. It brings a tear to my eye when I look back at the work we've put it; the trust we've established and the relationship that we've built with each and every one of these dogs.

DOG CAMP
We arrived Dawson this afternoon (4:00 pm) after a nice drive from Pelly with sunny skies and a great view- I love the mountain views. We drove to the YQ checkpoint in downtown Dawson where we would pick up the food drop bags and bale of straw for their 36 hour layover-camp. Then we truck it all down across the ice bridge and through the campground to our designated space. I dropped dogs right away and started shoveling around the trees. This is the FUN part; we get to set it all up for the dogs and musher; the camp is ours to create! We shoveled out a large area (rectangular shape) 100x100 and strung out the gangchains and straw bales; the tarp, the food drops, the cookers and food. I had the 5 dogs out and playing on the foot path we created around the trees; they were like little kids playing at the park! Penny is lively and in good spirits; she has gained some weight on this trip; she looks really healthy right now with a shiny coat. Penny is a hard keeper naturally - however on this trip; she's been eating more and running less. Tomorrow we will ski down to the camp (about 2 miles from our host family house) and Chapin will work on his ice house/igloo and I will continue to create the dog camp deluxe for our babes as they arrive tomorrow anytime between 5:00 om and on...I am so excited for our musher and team to arrive. Once John arrives Dawson for his 36 hour layover; he will take care for the dogs at camp, then we the handlers can do hands -on with the dogs, feeding, massaging, walking, sleeping at camp if we choose, assist the musher in any way possible and the musher is allowed free range while here in the city to do as he/she pleases. We have a nice host family who has offered their home to us while in Dawson; John will have a hot shower, food and plenty of sleep before departing for Central. We're doing his laundry tonight and working to get the home made, hand decorated cards and welcome signs made for camp.
Thanks again everyone for tuning in and we'll be back tomorrow with more news from Dawson..
please feel free to email me any questions, comments....zdenure@yahoo.com and remember to keep checking the Quest homepage for daily updates!!
We do have T shirts for sale with our Kennel Logo- only 4 left on the truck Just let us know!
Happy Trails!
Zoya DeNure