Yukon Quest

Last weekend Luke volunteered for the start of the Yukon Quest 1000 mile sled dog race from Fairbanks to Whitehorse, Yukon. It was pretty exciting, the temperature was colder than -30F at the start. Luke's job was to help the mushers get from the dog staging area, down a snow ramp, and onto the Chena River, where a new group of handlers would help hold the dog teams before their start.

He got a close up view of some famous mushers, including Lance Mackey, who won the Quest three years in a row, and last year he was the first person ever to win both the Iditorod and the Yukon Quest in the same year (races are only a few weeks apart).

It was suprising how small some of the sled dogs actually are. Some of the smallest looked to be only about the size of a Brittany (medium sized). There was a guy from Wisconsin, Don Smidt who raced purebred Siberian Huskies, which is rare for people mush competitively anymore, as most of the competitive dog teams are now mixed breeds. Unfortunately, he withdrew from the race at the first checkpoint. The photo of Luke is with the Siberian Husky team.

Here are some more photos of the start (photos courtesy of Lee J. & Brian J.):