The Yukon Quest starts at Fairbanks in two weeks (live, dogs)

[1stimestar]

Yes I did get to take a few. We are always super busy when the race starts in Fairbanks as they are still pretty bunched up by the time they get there so most of my pictures are crummy cell pictures. I'm just about ready to download the pictures from my real camera and see what I got. I'll share if there is anything interesting there.

[RayinAK]

Yukon Quest leaders on pace to set race record - Fairbanks Daily News-Miner: Local News

The 1,600-km (1,000-mile) race is expected to wrap up late Sunday night at the Takhini Hot Springs, north of Whitehorse.
Mushing fans hoping to catch the race winnerʼs arrival at the hot springs are encouraged to track the lead mushers via satellite devices available on the race website
Yukon Quest | THE 1,000 MILE INTERNATIONAL SLED DOG RACE.
At noon today, Brent Sass was 55 miles outside of Pelly Crossing, with Allen Moore and Hugh Neff hot on his tail.

But according to the live-track of the mushers and teams, Neff is closely behind Sass now (around 3:00 PM).

[1stimestar]

I was really hoping Brent was going to win this year but I think Allen is going to win again. We'll see if the 8 hours at Breaburn is enough rest. I sure hope it is.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by 1stimestar

I was really hoping Brent was going to win this year but I think Allen is going to win again. We'll see if the 8 hours at Breaburn is enough rest. I sure hope it is.

I was hoping for the same. Allen will have an over 4 hours head-start on Brent, and the last run is not very long.

[1stimestar]

Well Brent fell off his sled and knocked himself silly. He's out of the race with a head injury and being flown into Whitehorse.

[Dakster]

I hope he is ok... That doesn't sound good.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by 1stimestar

Well Brent fell off his sled and knocked himself silly. He's out of the race with a head injury and being flown into Whitehorse.

Wow! That's too bad, specially after doing so well on the race.

[1stimestar]

He was conscious and in stable condition at the checkpoint but there has been a lack of photos or quick interviews from him so I think he really may have knocked himself for a loop. They sent Scott Smith out to get his dogs. He was a Quest finisher last year and a race judge this year but Brent's dogs wouldn't run for him. So they waited for Hugh to get there and then the team followed Hugh in to the checkpoint.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by 1stimestar

He was conscious and in stable condition at the checkpoint but there has been a lack of photos or quick interviews from him so I think he really may have knocked himself for a loop. They sent Scott Smith out to get his dogs. He was a Quest finisher last year and a race judge this year but Brent's dogs wouldn't run for him. So they waited for Hugh to get there and then the team followed Hugh in to the checkpoint.

Thanks for sharing the news, 1stimestar

[1stimestar]

More info from Brent and Josh. Josh was the Quest logistics Manager or something like that last year and I think the year before that.

Wild and Free Mushing's status.

Hi friends, it's Josh Horst writing today. I joined Brent's handlers in Dawson and I'm here now with Brent at his hotel room talking about the race. He wants to share with you some thoughts about the race, but it's easier for me to type on this iPad, so I'll narrate for you.... What a race we were in! We know so many of you were glued to your tracker updates and cheering loudly from all around the world. We hear you!

First, thank you to the 14 Wild & Free athletes who started the race and the 13 who were still charging for the win 8 days and nearly 900 miles later. Brent is so proud of those guys! Next, the humans who get the Wild & Free team onto and down the trail. Wild & Free's fans, family, and friends have been so great. The Yukon Quest organization did a great job, and thanks particularly to race judge Scott Smith for running the team into Braeburn and the vets who looked them over when they arrived. "It takes a village"is a saying Brent often uses, and it's so true. Thank you all.

It's easy to write about how amazing those dogs were doing, but it's emotional writing about the race at this point. We were in it like never before and racing with Allen Moore like that was incredible. Brent kept saying all along how happy he was to have 13 happy healthy dogs and they were feeding off of his excitement. He had a creative and ambitious race plan and was sticking close to it. He had some wild things happen all along the race trail - large sections of glare ice, water, cold weather, trail re-routes, fending off bull moose with his ski pole, but the dog team stayed strong and we didn't get thrown off our plan.

The run out of Carmacks was a big one for his strategy and overall for the race. It was also the run where the race ended for us this year. Here's how Brent has explained that run to me;

I believe I had a good plan and the team ran well with Allen after taking a couple hours on straw outside of Carmacks to prep for racing to Braeburn. Allen came by after our rest and the team was eager to chase him down. We ran through the night, across lakes, through forest sections, and back across more lakes at about -30 temps. In the early morning hours while crossing the last major lake, we had fallen back from Allen's team, but still felt like we'd be only minutes behind at Braeburn.

In a moment, the race stopped. I was fatigued and nodded off, falling backwards off my sled and hit my head on the lake ice. When I got up, the team was just up the trail probably wondering why I was laying on the trail behind them. I got up to the team and straightened them out, but I was clearly not all there and was suffering from concussion symptoms. I drove the team up off the lake ice to get to a warmer spot and stopped to regroup. I fired up the cooker and fed the dogs a warm meal while trying to figure out if I was ok. I just wasn't. My thoughts were cloudy and it was hard to string together a plan although I could still function well enough to feed the dogs. When I decided to go, I was so slow prepping the team and once we were ready and moving, I was not confident in my ability to drive the team and take good care of the dogs. The dogs knew I wasn't all there, they sensed my confusion and didn't seem to know what to do either. I was worried I could get them hurt by keeping going, so I stopped again and did all I could for the dogs, collected wood for a fire and crawled into my sleeping bag to hunker down for a while. As I drifted in and out, I woke at one point to realize I had my arm and bare hand outside the sleeping bag and just laying on the frozen ground. I knew then that I could seriously harm myself and my dogs if I didn't get help.

I held the spot tracker in my hand for an hour. I've always believed I'd never push the button to call for help. I questioned my decision, my condition, but in the end I knew I just couldn't safely drive that team into Braeburn despite only being 12 miles away. I pressed the button and waited. Soon the Canadian Ranger trail breakers arrived and we made a plan to get me and the dogs to the checkpoint. I was quickly looked after at the checkpoint and was then transported to the hospital in Whitehorse. I later found out that when Hugh Neff came across my dog team with a Ranger looking after them on the trail, he stopped and got his cooker going to make a meal for them and when Scott arrived from Braeburn with more dog food and fresh booties to drive them back, he and Hugh fed them, checked them out, bootied them, and drove them in to the checkpoint together. I can't thank those guys enough for what they did. It feels good to have a couple friends like them taking care of the team.

Back here at the hotel in Whitehorse, Brent's body is sore, but his attitude is as good as you'd expect. It's hard for him to fight the feeling that he let the team down, but as he said to me, "At that point there were 14 of us in the team. If one of them can't go on, they ride in the sled, but when I can't, they don't get to load me up and carry me to the checkpoint. Someone has to drive the team." Brent and the team worked so hard and were so eager to take a shot at the win, but that will just have to wait now for another race. Meanwhile, they've been eating great today (Brent and the dogs) and are being well looked after. Thanks also to our friend Sue Ellis for sticking around to help us give those dogs excellent care and rest. For us, today's a day to believe in the future of Wild & Free and be thankful for the life we get to live and for all of you.
be free