Finding my inner artist...

  So the Quest is almost over!! I'm not checking facebook and twitter every 1/2 hour to keep track of Marcel anymore- I know he is safe and sound in Fairbanks- and I'm thankful for that. Allen Moore won the race setting a new record of 8 days 18 hours and 27 minutes and beating Hugh Neff by over an hour. Allen and his wife, Aliy, are also the first couple to both have won the 1000 mile dog race. It was quite the race to follow and I'm impressed with the performance of all the mushers and their dogs! What a test of perseverance and determination! I'm also excited to sit down with Marcel and hear some of the stories that he hasn't written down and hear his perspective on the whole experience.

  Meanwhile, back in Whitehorse, my mom flew in for just over a week to experience a Whitehorse winter! She got some pretty good weather considering some of the temps we endure up here! Her first full day here we went for a hike down to Canyon City which is just east of Whitehorse on the Yukon River. It was a transportation center where a keen business man set up a tramway system using horses and pullcarts so that wary travellers didn't have to guide their way through the dangerous Whitehorse rapids! The rapids no longer exist due to the building of a dam. It was -20 on this first hike and we experienced deep snow and Mom got to see her hair turn wispy and white from the cold temps. The sun was shining and it was a great day!

  We also spent a lot of time skiing in different areas of Whitehorse (including the wildlife preserve!), she watched me play hockey, we drove to Haines Junction (location of Canada's highest mountain range, including Mt. Logan) to see some snow covered peaks, and we spent a lot of time crafting :)

  I really miss crafting with my mom. She has a beautiful studio in Ontario with all kinds of fabrics, felts, paints, stencils, and do-dads to get your creative juices flowing! I'm not the most artistic... I'm kind of a wanna-be artist or crafter. I'm impressed with what I could create though with a little bit of guidance and inspiration from my mom. We also enjoyed perusing through a number of local art galleries and went to a film about Ted Harrison- a well-known Yukon artist which inspired some of my art.

 The first project I wanted to accomplish while my mom was here was to finish my 4 quilted placemat tops. Check. I had a few girls over and they brought their sewing machines and did some of their own crafting. It was a really nice night and I accomplished my goal :) Next, I will have to add batting?, bind, and back the placemats with the help of the Queen of Quilting in Whitehorse. She is in Hawaii right now so this project will have to wait for awhile.

 

 

  My mom also brought some of her acrylic paints and then I ended up buying some more and getting into painting a bit. Here are some of my beginner level compositions: 

Dreaming of Summer Paddling 

Yukon: Wild and Free- Inspired by Ted Harrison

TO: The Urban Wilderness

I used acrylic paint and also different types of fabric for this collage piece. I want to create a PEI and Yukon scene as well, incorporating some of the same fabrics. This is supposed to look like the CN Tower and Skydome- to represent my TO roots :)

Quest 2013

This is a Yukon Quest collage piece. Using some of the newspaper clippings from Marcel, the elevation route, and a stamp from Dawson City that was on a letter he sent me during the race.

Mom sketching using one of her photos from our outings (on the computer)

Our creative center.

I also cut up a huge tablecloth I had and hemmed the edges so that I could use them for our endtables to hide the hideous 80s style glass tops. :)

 

Sunset on the Millenium Trail

 

Hike by the Klondike Steamship

Skiing through Chadburn Lakes area

Getting ready for a big ski at Mount MacIntyre. What a smile!

View of our roadtrip to Haines Junction to view the St. Elias Mountain Range.

Contemplating the views

 

 

   It was such a blessing to spend this time with my mom; to discover new places, share the beauty of the Yukon with her, ski in incredible sunshine, sleep in and drink delicious coffee together, find my inner artist (if its in me- its gotta be in everyone- somewhere down deep!), soak in the hotsprings, and relish in the time we had together. The memories made will never be forgotten.  

 

 

Final Stretch

  Well, the final stretch to the finish line is on! Hugh Neff and Allen Moore have been neck and neck the entire second half of the race and I'm sure it will be another exciting finish. I really like Hugh, but I'd feel really bad for Allen if he lost by less than a minute again this year! The two mushers are just about to head out of Two Rivers (10:30 pm Sunday) and are expected into Fairbanks in the early in the morning (7 or 8 am?). Hugh's tracker isn't working and so it really will be a mystery until a headlamp is seen coming up the trail into Fairbanks as to who the champion is this year.
  Here is a map of the whole route as well as the elevations the mushers have been racing through. Most of the mushers are headed toward or climbing Eagle Summit which is a dreaded "hill" with unwieldy weather conditions. Any trail the leaders make going up the summit is lost due to the wind and so although it is well marked, dogs have a difficult time finding their way up it. It has also been really warm the last 24 hours (+1 in Whitehorse!) and the sun beaming its warm rays on the dogs has also slowed them down.
 

(This map is backwards :) We started in Whitehorse and will end in Fairbanks this year. Also from Two Rievers to Fairbanks should be 72 miles not 45)
 
  Two other fierce competitors have been Brent Sass and Jake Berkowitz. I've shared a few things about Jake with you already. Earlier today he got stuck on Eagle Summit. His dogs couldn't find the trail and so I think he tried to lead them up the summit by pulling his lead dog forward, but then his sled tipped over and became kind of a yard sale. Brent Sass noticed him having trouble as he passed by up the summit. The rule is that no one can help a musher or the musher will receive a penalty (of time and/or dollars). However, a fellow musher may help and no reprucussions will occur. Brent anchored his own dogs down and then walked back to help lead Jake and his dogs up the rough part of the summit. A trail breaker captured some of the camraderie on film.
 
 
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpw5187hEBA
 
This is the two of them coming into Mile 101 after the big climb and talking about what happened.
 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wqmBFZcmpw&feature=youtu.be
 
Brent Sass is a fan favourite. He is just a really nice guy. Easy to talk to and emanating a vivacious energy and zest for life! He is a 32-year old from Eureka, Alaska and he has been running dogs for 10 years. He came in fifth in last year's Yukon Quest and it looks like he will be beating that record this year. His occupation (s) are listed as: Dog musher, landlord, cabin builder, wilderness guide, and gold miner-- so basically an all-out Alaskan. It won't suprise you to know that his kennel is called Wild and Free and he loves going on adventures like this with his best friends (his dogs!).
 
 
 

Brent's arrival into Circle, AK. Photo taken by Alistair Maitland-- sick photo!
 
 I haven't heard from Marcel at all today, but yesterday I heard he was back in a town with a road (Circle, AK) so that made me happy. Then in one of the above videos I found, I saw his black snowsuit and his furry brown hat and so I know that he made it to Mile 101. It must have been a beautiful drive in the sun today. On Friday, Marcel took a little float plane from Dawson City to Eagle, AK. Here are some of his thoughts (from an email) about the town of Eagle (remote fly-in only town):

"We flew in here yesterday in a Cessna 206 (pic). It was quite the flight. Our little plane was blown around by the wind like a balloon. But we landed her safely. First thing we see on the runway in Eagle is a lone outhouse, and a small plane getting groceries unloaded from it. Then we got picked up by the town "mayor" in his classic old-school Chevy pickup (pics). The Alaskan newspaper reporter rode in the back. Lol. A customs officer met us on the runway to check our passports. He also stands at the race checkpoint and asks for passports when they show up. Most of them just chuckle and say nice try.

Eagle has a population of 87 people. The school we sleep in has 18 students. Everyone calls me "Canuck" and they love the Roots patch on my coat sleeve... This trip has been exhausting and thrilling at the same time. Sometimes it's magical, when you see a headlight beam out of the darkness and it looks like a dog team coming out of some sort of smoke (actually dogs breath) into a checkpoint. Most of the top mushers know us now, since we interview them at every checkpoint."  

  He landed in Circle yesterday and I can only imagine that he is headed towards Fairbanks to meet the leading mushers tomorrow morning. It is strange not to have had a newspaper update from him yesterday or today... I'll be eager to pick up tomorrow's news :)

A frost-bitten toe for Dawson's famous Sour Toe Cocktail. It is a shot that you need to drink down with the toe in it. You don't drink the toe, but in order for you to receive a prized certificate it must touch your lips! I'm not sure if Marcel took up the challenge, but he took this photo of it! Eww!

View of Dawson City from the sky.

Marcel's sweet ride. All the media and even some dropped dogs needed to be transported this way!

View of the Yukon River.

Airport Shuttle service via the Mayor of Eagle

The Eagle Library was closed for a couple of days and made into the YQ Media Headquarters. Yes, it is heated by woodstove!

Keep the peace in Eagle and don't speed!

 

Caricatures of the Quest part II

  Day 5 of the Yukon Quest and the race is starting to spread out a bit. Just as Hugh Neff left Dawson City after his mandatory 40 hour layover, number 18 and 19 (Rob Cooke and Matt Failor) were coming into town ready for a long rest. There are four other mushers still on their way to Dawson City. An airplane has gone out to take a look at where they all are on the trail and make sure they are doing okay. Snowmobiles are on hand if someone needs help in the middle of the bush. The hope is that they will all make it to Dawson by tomorrow (Friday) morning. Meanwhile, Hugh Neff is well on his way to redeeming his prize of four onces of gold. As the first into Dawson City, he needs to finish the race to Fairbanks before he is given the $6,700 bonus. Hugh left at 5 am this morning (thursday) and is supposed to arrive in Eagle around midnight. Now for some more caricatures:

Jake Berkowitz- Twenty-six year-old Jake Berkowitz has been running dogs for eight years and is steadily rising to the top. He is originally from Michigan, but now lives in Big Lake, Alaska. His 3 month pregnant wife, Robyn, is following him along on the Quest. He is a veteran musher and this year he brought two teams with him to the Quest. He hired a guy named Markus Ingebretsen from Norway to run his "B" team. After the Quest, he is going to combine the best sled dogs from both teams to put together a super team for the Iditarod in March. He is currently within the top three mushers and has high hopes for a successful race. Unfortunately, this afternoon, one of his dogs, General, was taken from Dawson City to Whitehorse by Vet-Ambulance and died on the way.



Markus taking a rest while warming by the fire.

Markus Ingebretsen- An adventurer with an enthusiastic spirit, Markus Ingebretsen sounds a lot like my friend Rachel R. This rookie musher (one year of mushing) has been impressing his boss, Jake Berkowitz, since August when they first met. Markus just returned from an attempt to sail around the world when he applied to the dog mushing job Berkowitz posted on the internet. Markus was planning on doing a long expedition along the Northwest Passage using skis and a dog, but due to the Quest, those plans have been delayed until next year. I hope he can keep up his amazing rookie performance once he meets the tough climbs of the second half of the race. Markus is currently in 6th place.  



Lance Mackey- "Lance Mackay is one of the most decorated mushers in Quest history" (Whitehorse Star). He won his rookie Quest race in 2005 and then went on to win three more in succession. (2006, 2007, 2008). He also became the first musher to win both the Yukon Quest and Alaskan Iditarod in the same year and then did that again a second year (2007-8)! He appears a true outdoorsman- fierce husky eyes, weathered skin and face, not to mention his missing finger and large scar on the side of his neck. He is missing his index finger on his (left?) hand due to frostbite (or so the rumour goes) and his neck scar is from a battle with cancer- one he says was much harder to fight than any dogsledding race. Check out his livestrong video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4itoaTozjg
Last year, Lance had a mostly female team and apparently many of his dogs went into heat during the race and so he had to drop them and ended up only in third. He was striving to get back into the winners circle this year by recreating his team with only male dogs. However, his race started rough when a number of his dogs weren't eating and he had to drop (leave them at a checkpoint) four, disadvantaging him greatly in the race to Dawson City. Today, after a difficult trek with only seven dogs to Dawson City, he scratched himself from the race for the health of his dogs.




  Ed Abrahamson and Kelley Griffin have also left the race. Ed left not because of the weakness of his dogs, but admittedly his own weakness. Kelley was doing really well, but had to stop due to the health of some of her dogs.

 Marcel flew to Eagle Alaska today in a little float plane and I'm glad to report he has still been able to text me sporadically. I'm so glad we can communicate. I picked up the newspaper this afternoon and was pleased to see some great photos on the front page and inside as well as some great Quest updates. The Star photographer that was with him has now come back to Whitehorse, and from now on Marcel is reporter/photographer. He seems to have found a rythmn. Here is one of his stories about the perilous trail ahead due to the warm weather and then subsequent snowfall north of Dawson.

http://www.whitehorsestar.com/archive/story/mushers-face-a-historically-perilous-trail/

  I also recently realized that if you like Yukon Quest Official Site (2013) on Facebook, you will get the updates in your newsfeed as well as some of the photo albums of checkpoints and race action. It's pretty cool.

Caricatures of the Yukon Quest Part 1

  Today I'll highlight some of the characters on the Quest.


1) Fan Favourite and 2012 Champion Hugh Neff: Hugh grew up in Chicago, Il and now resides in Tok, Alaska. His occupation is listed as motivational speaker/dog musher and he is known for his school tours where he advocates for literacy and accomplishing your dreams! Last year he completed the race in his token Cat in the Hat hat and this year he began the race donning it as well. Hugh's kennel's motto is: Its all about the dogs. About his lead dog, Walter, he says "Walter's my heart and soul." He is a goldmine of Yukon Quest quotes and loves the freedom, adventure, and energy of the Quest. He is currently in the lead and will likely win the four-ounce golden prize presented to the first musher in to Dawson City valued at $6,700.


2) Allen Moore: Not far behind is 55 year-old Allen Moore. Last year, he almost won the race, but Hugh gained on him in the last hour and won by 26 seconds! This year, Moore is very motivated to make up those seconds. His wife, Aliy Zirkle, is running the YQ300 simultaneously and is known as the first and only woman to win the Yukon Quest 1000.   He is from Two Rivers, Alaska and what he loves most about the race is the bond that takes place between dogs and musher.




3) Rob Cooke- One of my favourites, is the Englishman, Rob Cooke. Marcel wrote an article about Rob and very quickly realized the significance of this race for Rob and his wife, Louise. Rob is retired aircraft engineer from the UK and he moved to Canada because of the very dream of dogsledding in the Yukon Quest. He moved to New Brunswick and quickly realized it was not the dog-mushing capital of Canada, however, he developed his team there after buying a zoo. Check out the interesting article Marcel wrote about this guy here: http://www.whitehorsestar.com/archive/story/we-bought-a-zoo-the-story-of-musher-rob-cooke/
 His lead dogs left the chute dressed in the UK flag while Rob enthusiastically punched the air three times to show his utmost excitment that this decade-long dream had finally come true! I hope his first Yukon Quest 1000 (he has done the 300) experience is all he has hoped it would be! 

4) Susan Rogan- Whitehorse native, Susan Rogan, is one of 6 women on the Quest and she is doing so well! I underestimated her! She got started dogsledding by skijoring, a sport I would love to try (skiing with dogs!). She is 46 and her motto is "now or never". She said she "would regret not trying and her goal is to give it her best shot!" She is in the top ten currently so I'd say she is doing her best! I love her answer to the question: What do you love most about running sled dogs? "Setting out on adventure with the dogs like pirates on the high sea. The sense of exploration on different levels. The volunteers in the checkpoints amaze me, I feel true gratitude when I see them out there. What I love most on the surface changes all the time, but the constant is that I love the dogs most of all. They are magic in motion. " I also love that her sponsor is Bear Paw Quilting and they gave her a quilt :)

  5) Abbie West- This girl reminds me of one of my great friends, Andrea D. Yep. At the Musher's Banquet she stood in front of the mic kind of nervously, but with so much cuteness and spunk. She is known for her bright blue jacket and when she was released from the chute, fans heard her yelling "Get me out there!!!" She makes me giggle. Her kennel is named "Cosmic-Canines" because her dogs are "outta this world!" (see- giggle!) Hence, all of her dogs are named after stars, moons, planets... and even star-wars characters! Although she is a bartender by trade, mushing has been a childhood dream of hers. Her experience as a veteran musher also makes her consistent- not at the head of the pack, but just following behind inconspicuously. She is 11th place currently and when I see that she is steadily moving along a silent cheer inside my heart springs forth. To answer the question what she loves most about mushing, she answers emphatically: "The dogs! The adventure!" I'd love to know more about this 39 year-old, Alaska outdoorswoman.








*All the information was gleaned through the Whitehorse Star as well as the 2013 Yukon Quest Race Annual. All pictures were found through google images.


  As for Marcel. Thankfully, we've been able to communicate through our iphones- not texting- (his phone doesn't work out of Whitehorse)- but through internet messaging. When he has a moment he'll write me a little note-- "got three hours of sleep last night", "in Braeburn", "had cabbage soup today", "thanks for being my #1 Twitter fan"... etc. etc.
  This afternoon I was very excited to head to the Star and pick up the newspaper because I was very curious as to what his days on the trail have been like and what kind of writing he was doing on so little sleep. I was suprised to read five articles by him on pages 2-4 with some great photos by the Star photographer. I wish all the articles were online so I could post links to them all, but you have to pay for an online subscription to see all of them. I'm not usually such a proud, bragging wife, but I just can't believe how well written these last five articles have been, especially considering the amount of sleep he has had. Marcel has a gift of stringing together all the details, quotes, and information into well-documented stories that fans back home can visualize. Praise the Lord for this gift; I'm glad that God has also blessed him with opportunities like this to hone and develop it.
  And finally, if I have to be away from him for two weeks (I know, not that long, but still...) then to be able to pick up the newspaper every day and read about what he has been able to experience is a nice trade-off :)  

And they're off! Yukon Quest 2013 Begins!

 Well, they are off! It was an incredible experience to watch twenty-six teams of mushers and their dogs jolt out of the starting chute of the 2013 Yukon Quest here in Whitehorse! Seeing it all first-hand just gets my heart pumping and my eyes wide open to catch all the action! I especially enjoyed having the inside scoop on some of the history and personalities of the Questers due to all the pre-Quest action here in Whitehorse. Every day this past week there have been presentations and vignettes (videos played) at The Old Firehall. There is also an excellent YQ exhibit at the MacBride Museum that I recalled facts from, plus the Musher’s Banquet on Thursday was entertaining and informative, and I had the opportunity to read the YQ supplement that Marcel and his coworkers created for this past Friday’s newspaper which have all contributed to the anticipation of this morning’s big start!

  There is so much to say! Last Saturday, Marcel and I went out to Annie Lake so that he could cover a thirty mile dog sled race. It was a frigid -25 degrees and so we bundled right up and brought a thermos of hot chocolate on the 1 hour drive. As soon as we arrived, we could hear where all the action was by the barking of the dogs, raring to head out on the trail! This event included dog sledding and skijoring (skiing assisted by dog(s)). We entered the rustic cabin of the Annie Lake Community Center which was full of excited outdoorsmen and women. The smell of fresh baked goods and warm soup filled our nostrils and the buzz of English as well as many European languages hummed above the wooden picnic tables. After talking to the race marshal, we learned that about 15 km down the road there was a spot where the dogs crossed the road and headed towards Annie Lake to do a loop and then head back to the finish line at the community center so we got back in our warm vehicle and booted it up the road. We passed more snowmobiles on the way to the photo-spot than cars!

  A couple of volunteer firewomen were doing jumpjacks and strange dance-moves to try to keep themselves warm when we arrived at the location. They had an oldschool ambulance running and took turns taking breaks inside it all day while making sure the road was clear for the mushers. Marcel and I hiked out down the trail through the snow to try and position ourselves for some good rustic shots. We could hear the firewomen shouting and then we knew a sled was on its way. We quickly took off our mittens and got out our cameras ready for the shot. It was actually not that stressful, but pretty peaceful to watch the sleds come up over the road and then turn towards the lake for the halfway point of the race. The skijorers were my favourite… they were breathing hard as they skate skied down the trail and the moisture from their breath created little icicles on the hair popping out of their tuques or on their beards. Here are some photos of the event:  

Its a dog's world out here.

Marcel interviewing a racer. Check out the cool dog trucks and sleds!

Marcel in action photographing the teams as they mush by!

 

  One problem Marcel faced while out photographing the event was that his glasses would fog up if he covered his nose with his scarf so he just endured the cold so he could see and get a good snapshot of the event. However, later that day his nose started tingling and it didn’t stop for three days. He also developed a white spot on his nose that later turned brown and then began to peel. Frostnip is our diagnosis… just a taste of frostbite. He has been putting polysporin on it (when in doubt – put on the poly!) and it is looking a lot better now, but at least he’s learned to take his contacts on the Quest! Don’t worry Mom VW- he also bought a much warmer face mask!

  Thursday night we attended the Yukon Quest Musher’s Start Banquet. There is one at the end in Fairbanks as well. I’m thankful that I had the opportunity to go with Marcel. At first, I didn’t even know what to wear to the banquet! Coworkers of Marcel told me to wear Carharts and boots. I ended up wearing leggings and a nice long tunic shirt with a scarf (not a winter scarf, a fashion silk scarf) and I was way overdressed. I should’ve gone with the Sorels, jeans, a fleece sweater, and maybe a Speelman’s tuque. J The food was delicious, there were a number of speeches, a lot of thank yous to sponsors, the Sourdough CanCan Dancers performed (there is a great photo at the Whitehorse Star website), and of course the Musher Start Draw Ceremony!

The Sourdough CanCan Dancers

  The Start Draw Ceremony was my favourite part because after each musher was called forward to draw their start number out of a colourful Sorel boot, they had an opportunity to speak. During their short speech, the crowd was able to get to know them, see their face, and then look  in the Race Annual to see what they wrote as their goals and reasons for racing were. I thought I would be able to come out of the banquet with a clear favourite, but there are just too many to favourite! There are 26 mushers total, four are from the Yukon and there are six women racing.  Here are some race start photos:

I think all of Whitehorse came out to line the chute from Shipyards Park to the Yukon River. There was excitement in the air!

Volunteers hold back the dogs as their musher speaks to each one and rubs them down before heading out on the trail. Some of these dogs were leaping out of the starting chute!

Marcel blowing a bubble, chilling beside Canada's first ever winner of the Yukon Quest Race, Frank Turner. He now runs tour groups to dogsled and camp out in places to watch the racers pass by during this epic week. (not the best shot of Frank- he is a really great guy- and a goldmine for Yukon Quest quotes for Marcel)

After the race is over, Marcel poses with Echo and Pixie- two of the Yukon Quest official staff that he is headed on the trail with.  

Photographers line the chute to try and get epic shots as the dogs are released from the starting line.

I see this guy in Tim Hortons all the time and I've always wanted a picture of his amazing hat! Today was my lucky day. His name is Julian and he has just about the best hat I've ever seen!

 

 

 

  If you would like to follow the mushers on their route there is live tracking on the Yukon Quest website. Click here: http://www.yukonquest.com/site/live-tracking/. The mushers are already well on their way and expect to make it to Dawson City on around Tuesday. Marcel texted me last night and he slept in the car for a bit, but then his photographer's snores became too loud so he went back to a table and began typing away again. Today, I imagine they are on their way from Braeburn to McCabe Creek and then Pelly Crossing.

  Over the next few days I'll try and give a picture of who some of the mushers are and why you should be cheering for them!