Bill Pinkham, Veteran
Glenwood Springs, Colorado
Photo: Carol Falcetta
One of the reasons I chose a dog theme for this month is that February is when the toughest dog sled race in the world, the Yukon Quest, takes place. This year, the Yukon Quest runs from Fairbanks to Whitehorse, a thousand miles along “historic Gold Rush and Mail Delivery dog sled routes from the turn of the 20th Century” at a time when
weather conditions can be the coldest and sometimes the most unpredictable of the year. The Yukon Quest race starts on schedule regardless of weather and lasts from 10 to 16 days until the final dog team arrives at the Finish Line, depending on weather and trail conditions.
The race began this past Saturday with twenty-four dog teams. Already two of the twenty-four teams are out of the race. One was withdrawn by officials “for failing to provide the dog care expected of a Yukon Quest participant”; and the other, Whitehorse’s own Frank Turner, a race veteran who has run 24 out of the 25 Yukon Quest races, dropped out because of the race’s physical demands on his aging body. Turner, who is 60, said,
it has been getting increasingly difficult each year to cope with the race’s physical demands. “It’s just not me anymore.”
He would not rule out running again next year, but said his wife “should divorce me if I run again.”
For more information on The Yukon Quest, visit the Yukon Quest website.