Just killing time...

Hey - what's the big deal!?!? Quest-Shmest....we could do that....


Yeah....riiiiight!!! Happy Gracie, and slacker Harris sprawled on the couch. Believe it or not, 3 of his brothers are on Turner's team this year....haha!

Darren got some great shots of Freking's team at the start - here's one for you Siberian lovers:


And - some interesting stuff on the run to Dawson from Darren:

Thursday morning here and it has been over 36 hrs since we’ve heard any solid news (Pelly Out Times). It was usual that people following the Quest were always in the dark about the 200+ mile run from Pelly to Dawson – but in the past few years news from Stepping Stone and Scroggie was pretty good and allowed the spectators some times to figure out what was going on. This year is harkening back to those earlier years where contact was erratic… somewhat frustrating.

I have heard several unofficial times, including what seem to unusually long run times to Stepping Stone? Lots can change on this run, remember it was 260 miles to Pelly from Whitehorse and now almost the same distance again to Dawson. The lead changed up a few times on the way to Pelly and it can also change on the way to Dawson.

Also a small note on the race: Somewhere along the trail to Dawson is the “wall” – like people talk about the wall in marathon running races – the “wall” here is for the dogs and the musher. It tends to affect the teams that have no experience at >250 mile races and can vary in consequences. In the worst case the team shuts down and challenges the musher get them to continue on (re-started). Apparently, once the team perks up again, the musher will be driving a team of “new” dogs – a type of team they will not have seen before or in training. I am summarizing comments made by race judge Joe May in 2003 when he were explaining to us what might be happening on the trail from Pelly to Dawson with over-due mushers.

-dh