Starting a 12-day Yukon Quest tour
n Wednesday, I began a tour based around the Yukon Quest sled dog race. Organized by Journeys by Jerry Van Dyke, it will take a group of 16 people, mostly from Ontario, from Whitehorse to Skagway and Haines and then to Dawson City for 3 nights during the race’s mandatory 36-hour layover.
Over the past few days I’d gotten a lot of gear ready for the group, and had our 2 vans and luggage trailer at the Whitehorse airport for their arrival at 3:05 Wednesday afternoon. It was a superb day to start showing off the territory!
Our first outing was the Yukon Quest’s Meet the Mushers event at the Mount McIntyre Recreation Centre on Wednesday evening. There was a great turnout, and wonderful energy to start this exciting tour off on the right foot. Getting all the mushers to sign a program or poster was a big part of that event for many. All of our guests sponsored a musher of their choice, and all joined the 1,000 Mile Club, which, for $350, includes a special Yukon Quest 1,000 Mile Club jacket. This is not a superficial look at the race, we’re getting right into it 🙂
While the mushers met their fans inside, the business of taking care of the dogs continued outside in the parking lot with the temperature at -34°C (-29°F). The volunteer dog handlers are a huge part of this race.
We spent a few hours seeing Whitehorse on Thursday. Our final stop was the Yukon Transportation Museum, which opened up for us, and gave the folks a good look at how people got around the territory in days past, including seeing the importance of dogs in that.
The airplane hanging in the main exhibit hall is a replica of a Ryan B-1 monoplane called “Queen of the Yukon”. She was sister ship to the “Spirit of St. Louis” that Charles Lindbergh used for the first non-stop transatlantic flight in 1927. The original “Queen of the Yukon” was destroyed in a crash at Whitehorse on May 5, 1928.
On Thursday night, we joined over 400 other people at the Yukon Quest Start Banquet. This is when the starting positions and bib numbers are pulled. Of course, the dogs are close by and well taken care of.
This group of young fiddlers, members of Fiddleheads, entertained us with some great music before the bib draws. Journeys by Jerry Van Dyke sponsored bib #3, which was drawn by Normand Casavant, a 51-year-old Yukon Quest veteran from Whitehorse.
On Friday, we were scheduled to go dog sledding on Lake Laberge with Cathers Adventures. That despite this weather forecast and many comments online about staying inside and keeping pets indoors! That story is the next post.
Arctic gear had been rented for each of our guests to make this adventure possible. Here, well-dressed Ned Cathers stands by to assist in the fairly lengthy process of getting prepared.
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