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| Frank's team leaving the start line
chute in the 2003 Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race. |
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Central to Angel Creek
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Central to Angel Creek |
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| Central is a critical checkpoint, just 200 miles from the
finish line. But between Central and the finish line, the teams
will have to travel over some of the toughest sections of the
entire trail. From Central, teams head out along a bush trail
to Crooked Creek. From there the trail moves onto Mammoth Creek,
then onto Miller Creek. All of these creeks can have overflow
and glaciation, so the mushers have to be very careful and attentive.
Miller Creek takes the mushers into a valley and the base of
the trail up to Eagle Summit.
When the race goes in this direction, from Whitehorse to
Fairbanks, the ascent is very steep and challenging, especially
for the final few hundred meters. Once over the summit, team
have a long, slow descent, and the descending trail is easily
seen from viewpoints along the Steese Highway. This is helpful
only when teams are crossing in the daylight, of course.
The trail finally winds its way into Mile 101, a cluster
of cabins on the side of the Steese Highway, where the Quest
sets up a dog drop. The volunteers at this dog drop are well-known
for their great service and support, and for their hospitality.
After the teams leave Mile 101 Dog Drop, they travel along
Birch Creek, through a valley leading towards Boulder and
Rosebud Summits. On both summits, the terrain is steep, and
if snow conditions are poor, this section of trail can be
very challenging.
After the summits, the trail drops down again into a valley,
and leads into the final checkpoint, Angel Creek. |
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Central & Steese Roadhouse |
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Central is a very small, isolated community, 150 miles northeast
of Fairbanks. To reach Central by road, you have to drive the
Steese Highway which goes over the same Eagle Summit that the
Quest Mushers must climb. The road is often closed by severe
weather ·snow and wind can create ferocious white-out
conditions at the higher levels of the pass. Even the large
snow plows do not cross the summit in such conditions.
The checkpoint used to always be set up in the famous Crabb's
Corners, a local restaurant run by Jim and Sandy Crabb. The
restaurant is now run by their daughter and son-in-law, Beth
and xx Miller.
Overall, Steese Roadhouse/Crabb's Corners is one of the best
checkpoints along the race route. In addition to the great
hospitality, and excellent food, the checkpoint volunteers
do an excellent job on the dog lot, using snow machines to
create parking lanes that are well spaced. They deliver the
mushers' supplies to each and every team, and there is always
a reliable supply of hot water and fuel, as well as a laundromat.
Many of the volunteers have helped the race for many years.
For these reasons the mushers look forward to Central every
year. |
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| Steese Roadhouse, formerly known as Crabb's Corner,
in Central, Alaska. |
The dog lot beside the Steese Roadhouse. |
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Central to Eagle Summit |
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From Central, the trail weaves through the forest in the valley,
following Crooked Creek for about 15 miles. The trail then crosses
the Steese Highway and follows Mammoth Creek and Miller Creek
for about 7 miles through the bush and a series of mining camps.
These three creeks are all susceptible to overflow and glaciation,
making this section of trail challenging.
At this point, the trail emerges out of the trees onto the
lower slopes of Eagle Summit. The climb up Eagle Summit is
probably the most challenging stretch of trail in the Quest.
The ascent begins with a steady winding climb. The final 300
meters is extremely steep, and mushers are essentially pushing
their sleds above their heads, often moving upwards on their
hands and knees. Generally this is not a stretch where teams
can stop. However, on a number of occasions, teams have run
into difficulties and quit, stopping for many hours before
they would go on.
Teams quit when they are either physically or mentally tired,
or when weather conditions are difficult. Mushers must wait
until their team is ready to move again, or until another
team goes by so that they can follow (following is always
easier than going out ahead or alone on the trail). Whether
a team has a difficult ascent or an uneventful trip to the
summit, every musher is relieved to make it to the top. |
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Eagle Summit to Mile 101 Dog Drop |
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When the race runs from Fairbanks toward Whitehorse, the toughest
part of Eagle Summit is not the climb, but the descent, for
the steepest slope is on the eastern side (closest to Central).
And, as with people, dogs are at greater risk of injury when
running downhill. The trail is quite steep and has a number
of corners where dogs or mushers can step off the packed trail
into deep snow · such a misstep can cause a shoulder
injury. If a sled hits a corner too fast, or at the wrong angle,
the whole sled can slip into deep snow, tip, or even flip right
over ·360 degrees! As you can imagine, such spills are
no fun for the musher and can put added strain on the dogs ·not
to mention the risk of losing supplies (thermoses seem the most
likely to spill out). Fortunately, the descent is not as steep
on the western (Mile 101) side, so teams can descend steadily.
At this point, there are several vantage points along the
Steese Highway where race followers can see the teams making
their way down the huge mountain ·they look like tiny
ants in a row at that distance. The trail from Eagle Summit
down to Mile 101 is just 7 miles, and the descent can take
less than an hour in ideal conditions, longer if there is
wind or snow.
The trail down to Mile 101 meanders through the wide valley
following Eagle Creek. Along the creek, there are many placer
mining operations that are still active. The mushers pass
many of those cabins on the way from Eagle Summit to Mile
101. |
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Mile 101 Dog Drop |
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This Dog Drop is located in a cluster of old cabins, seldom
used now, located at Mile 101 on the Steese Highway. Volunteers,
with the help of corporate sponsorship, set up hospitality for
the mushers ·and indeed, the food and support here are
usually excellent! The main cabin is quite tiny, but volunteers,
mushers and veterinarians somehow manage to move around to dry
their clothes, get a bite to eat, and get a bit of rest.
The area around Mile 101 is often covered with overflow,
which sometimes refreezes. This results in a field of glare
ice ·not great for the teams to drive on or rest on.
As well, the area is very open; often it is quite windy, sometimes
very windy. In such conditions, if they are not sheltered,
the dogs do not rest very well. But if it is not windy, it
can be a fine place to rest. |
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Frank and the team driving into
Mile 101 during Quest 2001
Notice the overflow and glare ice! |
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Boulder & Rosebud Summits |
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From the Mile 101 Dog Drop, the trail parallels the Steese Highway
for about seven miles, before turning onto the upper reaches
of Birch Creek, and back into the forest, where they will have
more little shelter than you can find around Mile 101. Mushers
often encounter overflow along the creek drainage. One year,
overflow flooded the field where Quest teams normally park,
and also flooded the cabin used for the checkers and vets. The
whole parking area and dog drop had to be moved several hundred
meters further along the trail.
The trail then ascends for about five miles towards two more
significant summits. The mushers and their dogs wind back
and forth along several switchbacks, as they climb up to the
first of those summits, Rosebud. While not as high as Eagle
Summit, Rosebud is above treeline and very exposed to weather,
so teams often face difficult weather and trail conditions.
Once over Rosebud, teams will down a gradual slope, as the
trail dips down into a saddle before climbing up to another
summit, Boulder Summit. If there is a lot of snow, the climb
can be slow and difficult. |
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Boulder to Angel Creek |
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The summit of Boulder is about 20 miles out of Angel Creek,
the final checkpoint. The trail down from Boulder Summit is
extremely steep, and the wind in this area can be brutal. At
this stage into the race, when mushers and
their dogs are
tired, mushers have to be very careful to handle descents
cautiously and at a steady pace.
From the base of Boulder, the trail winds through the spruce
forest, crossing numerous creeks along the way, then follows
the north fork of the Chena River into Angel Creek. The trail
can be relatively good, unless there have been variable weather
condition. In that case, many of the smaller creeks will have
a lot of glaciation, and mushers will have to cross those
small glaciers carefully, sometimes tipping their sleds over
on the side and riding across the bottom of the glacier up
against some trees. It can be tricky, but it is safer than
trying to ride the runners across the sloping glare ice. |
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