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Carmacks Checkpoint -
2nd Checkpoint - 180 miles
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 The
village of Carmacks is located on the Klondike Highway, just
109 miles from Whitehorse, near the ancestral lands of the Little
Samon Carmacks First Nation. Named after one of the people who
discovered Klondike gold, George Washington Carmack, the community
began life as a riverboat fuelling station, and became a major
stopover on the Overland Trail from Whitehorse to Dawson.
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 Today,
it takes an hour and a half to drive there, in good conditions,
and it is still a major stopover for travellers going from Whitehorse
to Dawson – both on the highway and on the river. In the
summer, you will find that canoeist and RV-ers alike stop for
supplies, refreshment and/or fuel in Carmacks.
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 Yukon
Quest Teams, take a rather the longer route, and should reach
this checkpoint about 30 hours after leaving the start line,
with moderate weather and trail conditions. For many years,
the checkpoint was situated in the Carmacks Community Center.
Construction made that impossible two years ago, so the checkpoint
moved to the Carmacks Little Salmon First Nation community center,
on the other side of the river.
Below you can see the river
and village behind the dogs lot. In this picture, Frank has
just arrived in Carmacks (2004).
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 The
checkpoint is now a little farther from the restaurant and general
store, but the location is otherwise good for mushers and dogs.
And the local volunteers always put on great feast for Quest
mushers extend wonderful hospitality to their crews, race officials
and media.
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 Carmacks
has served many functions over the years, including trading
post, coal mining community, steam-boat-refueling stop, and
campsite. Today it is a highway service centre and the home
of the Little Salmon/ Carmacks First Nation. Carmacks is located
at the confluence of the Yukon and Nordenskiold rivers, 180
kilometres north of Whitehorse on the Klondike Highway, at its
junction with the Robert Campbell Highway.
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 The
history of the Southern and Northern Tutchone First Nations
in this area dates back more than 10,000 years, as evidenced
by many archaeological finds in the area |
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