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Central
to Circle City
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| >> Trail Description: Central
to Circle City << |
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Overview: Central to Circle City
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| From Central to Circle is one of the shortest stretches between
checkpoints for the whole race – one of the characteristics
that makes the Quest so different from the Iditarod, where there
are many checkpoints are separated by just 40 or 50 miles. The
trail runs along a road from Central out to the Circle Hotsprings,
then turns off by the airstrip. The trail goes by the airstrip,
then across Medicine Lake and a vast swampy area before turning
onto Birch Creek. From there, the trail stays on Birch Creek
all the way to Circle. |
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Central to Medicine Lake |
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| When the teams leave Central, they drive along the road for
about 9 miles, toward the Circle Hotsprings. From there they
turn left and run next to a community airstrip, then go into
scrub spruce for a few miles, before crossing Medicine Lake.
When the wind is blowing, this lake can be quite challenging,
and mushers then refer to the lake as "Bad Medicine"
Lake. One year, several teams were forced to camp on the lake
in whiteout conditions. They were stranded there until teams
who had rested longer in Central started out the next morning.
Once across the lake, the trail goes across swampland for
about 15 miles. This section of trail is very hummocky, so
mushers have to be very careful not to tip their sleds and
to help their team avoid shoulder injuries. |
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Medicine Lake to Circle City |
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This hummocky stretch of trail leads out onto Birch Creek,
and teams stay on Birch Creek the rest of the way to Circle.
The trail along the creek is relatively smooth, but the creek
is very windy and often has quite a bit of overflow. Indeed,
Birch Creek is renowned for its overflow. One year, some trailbreakers
misjudged the overflow and drove their snowmachines right
into the creek. About 15 miles along the creek, the trail
passes under a highway bridge (on the road into Circle). Crews
and media often wait at the bridge to spot for the teams on
their way into Circle. After they pass under the bridge, teams
have about 30 miles to go to reach Circle.
While the mushers are wending their way along Birch Creek,
the support crews drive the narrow winding road from Central
to Circle. The road is so windy, you can only drive about
30mph, and it is so narrow that two vehicles cannot pass --
one must pull over to allow the other to go by. Nevertheless,
the drive is picturesque, with snow covered birch and spruce
lining the road. The trees are often so heavily laden with
snow that they lean over the road, forming a lovely decorative
archway. Lovely as it is, the heavy snow makes the driving
treacherous and each year, at least one or two dog trucks
has a close encounter with a ditch on that stretch of road.
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Circle |
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Circle is quite literally the end of the road. The small
community is located on the Yukon River, and it is right at
the end of the road, the end of the phone lines. A tiny, remote
community, Circle is located on the flats of the Yukon River.
Originally, there was a lot of traffic to and through Circle
on the river. For many years, however, the road has afforded
the only access. There are only a couple hundred people in
the small town, and the main attractions are the community
firehall and a small restaurant & bar, with an even smaller
convenience store /souvenir shop.
The Quest teams park in an open area by the firehall, and
the firehall itself serves as the checkpoint, vet office,
communication hub, musher's rest area and gathering place
for the race handlers, reporters and fans. It is not unusual
to see a musher sprawled out on the bench of a picnic table,
sleeping, across from two reporters typing their news report
on laptop computers, with several team handlers napping by
the door, while race officials and vets rest nearby as they
await the arrival of the next team. Community members prepare
food, tea and coffee for the mushers and race crews.
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