Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Big D Has Left The Glacier
I recently drove down to Washington D.C. While planning the trip I made sure I had my cell phone, money, credit cards, change of clothes, GPS and for good measure took a printed copy of the directions with me just in case. I made out a checklist that also included changing the oil in the car and filling up with gas before setting out. I also threw an extra winter coat, hat and gloves in the car as a precaution in case I became stranded in the frigid 40 degree temperatures. The trip all told was about 1,000 miles round trip, which figured to be approximately 16 hours of driving on the most direct route. I had planned on staying over upon arrival and returning the following day but as it turned out, I decided to do it all in one stretch, meaning in a span of 24 hours I drove 16 of them, stopping for a break only a couple of times on each leg of the journey. This included going around New York City, which I figured would be too stressful. The next day after returning home I called several friends to tell them of my marathon. They all thought I was crazy, but impressed that I had completed such a feat.
I didn't tell Big D however. You see, the Big D, Dave Dalton, is not easily impressed. On February 6, Dave will be going on his own 1,000 mile trip that will take him over Alaskan tundra, through snow covered forest and over some of the highest mountains in the world. He will be entering the Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race for the 16th time in 22 years of mushing.
For those who don't know Dave Dalton, he is one of our original Wahey Boys who moved to Alaska and owns a nice piece of property up there in Healy where he raises mush dogs, is a professional musher and when he's not doing that, he gives tours of the glacier fields up around Juneau.
The Yukon Quest, the sister of the well known Iditerod Sled Race, begins in Fairbanks, Alaska and heads north along the Yukon River crossing into the Yukon Territory of Canada, finishing at a town called Whitehorse, Yukon. It is run during the height of the Arctic winter and temperatures can reach 40 below with winds sometimes reaching 100 miles per hour. Often compared to the Iditarod, they are two very different races, each with their own hazards and tests of stamina, but more than anything, part of the Quest's reputation is stressing the care and protection of the real stars of the show, the dogs.
Go to Dave's web site or the Yukon Quest site for more information and to show your support.
I guess my trip's not so special after all.
POSTED BY STAN on January 26, 2010
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