Big D And The Quest
Our Wahey Original way up in the north country made the difficult decision to back out gracefully from this years Yukon Quest dog sled race. It appears that the Big D's dogs acquired a virus of some sort along the way and became too sick to continue. So good for him that he chose to do what's best rather than risk harming his family of mush-dogs (Is that the proper term?).
For those that don't know the Big D, he is the owner of the Dalton Gang Kennels in Healy, Alaska and for the past 20 years, his life has revolved around raising sled dogs and being a Musher. His main event is the Yukon Quest, which he has competed in since 1988 when he placed 21st out of 47 entries. Last year he placed third, winning $20,000 in prize money. The Yukon Quest is a 1,000 mile race that begins in the town of Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada and ends at Fairbanks, Alaska. It takes from 10 to 16 days to complete the course and can have up to 50 Mushers running. The race is run no matter what the weather conditions are, so it is common for racers and dogs to be subjected to sub-zero temperatures, high winds and snow storms. More familiar to most, is the similar Iditarod race that is currently underway although, if you ask a true Musher, they will tell you they're completely different types of races.
After a brief vacation for Big D and the gang, it will be back to training for next years race. Go Big D!!
POSTED BY STAN at March 26, 2009