2011 Idita-Quest

When Devan decided to run the Iditarod at age forty, I called the run his Mid-life Mush;  now that he has decided to run the Yukon Quest at age fifty some might  call it Mid-life Madness but I think maybe it should be called the Mid-life Motivation.  Running the trail from Whitehorse, Yukon to Fairbanks with our furry friends is great motivation in the midst of the cold, Alaskan winter to get off the couch and on the runners for what we hope is a fun adventure!

Now we have been down this road before as all who know Devan will observe.  This time I think it is for real and since his buddy, Allen, signed up for Quest as well he (Devan)  has added motivation to get to the start line. I hear too that the brewery in Whitehorse makes a pretty good brew.  So then the challenge may be to get him to leave the start line :)

We have enlisted help to motivate Devan.  Alyson, who helped me get to the start of Iditarod last year, has promised to handle for him during the race.  The Quest is different than the Iditarod in that most of the checkpoints are accessible by road so the race organization requires the musher to have a "Handler" who will pickup dropped dogs and clean up the straw after the musher leaves.  The handler can't do much more but I have asked Alyson to sharpen her boots in case he needs some encouragement to leave the checkpoint :)

Another big factor making the Quest possible is our handler, Misha.  She has done a great job preparing the teams this season and we have enjoyed getting to know her.  Originally from the Czech Republic, Misha has been in Alaska on and off for ten years.  She handled for Robin and Charlie Boulding for several years and more recently worked for Vern Halter.  Misha will be running the Quest 300 as part of her own plan to run the Yukon Quest in 2012.

TUNDRA

So, now we have 14 dogs entered in Quest and 12 in the Quest 300; for me this means I should have a good pool of trail tested dogs to pick from for the 2011 Iditarod!  Devan will likely be running a younger, but experienced group of dogs - the Harry Potter litter (Muggles, Merlin, Weasley, Wizard, and Hooch), the 4th of July Presidential litter (Jefferson, Adams, Abigail, and Salli), two year old star, Tundra, and a few hardcore veterans to be selected at a later date.  Misha will be running many of my 2010 Iditarod veterans such as Athena, Maya, Screamer, Screech, Pistol, Oprah, Wilma - dogs who don't need to do prove themselves again and aren't necessarily perfectly suited for the consistent cold of the Quest.  Coincidentally, Misha's group will mostly be girls while Devan's will mostly be boys making it easy for both to manage.

WIZARD

Our first race, the Sheep Mountain 150, is fast approaching and both Misha and I will field teams.  The field has many very good mushers - including 5 former Quest champions and the reigning Iditarod champ - entered so it will be a very competitive race.  This is my second time running it and I plan to be in the mix at the front of the pack.  So stay tuned and take a look at the Sheep Mountain Lodge website Dec 18 and 19.