Rough trail conditions and stormy weather have prompted officials to alter the Yukon Quest Alaska 750 race trail to bypass the village of Tanana. Now the route will go directly to Manley from Rampart.
Meanwhile, the field is down to 4 mushers after defending champion Jeff Deeter dropped out Friday at the Yukon River Bridge checkpoint.
The Fairbanks musher said a shortage of trail markers on the river contributed to the decision, but that his team has also struggled with a stomach bug. Deeter, who was down to nine dogs, said some of them will be part of his team for next month’s Iditarod.
“I feel like we can call it now and have had a positive experience, but if we go another 300 miles to the finish, the team will be kind of at their bottom,” he said. “They will finish, but I don’t think they’ll go on to Iditarod.”
The Quest’s route and distance have varied since the international thousand-mile race was last held in 2020. Organizers have been vocal this past year about stabilizing the race and sticking to the 750-mile format.
Despite some of the challenges navigating the Yukon River, Deeter said he wants to run the trail again.
“Marking has been the thing that, of course, has come up – and will continue to come up. There’s just not been markers,” he said. “In terms of logistical challenges, that’s one of the easiest things to solve in the future.”
Deeter’s scratch bumped fellow Fairbanks musher Jonah Bacon up to second place. Bacon and a dozen dogs made it to the Yukon River Bridge at Milepost 56 of the Dalton Highway at 6 a.m. Friday morning.
A white blister still stood out on the musher’s frostbitten big toe, a relic of the intense cold earlier in the race. But he said it’s healing up OK.
“It’s gotten better every day since. It’s no longer painful or sore or anything,” he said.
Bacon’s arrival at 6 a.m. started the clock on his 24-hour mandatory layover.
“Gonna eat like a ton, couple thousand calories, couple burritos, some soup, some sandwiches, some cake,” he said.
Outside in the dog yard, Bacon’s team curled up in an open-ended tent. Eric Straley, his handler, said the tent reminded him of the lengthy layovers at Dawson City during the old 1,000-mile races.
“It’s kind of old-school Yukon Quest,” he said. “I think they would be just as happy to sit outside, but they like it.”
The only musher ahead of Bacon is Quest frontrunner Josi Shelley, who’s built a big lead.
Behind Bacon are father and son Jason and Patrick Mackey, who are still pulling up the rear of the race about a day off Bacon’s pace.