Yukon Quest Pooper Scoop

SCROGGIE CREEK SPECIAL EDITION - While Twister racers enjoyed the sun on Valentine's Day, league regular Jocelyn LeBlanc was between Dawson City and Scroggie Creek in her rookie run of the Yukon Quest 1000-mile international sled dog race.

She'd scrambled to get to the start in Fairbanks. "If she makes it to Dawson, she'll get home," said Pierre Duc, who helped build the plywood palace at Scroggie Creek. By the time Jocelyn arrived, it was a certainty. Here she pulls in from the banks of the Stewart River.

Part of what puts the front runners up front is their efficiency at each stop. The faster the dogs are snacked and sleeping, the more rest they get and the sooner the musher can take a load off, too. Jocelyn was by far the smoothest musher in the dog yard, up there with leaders Hans Gatt, Lance Mackey and Hugh Neff. "I learned from Sebastian," she said referring to former Quest champ Sebastian Schnuelle who's been clocked at two minutes to bed his team at Braeburn.

During her eight hour rest at Scroggie, Jocelyn spoke about race qualifiers. She recognized when she was at the 300 mile point, but there was so much to do on the trail, she didn't have time to reflect. "It's a huge leap from three hundred miles to a thousand," she said. "Nothing prepares you."
Below, vet Gary Kuchinka follows up on Jocelyn's dog care while she tends the team.


Jocelyn arrived ninety minutes ahead of Terry Williams, a Fairbanks rookie she'd travelled with through the Black Hills. About the potential battle for the red lantern, she said, "I'm not slowing down just to get the red lantern." Rather, "I just hope my friends are there at the end."



Although one Quest is enough for Jocelyn, if she did bootie up for another start, it would be with 10 dogs rather than 14. "That was just crazy, all those booties." She found the extra work didn't result in extra speed.
The Quest is a learning experience for every rookie, and the lesson Jocelyn learned by Scroggie was that with a bit of work in harness, she could have kept two dogs she'd dropped in Dawson.



Instead these two, below, led the smallest string out of Scroggie Creek. Her seven stalwarts pulled over half the total distance.





Here's the team in the last minute of daylight on the Takhini. Twister regulars Gaeten Pierrard and Mike Simon wave from the sidelines.
Four hours later Jocelyn crossed the finish line to the welcome she'd hoped for from fans and friends.










On the way, Jocelyn changed her mind about the red lantern. Richard Gordon of Gwichin Council bestowed the honour awarded to the last musher out on the trail. "I'll never put fuel in this," Jocelyn said. She also took home the Challenge of the North for the spirit she showed throughout the 26th Yukon Quest.













posted by Jessica Simon, yukonwriter@lycos.com
photos and video Jessica and Mike Simon