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MACKEY GRABS THE
GOLD ARRIVING FIRST IN DAWSON
Feb15, 2008
It was a long morning of waiting at the Dawson City Checkpoint,
but it was worth it. Three-time Champion Lance Mackey
glided into town just a minute after 1p.m. with 12 dogs
in harness and one in his basket. Spectators, who began
gathering at the checkpoint before 5 a.m., stampeded from
the building when the call came, “team spotted!”
The faded red glow of Mackey’s parka gradually came
into focus as he traveled down the Yukon River and finally
onto Front Street and into the cheering throng. Mackey
was chatty and alert, and very hungry. He joked that he’d
use his four ounces of gold nuggets—his winnings
for arriving first at the halfway point—on matching
jewelry to a nugget stud on his earlobe, part of his winnings
from another Yukon Quest. No sooner did the celebrity
musher whisk his team off to the dog yard with his wife
and dog handler, Tonya, when “team spotted!”
rang out again. Ken Anderson, who Mackey claimed he hadn’t
seen more than eight hours earlier in Fortymile, breezed
into town just 33 minutes later. His yellow sunglasses
couldn’t hide his swollen and sleepy eyes. He tried
to sound upbeat, but he was tired. The brilliant white
snow he’d been facing for so many hours had taken
its toll. He said he had a difficult time coping with
so much light. Both mushers reported a difficult trail
the whole way to Dawson City. Mackey said most races allowed
him to sit in his sled for awhile to rest. This year,
he got knocked out whenever he tried. The terrain slowed
him down by four hours compared to his time in 2006. “I’ve
done it a lot faster than this,” Mackey laughed.
The two can relax now for 36 hours, the mandatory layover
time in Dawson City for all Yukon Quest competitors. The
scattered Start times from Fairbanks will be corrected
at their departure from Dawson City. Anderson will leave
seven minutes after Mackey in the wee hours Saturday.
Michelle Phillips and Dave Dalton are expected to arrive
next in Dawson City. The two stopped this morning at Fortymile
and have not left.
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