The Yukon Quest is more than just a sled dog race. It was the dream of two Fairbanksans, a recreational musher and an amateur historian, who conceived of a race closer to the roots of Alaskan dog sledding. The Yukon Quest is a 1,000-mile slog through trails used only for this race that cross mountains, rivers, and lakes in some of the harshest weather on the planet.
Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race celebrates the history of the dogs that carried freight and delivered mail, dogs that many times over saved lives before the advent of aviation and snow-machines made them obsolete. The inaugural Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race of 1984 was a great success with the wholehearted support of the Fairbanks community and it has become a much-anticipated annual event ever since.
The author is donating half of her proceeds from the sale of this book to the race organization.
Highlights of Yukon Quest Sled Dog Race include:
• The photos come from newspaper coverage, private collections, and some historical photos are from the Library of Congress.
• Much of the information came from scrapbooks kept by Kathleen Shank, wife of one of the founders of the race. She collected and archived every single newspaper and magazine article, kept copies of flyers, newsletters, race annuals and start programs for the first two years.
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