RACING TO THE BRINK IN YUKON RIVER QUEST STORY AND PHOTOS BY ALISON WOOD


Sharp, craggy rocks jut out from a dense line of trees along the shore. As we travel slowly by motorboat up and down Lake Laberge, we are encased in raw, natural history—brought to life by our guide, Mark Stenzig, who recites Te Cremation of Sam McGee by Robert Service.


I


“…But the queerest they ever did see Was that night on the marge of Lake Lebarge I cremated Sam McGee.”


If there is a more fitting introduction to the Yukon, I can’t think of one. It’s day two of al- most a weeklong adventure covering Te 11th annual Yukon River Quest (YRQ): Race to the Midnight Sun—an epic 740-kilometre ca-


36 ADVENTURE KAYAK | EARLY SUMMER 2010


am surrounded by beauty. Te still aqua water lies like a sheet of smooth glass, stretching farther than the eye can see.


noe and kayak race beginning in Whitehorse and ending in Dawson City. I’ve travelled 5,500 kilometres from Toron-


to to be here with a handful of other media. But racers have come from across the globe to take part in what is the longest race of its kind. Some seasoned veterans arrive well in advance to rest and set up, aided by friends and family. Others cut it fine, like the teams I am follow- ing, who pull in with just over a day to spare, kayaks strapped tightly to a rented SUV and no entourage in sight. I met Peter Whaley, Jamie Playfair and


Matt Gunning a few days earlier at one of the rest points in their long journey from Halifax to Whitehorse. Just three regular guys look- ing to finish the race within the four allot- ted days. Twenty hours into their drive, they are giddy with fatigue but pumped at the


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