Unofficial GPS results show reigning champion Brent Sass leading the Yukon Quest 2020 pack as of this update, at just over 20 miles outside of Eagle. But, he’s seeing good competition from the other top mushers: Michelle Phillips and Cody Strathe. According to official results, Phillips was in first position after leaving Circle City first Monday morning at 10:06am.
An already slim field dwindled this morning with Jason Campeau and Denis Tremblay scratching in Circle City. Campeau shared with KUAC that during the difficult descent down Eagle Summit his sled crashed, taking a tumble that caused injuries to some of his dogs. Here he speaks with KUAC in Circle City:
“With a few key dogs getting a little banged up, I thought it was good to pull the plug all together and make sure that there was no further damage.”
– Jason Campeau
Campeau went on to say that he expects the dogs to recover and that he himself was not injured; his team will focus instead on the Iditarod. Tremblay also cited the best interest of his team as the reason for his scratch.
By now, all teams are making their way through the 160 miles between Circle City and Eagle with rookie and current Red Lantern Olivia Webster being the last to leave Circle City at 9:37 this morning with a team of 11 dogs. Winds are calm in Eagle right now with a temperature of -4° and some light snow. Teams are mandated to rest for four hours in Eagle.
Image at top: Photo from Julien Schroder, Yukon Quest (2019). Used with permission.
