The Percy DeWolfe race memorializes Percy DeWolfe, who used to carry the mail by dog team, horse, and boat between Dawson City, Yukon and Eagle, Alaska between 1910 and 1949.
The race starts at the old Post Office here in Dawson, and heads up to Eagle Alaska and back.
The race starts at 10am, but no racers are released for the first few minutes, leaving the first spot open in Percy’s memory.
Then, the Canada Post Postmaster and an RCMP officer present the musher who drew the first bib spot with a bag of mail, to carry with them on the trail. Everyone is welcome to send a letter in the mailbag!
The race itself is 200 miles, and follows the frozen Yukon River.
There were 9 teams this year. Here are the mushers:
Jason Biasetti, Dawson City, Yukon
Gaetan Pierrard, Whitehorse, Yukon
Magnus Kaltenborn, Whitehorse, Yukon
Nathaniel Hamlyn, Whitehorse, Yukon
Clayton Perry, Montana, USA
Gerry Willomitzer, Whitehorse, Yukon
Marine Gastard, Whitehorse, Yukon
Kyla Boivin, Dawson City, Yukon
And now the dogs! If you want, click on the first one, and you can scroll through a slideshow with a larger version of each photo.
You can follow the teams with the live tracker feature here: