Most of Hawai’i’s kolea will take flight the last week of April bound for their breeding grounds in Alaska.
I saw this female on a hotel lawn next to Hilo Bay early in April. She was the least wary kolea I have ever encountered. While I sat watching her and admiring her breeding feathers, she hunted for bugs just a few feet away from me.
Last year I wrote an essay about these amazing birds with a little of my family history mixed in. You can read it here–Alaska Migrations.
This is such a fun video made by Keaton’s wife Erika who shares the story of the first two days for #13 (it’s supposed to be his lucky number–at least in this race!) A couple of setbacks including a broken runner on the sled, but they figured it out and with the help of lots of folks Keaton and his dogs are well on their way.
I am in New Mexico where we are facing public safety power shutdowns due to a storm with high winds. I got up early and am ready. If it helps keep us safe from wildfires, it’s well worth it.
Safe travels and happy trails to Keaton and his dogs!
Fairbanks, AK Elevation: 446 Feet Sunrise: 7:51 am Sunset: 6:15 pm Weather Partly Cloudy 32 degrees at 5:37 pmAKST I won’t be tracking this one as closely as the Yukon Quest Alaska 2025, but here’s the link to the map.
A different route than usual since the official start was moved to Fairbanks due to the lack of snow on a portion of the trail outside of Anchorage. The race started about 7 hours ago. The racers and their dogs have 1128 miles in front of them.
I’ll be watching Keaton Loebrich, Bib #13, an Iditarod rookie. If you remember, I drew him as my musher in the Yukon Quest (a 550-mile race) when I purchased a dog bootie in Fairbanks last summer. Here is a recent article about him and a few of the other rookies. One thing I love about dog racing is that the women compete alongside the men as you’ll see in the profiles.
As of 10:35 pm (AKST) last night Keaton had crossed the finish line in Tok! I stayed up and kept refreshing the tracking feed until I was sure he was there.
To see Keaton and his team’s arrival in Tok, here’s a link to the video posted on Star Gazer Racer’s FB page.
Congratulations to Keaton, his dogs and the team of folks who all made it happen. It was fun to watch!
Tok, Alaska 5:05 am (AKST) Temperature 9 Degrees Sunrise: 8:46 am Sunset: 4:46 pm (a full 8 hours of daylight today!) Elevation: 1635 Feet Population: 1355 (2022) Best place for a burger, beer, and a slice of pie: Fast Eddy’s MP 1313
By the time I checked the Yukon Quest leaderboard at 5:05 (AKST) this morning, Jeff Deeter had won the race with three other mushers coming in a few hours later (Shelley, Eklund, Bacon). For more details, here’s a story from KUAC’s Robyne & Shelby Herbert.
Chicken, AK Mile 477.9 Sunrise: 8:49 am Sunset: 4:33 pm Elevation 1677 Feet Today’s High 8F with a low tonight of 1F
Wow–how did it get to be Thursday? I’m guessing out on the trail the mushers and dogs are feeling every minute and every mile of the last five days. They must be happy to see the end in sight.
Here’s a screenshot I took about 8 am (AKST) today which puts the Yukon Quest in perspective in terms of the vastness of Alaska. It also shows the leaderboard with six mushers at that hour still on the trail, one was already on his way out of Chicken. Three were at the checkpoint making the required 6-hour stay. Two, including Keaton, were still on the trail north of Chicken.
If you’re wondering how this town of less than 20 folks on the Taylor Highway got its name, here’s one story that may or may not be true.
Just now (about 5:30 pm AKST) I checked the current standings and one musher, Jeff Deeter has finished the race. Keaton is at mile 453, with 24 miles remaining before he reaches the Chicken Checkpoint.
This link will take you to the Yukon Quest’s Facebookpage where you can see photos from the trail. Make sure you keep scrolling down. There is a video of the winner crossing the finish line.
Wishing Keaton and his dogs safe travels, happy trails, and a good rest in Chicken tonight!
Eagle Checkpoint – Mile 377.7 – Sunrise: 8:55 am Sunset 4:23 pm Elevation 853 FeetAverage February Temperatures 9F high/-11F low
Musher Keaton Loebrich Bib 3 is back on the trail this evening after resting for a few hours in Eagle. Here’s a look at that checkpoint in a cool story with photos from Alaska Public Media.
As of 5:43 pm (AKST) this evening, Keaton had departed from Eagle and was headed to Chicken about 100 miles down the trail. For the most up-to-date information, check out Keaton’s current location.
To learn more about Keaton check out the story linked below. It was published in his hometown (Midland, Michigan) newspaper a few months ago.
I made myself a map to try and get a better understanding of the 2025 Yukon Quest Alaska route. The start is in Fairbanks and the finish is in Tok. Now if you drive the Alaska Highway 2 as I did with Dave and Dad last summer it’s a pretty easy three-and-a-half-hour drive. About 200 miles.
The route the mushers take is nothing like that. They headed northeast out of Fairbanks and have stops at checkpoints (I only have a few of them marked on the map with pink highlighter) at Pleasant Valley (39.2 mi.), Mile 101 (112.7 mi.) and further on in Central (139.6 mi.) and Circle (216.6 mi.) before turning to the southeast.
The next stop is Slaven’s Roadhouse (275.4 mi.) on the Yukon River at the mouth of Coal Creek. When I checked this morning about 6 am Alaska time it was -9 degrees. My musher Keaton Loebrich (Bib 3) stopped there last night and maybe spent a few hours resting his dogs. From there the route continues to Eagle (377.7 mi.), Chicken (477.9 mi.), and finally to the finish line in Tok (557.8)
Much better than my highlighted road map is the official Yukon Quest Alaska map linked below.It is a live map showing all of the mushers’ positions real time along the trail.
As I write this it’s shortly after seven in Alaska and Keaton is at mile 338 with just under forty miles to go to the Eagle Checkpoint where it’s -2 degrees.
For a fun look at the Eagle Checkpoint and everything that goes into a Yukon Quest checkpoint, take a look at this article published by Alaska Public Media.
Back in July while in Fairbanks I visited the Yukon Quest Headquarters and made a small donation to the race. In return I was given a dog bootie and a sharpie.
The race started on Saturday, February 1st in Fairbanks where the days are getting longer. Sunrise on Saturday was 9:34 am and sunset was at 4:35. Seven hours of daylight!
Checking on Monday night at about 11:30 pm (9:30 pm in Alaska) Keaton was in third place and had covered more than 265 miles. Here’s the map with current standings. 2025 Race Standings – Yukon Quest Alaska
I’ll be checking in again tomorrow morning to see how Keaton and his dogs are doing. Safe travels to everyone out there on the trail!
