2007 Yukon Quest

Bob McAlpin took his time, never wavering from his goal of reaching the Yukon Quest finish line with as many healthy dogs as possible.

After more than two weeks on the 1,000-mile trail from Whitehorse to Fairbanks, McAlpin and his 13 dogs put a lid on the 2007 Quest at 9:56 a.m. Sunday, a feat witnessed by 100 Red Lantern-cheering spectators who braved 35-below temperatures to see the 56-year-old North Pole native arrive at the downtown finish line.

McAlpin spent 14 days, 22 hours and 35 minutes on the trail, almost five days longer than it took winner Lance Mackey. For more than half of it, McAlpin traveled solo and endured temperatures of 40 to 60 below zero.

“I took it one step at a time, one run at a time and I really concentrated on taking care of the dogs,” said McAlpin, shortly after receiving his finisher’s patch and Red Lantern Award from Quest Alaska executive director Julie Estey. Did McAlpin ever doubt he’d get there?

“When I was on the Yukon (River) I was thinkin’ ‘Man, the truck is in Circle City’ and I was toying with the idea of just scratching, but I said ‘Naw, I can’t do it. I gotta make it through,” said McAlpin, a retired helicopter pilot and soon-to-be-retired BLM helicopter operations specialist.

McAlpin’s trip was the Quest’s longest since 2001, when Bruce Milne required 16 days and 7 hours.

“It don’t bother me at all. I’m real proud of having the Red Lantern,” said McAlpin, who within the hour was sharing trail stories and eating an omelette and hash browns at The Diner downtown. “This is probably the only time I’ll run the race so I wanted to get as many dogs to town as I could.”

McAlpin, a musher for 30 years but a Quest rookie, dropped only one dog — a male named Animal in Circle City due to “projectile diarrhea” — and completed the race with 13 dogs, two more than any of the other 20 finishers.

“I had wrist injuries, shoulder injuries. I had a fair amount of problems,” said McAlpin. “But working with the vet(erinary) team, they were great. I worked through a lot of that.”

Hector was his primary leader.

“He’s nothing really exceptional,” said McAlpin, who is considering giving mushing rides to tourists as his first retirement project. “He’s listened to me really well. It was a combination of him finding the way and seeing (trail marker) stakes to work our way through.”

The relentless cold took its toll on McAlpin, who finished with his parka hood pulled tight, revealing little more than his eyes and frosty eyelashes.

“It’s been chilly probably ever since the Fortymile River (on Feb. 18),” said McAlpin. “It was pretty brutal out there. Mentally I was wondering ‘What am I even doing out here? I should be hunkered in a cabin because of the temperatures.’”

McAlpin averaged 2.79 miles per hour and was in little hurry, regularly taking breaks of 10 or more hours to rest his team and socialize at spots like the Stepping Stone hospitality stop, Sebastian Jones’ Fortymile River cabin and Aliy Zirkle’s place in Two Rivers.

“I spent more time talking to them than I should have, but it was an adventure, it was a trip,” said McAlpin, who earned $1,000 for finishing.

McAlpin saw five moose after leaving Chena Hot Springs on Saturday evening, and then encountered two final challenges on the homestretch. First he had to pass through the North Pole dog drop 33 miles from the finish — where at 5 a.m. North Pole Mayor Doug Isaacson gave him his finisher’s bib and keys to the city. A few hours later, McAlpin came upon the trail that branches off the Chena River to his home four miles away.

“They questioned it and I just gave ‘em a ‘Gee, on by’ and they went right on by and marched on down the river,” McAlpin said. McAlpin, who was on the trail for Valentine’s Day, his wedding anniversary and Saturday’s Quest finish banquet, is due back at work today.

“I might take an extra day,” before going back, said McAlpin, who has more than earned it.

Contact staff writer Matias Saari at msaari@newsminer.com.