Husky News

Two children of well-known Yukon Quest mushers highlight the field for the Junior Yukon Quest, which starts Saturday at noon in downtown Fairbanks.

Ava Lindner, 17, of Two Rivers and Cody Cadzow, 16, of Fort Yukon, are among seven teenage mushers who will travel the 135-mile route from Fairbanks to Twin Bears Recreation Area and back.

Lindner is the daughter of 1984 Quest champion Sonny Lindner while Cadzow is the son of Jay Cadzow, who took fifth in the 1993 Quest and third in 1995.

Lindner, a junior at Lathrop High School, has completed the Junior Iditarod and plans to run the 2010 full-length Iditarod followed soon after by the Yukon Quest, according to her biography on the Junior Quest Web site.

Also signed up are Wade Marrs, 17, of Wasilla, the 2008 Junior Cantwell Classic champion; Charlie Allison, 16, of Talkeetna; Kristen Crain, 17, of Talkeetna; Meredith Mapes, 14, of Wasilla; and Yuta Takagi, 14, of Anchorage.

The trail starts on the Chena River near the Cushman Street bridge and heads to Twin Bears for a mandatory eight-hour rest. Then it returns to North Pole, where dog drivers must lay over four hours before proceeding to the finish line in Fairbanks. Mushers will be evaluated for their camping and dog care skills in North Pole.

Entrants must start the race with at least seven dogs (and no more than 10) and complete it with at least five.

“The Junior Yukon Quest is intended to mimic a mid-distance race in the span of 135 miles, giving the junior mushers experience in as many of the elements of a longer race as possible,” a Quest press release said.

The Junior Quest, which always starts in Fairbanks and was created in 2000, is back after a two-year hiatus. It was canceled in 2007 due to marginal snow conditions.

“There was not enough snow to set a hook last year,” Quest logistics coordinator Alex Olesen said Wednesday. “You want enough snow to easily set a snow hook for a junior musher.”

In 2004, the Junior Quest saw a record 14 participants, as Tessa King traversed the same route that will be used this year in 22 hours, 33 minutes.

Source: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner