‘I’m all charged up for the next leg’: Gatt

Whitehorse’s Hans Gatt says he wasn’t trying to get into Dawson first Wednesday evening,

DAWSON CITY – Whitehorse’s Hans Gatt says he wasn’t trying to get into Dawson first Wednesday evening, and is looking forward to claiming his gold at the Yukon Quest finish line in Whitehorse.

“It wasn’t the goal to be the first here,” he said Thursday evening, during his 36-hour layover in Dawson.

Gatt will be awarded a four-ounce gold nugget if he completes the race in Whitehorse, worth an estimated $4,000. The gold is donated each year by the Fellers family of Dawson.

“I really appreciate that Joe and Wendy keep donating their gold,” Gatt said.

He said the trail was rough going coming into the Fortymile hospitality stop. The three-time Yukon Quest champion said he lost at least two hours when he lost sight of the trail markers.

“There was no trail,” Gatt said. “It was quite a challenge to find the trail.”

The Whitehorse musher said a drifted-in trail is tough enough, but a trail that is poorly marked is an even greater challenge.

“I know I lost two hours,” Gatt said.

Even with the mix-up, Gatt still arrived in Dawson two hours ahead of second-place musher Lance Mackey, who has won four Quests.

“They were running right on schedule,” Gatt said of his dogs. “I was in Dawson two hours ahead of my race schedule.”

With the two-hour lead, Gatt said he is more confident that he can keep ahead of the pack of 24 teams.

“I think I will be able to keep it,” he said. “In a tight race like this, every minute counts.”

But Gatt isn’t taking his competitors for granted, with Mackey in pursuit, followed by Hugh Neff, Zack Steer and Sonny Lindner.

“A lot of things can happen between here and Whitehorse,” Gatt said.

With 13 dogs on the line, Gatt said he is hoping to leave with all of them. One dog could potentially be dropped before he leaves Dawson.

“His lungs sounded a little rough coming in here,” Gatt said. The vet team will re-assess the dog before Gatt leaves.

While Mackey and Neff got caught up in overflow coming into Dawson, Gatt said one of his lead dogs took control and avoided the water.

“He saw that open water there and he wasn’t gonna go through it,” Gatt said. Before Gatt could decide what to do, Kinlix already had.

The dog re-routed the team around the water and the team avoided getting their paws wet

“I only got my feet a little wet,” Gatt said. He fared well compared to his competitors who arrived in Dawson soaking wet.

“Anybody who goes through that stuff is pretty miserable.”

“He surprised me,” Gatt said of Kinlix. “I don’t know where he got that sense.”

Gatt said after seeing what the lead dog did, it may be better in the future to rely on his canine’s instincts.

“Sometimes it’s best to just not say anything,” Gatt said.

Upon his arrival, Gatt declined to speak with media Wednesday evening, choosing instead to head into the dog yard to tend to his team.

“I didn’t feel very good at the end of the race,” Gatt said.

With a little rest, he said he is feeling great

“I’m all charged up for the next leg.”

The 1,600-km race began last Saturday in Fairbanks.