Veteran musher Frank Turner plans to retire from the Yukon Quest to embark on another questterritorial politics.

Turner, who has competed in each of the 22 Yukon Quests, told the Star Thursday he is tired of watching the current government give contracts to their friends.

He says the government should be focused on bettering the community and meeting the social needs of the people.

When comparing the territory with the Quest, Turner said the Yukon Party has gotten to the first checkpoint, but hasn't left yet because of its accountability and trust issues.

Turner currently doesn't belong to any political party.

In 1996, he was seen at the NDP's election victory party, but also signed Pam Buckway's Liberal nomination form in a byelection in the Lake Laberge riding in 1999.

Turner is more about leadership than parties, as he thinks the Yukon is too small for a party system. If he runs in the next territorial election, it would be for the NDP, as he believes Todd Hardy is the only party leader with an untarnished reputation.

'He's stuck up for people, which is rare in politics,' said Turner.

Politicians should be like the leaders in a dog team, says the Whitehorse-area musher.

'They should provide stability and give direction.'

Turner, a former social worker, says ideally, politicians should get people working toward common goals and values.

He views his potential move into politics as a way of giving back to the community. It would also permit him to put the energy he would normally put into the Quest into the Yukon.

Over the years, people suggested Turner should get involved in territorial politics. But, at the time, he was still wrapped up with running the Quest.

Turner says the 2005 Quest is a good exit point for him. The 57-year-old said the race ran smoothly and he enjoyed being out with his dogs, reminiscing about years past.

'I never raced the dogs,' said Turner, even though he placed seventh this year. 'We just had a nice time.'

Yukon mushers Peter Ledwidge and Ed Hopkins said Turner's team was the one to beat as they thought the dogs had great potential.

Hopkins placed eighth and Ledwidge placed 11th. Both mushers travelled with Turner at different points during the race.

Although Turner occasionally travelled in groups, he said being alone on the trail were the more special times for him.

Turner says he doesn't need the Quest for alone time with his dogs. He can instead go on camping trips with them.

'To me, the Quest was the icing on the cake, but it wasn't the cake,' said Turner.

Last month's Quest wasn't a totally smooth ride for Turner. In Pelly Crossing, he had 'a little bit of a meltdown.

'I wasn't really enjoying it anymore and I wasn't having a very good time,' said Turner, who at that point was ready to throw in the towel.

Former Quester Paul Geoffrion and Turner's partner, Anne Tayler, had to give the veteran musher a pep talk.

'The race isn't just physically demanding,' said Turner. 'It is also an emotional roller coaster.'

Over the years, when climbing the 1,105-metre (3,685-foot) Eagle Summit in Alaska, Turner would always question 'what the heck' he was doing out there. This year, an overheated Turner made the climb in his long underwear.

Turner and his team broke the trail up Eagle Summit, being the first in the second group of mushers to make the climb.

The first group, being made up of this year's winners, made the climb hours ahead of Turner, so by the time he reached it, the trail had disappeared.

Turner almost lost his dogs on his way to the summit. He had stopped to adjust his hat, when his dogs took off with the sled.

Turner took off after them, 'something that is really difficult to do in a parka and bunny boots.'

Turner yelled at his lead dog, Decaf, who has run the Quest seven times.

'I yelled as loud as I could: Decaf!' said Turner.

Eventually, he caught up to them, only because Decaf managed to turn the team around and get the dogs stopped.

Turner thinks that battling 22 very challenging Yukon Quests has prepared him for politics. The musher will be talking to people to get their honest opinions about whether they think he has something to offer the territory.

Turner has been thinking about retiring from the Quest for a while. In fact, he attempted retirement in 2003, but by the following Quest, he decided it wasn't his time.

Now he says there are no nagging doubts and he will be out of the Quest for good, unless it's handling for his son, Saul, who plans to run the Quest next year.

Saul has already qualified for the Quest by placing 14th in the Copper Basin, a 480-kilometre race in Glennallen, Alaska. Many veteran mushers, like Hans Gatt, scratched because of poor trail conditions.

Originally Saul would have liked to have run the Quest with his dad, but Frank said it would have been a strain on their kennel to run two teams.

The other dogs are needed to operate the tourism business. Running a second team would also have been an extra expense for the Turner family. The Quest entry fee is $1,250 US, and additional money goes toward purchasing the large quantities of supplies needed for the race.

'I just look forward to supporting Saul,' said Frank, who is critical of the Yukon Quest organization for failing to draw in a large field of mushers.

This year, only 23 mushers signed up for the Quest, while only 12 actually ended up crossing the finish line.

The Iditarod, a 1,700-kilometre race in Alaska that will start tomorrow, draws in more than 80 mushers,

Turner thinks, in part, it's because mushers in that race know if they make it to the finish line, they'll at least get their entry money back something not promised in the Quest.

Turner says the Quest is overselling the race as the toughest in the world, especially since the prize offered is only $30,000 an amount that hasn't been enriched in several years. He says the modest prize money hardly makes it worth it for most mushers.

Turner says, at that price, there will only ever be a small handful of people willing to 'push things to the limit in the toughest race.'

That group is in it to win.

Turner says there is also a second group who will do the race because they have a team of rookie dogs they want to break in to get them competitive for upcoming years.

He ran a team with several rookies this year so he could get them ready for Saul's 2006 Quest.

There is also a third group in the Quest that has a dream of travelling 1,600 kilometres, and the Quest gives them an opportunity to do that.

Turner says he never truly ever entered the Quest to win; however, he did win back in 1995, completing the race at a record-breaking speed.

That year, he completed the race in 10 days, 16 hours and 20 minutes, the fastest time ever recorded.

Turner attributes the success to his dog team. Individually, the dogs might not have been the greatest athletes but as a team, they flew.

'And I just learned to fly with them,' he said.

Turner has learned to never underestimate himself an important lesson the Quest teaches.

He says one learns that success comes from a belief from within, and crossing the Quest finish line is a tremendous accomplishment regardless of one's ranking.

This year, Turner wishes he'd have travelled more with rookie Bruce Langmaid, who collapsed mentally and quit the race. Langmaid was the last musher into Dawson City, and was struggling with fatigue.

The 46-year-old made a point of travelling with Turner upon leaving Pelly Crossing because he relied on the more experienced musher for strength.

Turner lost Langmaid on the way to Dawson after making a non-stop run from Stepping Stone to Scroggie.

Although Langmaid's dogs were doing fine, Langmaid hated being last and scratched from the race.

Turner wished he'd had the opportunity to talk to Langmaid before he quit the race so he could have helped Langmaid deal with his self-confidence issues. Unfortunately, he didn't get the opportunity.

'Hopefully, once he gets some rest, he will have some hindsight and won't be too discouraged and come back and try the race again,' said Turner.

Thirty-year-old rookie Blake Freking, who was the last-place finisher in this year's Quest, also occasionally relied on Turner for guidance.

'It's really great to be in that kind of mentoring role as you get older,' said Turner, who received supporting e-mails from 12 countries from where people were following the 2005 race.

'The Quest gives you an incredible sense of connection,' said Frank.

The musher says the lessons he took out of the Quest has ultimately made him a better person.