Whitehorse musher Rob Cook says the Yukon Quest just keeps pulling him back.

The veteran of five of the 1,000-mile affairs says when he was going over American Summit a couple of years ago, he thought to himself how happy he was that this would be his last time.

It wasn’t to be.

Cook was among the flurry of 22 mushers who signed up last Saturday for the 2019 Yukon Quest International Dog Sled Race.

“It is so addictive,” he says shortly after filing his entrance papers down at the local Quest office in the White Pass depot at the end of Main Street. “Last year was really tough.

“If you finish, it is super rewarding.”

It’s those personal victories, seeing the dogs perform in difficult conditions, that feed his habit.

“Each race, each day, brings back loads of memories.”

In his five attempts, the 52-year-old Cook has not cracked the top 10. He came his closest last year with his 12th-place finish.

He is, he points out, running Siberian Huskies, as though to suggest they’re not the fastest breed. But he’s also quick to emphasize, quite proudly, that the dogs on his team have logged a combined 44,000 kilometres.

Cook will have his hands full again next February, as the list of entrants Saturday included reigning three-time champion Allen Moore of Two Rivers, Alaska, and past champions Matt Hall of Two Rivers and Brent Sass of Eureka, Alaska.

It was the busiest opening sign-up day since 2013. Fifteen veterans and seven rookies have registered.

Brian Wilmshurst, the 37-year-old Dawson City musher, is returning for his sixth Quest after taking a break last year.

Also returning after several years of consecutive runs on the Iditarod is 50-year-old Michelle Phillips of Tagish. Phillips last ran in 2011 but won the Yukon Quest 300 in 2015 and 2017.

Sign-up day at the train station provided a morning of entertainment, with the local Quest office hosting a barbecue, the Owner-Dog, Look-Alike contest, the Best-Dressed Dog and Best Trick and Howl.

Of the 22 who signed up for the Quest, the three Yukoners and two other Canadians registered here while the other 17 registered in Fairbanks.

The names of those who signed up on the first day will go into a draw for a $1,300 US rebate on their $2,000 entrance fee.

The race begins in Whitehorse Feb. 2.

Registration for the 1,000-mile Yukon Quest and YQ 300 is open until Jan. 4.

A 23rd musher signed up this week. Isabelle Travadon, a 56-year-old woman from France, is a rookie to the Quest but did run the Iditarod in 2015.

Saturday was also the opening day to sign up for the YQ300, and 18 of the 25 available spots were taken, 13 of them by Yukoners.

And some are household names, like Whitehorse musher Hans Gatt, the four-time Yukon Quest champion – 2002, 2003, 2004 and 2010. In 2010, he was also second in the Iditarod.

Ali Zirkle, an icon in the Alaskan mushing community who won the Yukon Quest in 2000, is among the 300-milers. In addition to being the only woman to win the Quest, Zirkle finished second in the Iditarod in three consecutive years.

Lisa Joinson of Tagish has become the 19th 300-miler as a rookie with her entry this week.

Gatt was among those hanging out at the Quest barbecue and show waiting for the official 1 p.m. opening to sign up.

The 60-year-old veteran musher says he’s not ruling out changing his mind and running the 1,000-mile race instead.

For now, the 300 is his choice.

“I just decided to sign up for the 300 to see what the fall and winter brings,” he says while standing outside the Quest office. “There is still a chance I will sign up for the 1,000.

“I’m pretty booked up with dog tours and have committed to that. At this point I can’t see myself running the 1,000. I do not have the time, especially the time to train for it.

Gatt says when you’re training for the longer race, one camping trip on the South Canol Road can take 2 1/2 days.

“It’s a big time commitment.”

But like Cook, “it’s the good memories stuck in my brain, and that’s what keeps pulling me back.”