Kirk, Friedman finish Qukon Quest in top half

BONNERS FERRY - Shaving off 11 hours from last year’s time, Josh Friedman and Julie Kirk finished the 444-mile Yukon River Quest in 57 hours, 35 minutes and 44 seconds. They placed first in mixed tandem kayak, third overall in tandem kayak and 24th overall against 57 teams.

“It went really well,” said Kirk, owner of Mountain Mike’s. “Josh is an amazing navigator.”

The Yukon River is wide and dotted with many islands so Friedman had to find the fastest channel. In places the Yukon River is four miles wide and at the narrowest points the Yukon River is twice as wide as the Kootenai River.

There are also trees in the water and shallow gravel bars to navigate around.

“You really hope you make a right decision,” said Friedman.

The duo took one wrong turn because smoke from forest fires was so thick they couldn’t see that they were going up a side river. The wrong turn cost them some time but they were lucky enough to be able to see the front of their yellow and red boat.

One team with a white boat couldn’t see their boat in the water with the dense smoke. Another team stayed with them until they could see again.

“Everyone bands together,” said Kirk. “It’s really nice to experience that.”

Kirk explained that anytime paddlers are stopped on shore, passing teams stop to check to make sure they are OK. Even though they are competing, paddlers always help each other.

Friedman explained that on the stretch of river after the last checkpoint you are definitely on your own. Due to the remoteness it can take up to three days to get rescued.

A lot of the racers come back year after year and friendships develop between paddlers explained Friedman.

The unique challenge of the race often draws paddlers back again and again. Friedman explained the race is challenging mentally, physically and emotionally.

Kirk and Friedman are definitely going to enter the race again next year. One of the things they will be doing different next year is reducing the amount of water they carry to save weight. They found out they didn’t drink all four 100-ounce water bladders they carried each stretch, so they are going to switch to two water bladders and a few water bottles.

“The race is more difficult than people realize,” said Kirk.

Of the 57 teams that started, 44 teams finished, 12 scratched and one finished after the cutoff time.

Friedman and Kirk are both appreciative of their partners strengths — Kirk’s steering and Friedman’s navigation — and the support from community and family.

Kirk’s son, Ian, and my daughter, Ana, were our support crew and helped us make the race a success said Friedman.

By finishing 24th, the duo surpassed their goal of finishing in the top half. Next year they are hoping to finish even faster.

For more information on the Yukon River Quest or to see more results, visit www.yukonriverquest.com.