of the finish, several thousand spectators typically gather to watch the first musher cross the finish line. Route changes The 1984 route was slightly different from today's. It had just one non-checkpoint dog drop, at the Mile 101 location, and bypassed American Summit, Pelly Junction, and Braeburn. Instead of running through Braeburn, mushers traveled across Lake Laberge for between Whitehorse and Minto. The inaugural race also included a checkpoint at Chena Hot Springs Resort near Fairbanks. This site was moved to nearby Angel Creek after mushers complained that the hot springs melted nearby snow, causing their dogs to become wet—an extreme hazard in sub-freezing temperatures. Two additional dog drops were added for the 1994 race: Biederman's Cabin (since replaced by Slaven's Cabin) and McCabe Creek. In 1995, the Whitehorse end of the trail was moved away from Lake Laberge to near the Takhini River. Additional changes that year included the rerouting of the trail around the southern and eastern sides of King Solomon's Dome south of Dawson City and the introduction of the Scroggie Creek dog drop site on the shore of the Stewart River. In 1996, the trail was rerouted through Pelly Crossing and a checkpoint was added there, and the Lake Laberge stretch was replaced by a route through Braeburn and along the Dawson-Whitehorse Overland Trail. In 1997, mushers were routed through the Chena River Lakes Flood Control Project and to the Alaska town of North Pole before continuing on to Fairbanks. The North Pole loop was removed before the 2009 race, and mushers were directed through Two Rivers instead. Starting in the 2010 race, the Mile 101 location was upgraded from a dog drop to a full-fledged checkpoint. In the past several races, the Two Rivers checkpoint has changed locations annually: from a lodge to a campground, and then to a gravel pit in 2011. Weather The Yukon Quest trail is in the subarctic climate range. In Fairbanks, the average February temperature is , but is not uncommon, and temperatures have dropped to . An average of of snow falls in February, with average snowpack depth of . Outside the sheltered urban areas of Fairbanks, Whitehorse, and Dawson City, temperatures and snowfall are often more extreme. During the 2008 race, competitors started in temperatures in Fairbanks and then faced winds of on the trail, resulting in severe wind chills. At higher elevations, such as the crossings of