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Deke Naaktgeboren
34 YEAR OLD YUKON QUEST Rookie
Nationality:
American
Occupation(s):
Recreation Planner - BLM
Kennel Name:
Nautique Sky
Kennel Name Origination:
My Siberian husky in college named Nautique who showed me just what a husky could do!
Kennel Bloodlines:
D. Seavey, Gebhardt, Deke Naak
Breeds:
Alaskan Husky
# of Dogs in Kennel:
30
http://dekesdogs.com
Sponsors:
Aurora Animal Clinic

Musher Question & Answer

How many years have you been running dogs?
5
How did you get started running dogs?

I traveled to Arctic Sweden one year, met a musher, and went back one year later to run his tourism business. A Jeff King dog named Rumba will always be my greatest teacher!

What do you love most about running sled dogs?
Are you a member of any other organizations involved in sled dog sports?
Two River Dog Mushers Association
Why did you enter the Yukon Quest? What are your goals for the race?
It feels like the right time to try it! It's a WHY NOT? thing.... MY goals are to enjoy the dogs, the trail, the mushers, and all the people that make this happen.
How did your dogs get their names?/ How do you choose names?

Kali and King created the "Special K" litter. When my son was born, we named the next litter after Disney Princesses (except Simba), and because of so much Canada stuff this year, the six-week-old puppies are named after Canadian expressions (Poutine, Loony, Maple, Molson, Canuck)

What music do you listen to on the trail?
Share a quick story about one of your indispensable Handlers

When I moved to Fairbanks in 2011, I went over Eagle Summit in a truck with my colleague Colter to fix some stuff in Central. A fairly nice day turned into an epic Eagle Summit blizzard, but Colter reassured me we were fine, then more snow, blowing snow, and as we are heading back over the summit, a DOT plow truck says "Where do you guys think you're going?" We were instructed to to stay ten feet behind him as he plowed through six-foot drifts to get us home. Colter says this is normal, it's Alaska. I'm thinking how in the world do people mush over this summit? Mushers are crazy! We made it and Colter finally admits that's the worse he's ever been in. Been buddies since!

Tell us about your favourite experience with a volunteer on the trail
Anna, President of the Percy DeWolfe race committee, and I had quite the email argument when I was registering for the race. Fifteen or so emails went back and forth between the two of us. I wanted to haul dogs via snowmachine to the race start and she said it was impossible - which made me want to do it more! She thought I was an ego maniac and I thought she was a stubborn "old lady". She ended up winning the argument, and when we finally met in person, we became pretty good buddies instantly and she's now agreed to handle for me for the 2019 Yukon Quest!
List recent sled dog races and/or best performances
2018: Percy De Wolfe 210, 10th; 2018: YQ300, 7th; 2017: Two Rivers 200, 12th; 2017: Solstice 50, 14th