Coming out of Braeburn, competitors cross the Klondike Highway and proceed east for about to Coghlan Lake. From there they turn north, then northwest, and travel along a chain of lakes that stretches for about . They then enter a notorious stretch of heavily forested hills nicknamed "Pinball Alley" for the way the rough terrain bounces sleds into trees, rocks, and other obstacles. Trees are so scarred from repeated sled impacts that they have lost their bark on one side. In 1998, racer Brenda Mackey was jolted around so much by the rough trail that her sled became wedged between two trees, forcing her to cut one down to continue.