The dogs are all curled up in the straw and Allen is curled up in his bed. They all will get as much rest as they can now. No such luck for Aliy and Ryne. They spent the night in an Arctic Oven Tent with the dogs at the dog camp. They feed them and worked with them off and on all night long.
My quick conversation with Allen was fun. He says that King Solomon’s Dome is “never ending”. The most unique thing about the race so far is how, as a musher, you are on your own. No snow machines (mobiles) or airplanes around. One of the best things about no snow machines is that the trails are smooth. No constant dips.
I will be interviewing Allen and I hope Aliy and Ryne this evening. Until then, here is a little information about were they are!
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Dawson City is a unique place. Its roots stretch back for thousands of years as a harvest area for the Han speaking people of the Trondek Hwech’en. A fish camp at the confluence of the Klondike and the Yukon was the heart of their homeland.
Dawson City was named after a Canadian geologist named George Dawson, who explored the area in 1887. In 1896, the dawning of the Klondike Gold Rush changed this First Nation camp into a thriving city. Jack London lived and wrote in the area during this time. By 1898 there were 40,000 people living in the Dawson area. By the next year, the gold rush ended and the population dropped to 8000 people.
Today, Dawson City is home to about 1400 people, most still live off the land. Trapping and mining are the largest section of the economy. That is, outside of tourism.
