The SP Kennel crew left Dawson City this afternoon aft
er cleaning up the dog area and checking out of the hotel. We are now in Pelly Crossing at the checkpoint waiting. The dropped dog-we still don’t know who it is–will be flown to Dawson City and brought to Pelly Crossing Checkpoint in another dog truck. Currently, there is no communication from Scroggie Creek, however the plane is supposed to arrive in Dawson at 4:00 pm Yukon time.
We have some incredible pictures from Dawson City to share with you. These particular photos are taken by Jeanne Schnackenberg who sponsors Scooter. She and Yo-lynn Owsley, Boondocks’ sponsor, are following the Yukon Quest race from Dawson to Whitehorse. Also following the Yukon Quest, checkpoint to checkpoint, from Start to the Finish, are Dingle’s sponsors Art and Alice Van Dorn. Each of them have given us some great photos and video that document Allen’s race this year. A big Thank You to our SP Kennel friends for sharing your talent with us. Hopefully we’ll be able to continue putting these up from various checkpoints along the way.
After a very busy and exciting morning, it’s kind of quiet around the dog tent now. All 13 dogs are gone from their boxes, leaving only remnants of a dog team behind–flat sleeping straw, bits of uneaten food, and the smell of Algyval hanging in the air.
takes a “haw” and the local traffic takes a “gee”, but Allen and the team with the trail groomers sorted it out. Such is the life of a musher and team in first place!
The dogs have finished their third “Thanksgiving” dinner–turkey and Eagle kibble–and are now laying around on their “couches” napping. They have been eating very well. It seems their favorite is the turkey snacks. The only small glitch is we have to look around for a few more bags to keep them happy! Aliy had wanted to feed them every 7 hours to keep them on their
race schedule. However, the dogs have different ideas. After 5 hours, they are scratching around in the straw eating leftovers from the previous meal. Aliy commented “This is the best eating team I’ve seen in awhile”.
Aliy, Ray and Wes have been working with the dogs all morning. Wes has been on dog tent duty and hanging out in the Arctic Oven tent when he isn’t feeding or massaging. Aliy has been busy washing and drying clothing at the hotel, and meeting up with friends and acquaintances who traveled to see the race-in between trips to the dog tent. Ray has been working on dryin
g out the sled and repairs. The local RCMP have opened up their heated garage for the mushers to park their sleds and work on them if repairs are needed. So though it’s a “rest” period in the race, it’s still a very busy time for everyone involved.