a few more words on the Dawson layover

I thought you all might enjoy hearing a little bit more info on Sam's stay and then departure from Dawson. After he got a full night's sleep Sammy was anxious to get back with his dogteam. The dogs were brought out of their tent shelter to stretch out, go for a walk, get a massage, and fuel up again with a mixture of beef, fat, turkey skins, kibble and plenty of water. It was encouraging to see, only 12 hours into the 36 hour rest, that the dogs were looking like they were already rested enough to hit the trail again. 

The rest of the day was spent refueling both dogs and musher, drying out Sam's clothing and sled bag, and getting things back in order in the sled. After a few hours of sleep I woke Sam at 3am for one last feeding of the dogs, and to pack the sled. Even in the early morning grogginess Sam was his typical positive, happy go lucky self telling me "only 450 more miles to go Benji! Eight more runs and we'll be in Whitehorse! I'm ready to mush!". The sled was packed for this next leg of the race, where Sam would not be resupplied for about 200 miles. Needless to say the dogs had quite the load to haul leaving Dawson, but based on their enthusiasm leaving the checkpoint it didn't seem like the weight of the sled was going to be a problem. 

We are now in the Pelly checkpoint waiting for Sam to come in later this evening. He is now running 11 dogs, having most recently dropped "Haas" from the team because he was just plain tired out. I'll try to update as I can once Sam gets in to Pelly, and will try to add a photo or two. 

Team Belgium's Handler Crew benji