Part 2 of the Dawson Report:
It’s 2am on Sunday and Rob has just headed into the darkness and along the Yukon river towards King Soloman’s Dome and the Black Hills.
For those that are not familiar with sled dog racing or the Yukon Quest in particular then I should explain that Dawson is a mandatory 36 hour rest point.
It’s been a lovely day. We have worked as a team with at least one of us staying at the dog camp at any one time. In the morning it was Rob and I, in the afternoon it was Louise, and the rotten evening shift was Chris’s.
Rob and I had breakfast together and then headed down to the dog camp where Louise and Chris had stayed with the team overnight. All the dogs looked really great. Having lost three key members of the team in the first three checkpoints and Ammo at Slavens you might be worrying about having enough dogs to get to the end. What’s more the experience on the Top of the World Highway could easily have spooked a lot of dog teams. But not this team. We have ten truly motivated racing dogs (well, nine plus Max).
Dawkins gatecrashes a white dog convention – Looney, Dawkins, Skits and Dennie (I think)
Since Rob got into Dawson things have actually run really smoothly. After breakfast we went to the camp. Chris brought the sled back from the drying room and it was repacked.
The most important thing about this 36 hours in Dawson is that the musher gets some rest.
So we reach the end of the evening and Rob, Louise and I had dinner in the Downtown Hotel. It was a lovely and relaxed dinner. Once we had eaten it was time to head up the the camp. 36 hours over very quickly, it was time to head out.
The Shaytaan team then spent three hours preparing for Rob to go. We laughed and joked. We discussed the trail ahead. It was hard for everyone after thirty six hours to wave goodbye but it had to be done.
Is it time to go Dad?: Bootying up with Nutter
Sled check. Harnesses on. Booty up. Then suddenly it was time to connect up the team and we were away.
Chris, Louise and I ran alongside the team down to the official restart position. A couple of false starts and then he was gone. We watched the lights disappear down the river and he was on his way to Scroggie and then Pelly Crossing, the next time we’d see him.
For the handler team tomorrow is a busy day. We have to break down the camp, clear the straw, pack everything into the vehicles (thank goodness Louise is now with us so we have two).
On to Pelly Crossing for the handler team after a day clearing up in Dawson. We may have a drink tonight!
Next stop – Pelly!
Andrew Cooke's Yukon Quest Blogsite 
These are great reports Andy. Really appreciate you making time to write them for us.
What I really would like……. when you get to the finish or home……to write for us how the Quest experience matched up to your expectations, where it exceeded them, where you were surprised etc.
Sometimes we need the calm after the event to evaluate the experience.
I’ve been to Yukon and Alaska several times and I am always overcome/awed with the incredible beauty of the scenery and the friendliness of the great characters you meet. I’m curious to know how you view it.
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Hi Caroline
Great idea. I had been thinking of doing some sort of reflective thing at the end and to map expectations against reality would be a good way to do it. I’ve taken hundreds, actually now heading for the thousands, of photos of scenery and travelling experience. Far more than I could ever upload on the YQ or hotel internet! I will probably load a lot of them up at the end onto blog pages.
Keep watching. The next post will probably be up in a day or so.
Regards
Andy
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Thank you for keeping us updated. I have been following Rob as much as I can. It has inspired me book a return journey to the Yukon next year. can’t wait to be re-united with my small team of dogs. One of them Mayo, he did the Yukon Quest a few years back. I aim to the to tye it in with the 2017 Quest.
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Well, hope you had that drink – sounds like you deserve it.
This sounds like a real life chaging experience, it’s bound to change your perspective on so mnsy things
Keep up the blogging
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Hi Stuart
Yes. It’s been very levelling. Actually I’ve barely thought about the other stuff that’s going on at all. I’ve taken nice pictures, met nice people, had some good food, not much sleep, but you can’t have everything. There are some challenges but ain’t life like that.
See you soon.
Andy
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Thanks for keeping us updated Andy great to hear how you are viewing what’s happening, Louise is doing so well in doing the same, its good to hear it from another prospective, thank you to you both, it must be difficult to stay calm when Rob is out there and you don’t know how he is doing until the next checkpoint, its really appreciated you are taking the time to keep everyone updated, thank you. Ann
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