DAWSON CITY -- After resting and healing in Dawson City during a 36-hour layover, mushers in the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race resumed their push for Whitehorse on Saturday in what has become a two-team battle for victory.
Lance Mackey left Dawson at 1:40 a.m., just six minutes before his Fairbanks neighbor Ken Anderson pulled his snow hook.
Ahead lie 99 miles of trail until the next checkpoint at Stewart River -- a trail mushers hoped would be in better shape than it was on the U.S. portion of the 1,000-mile trail.
Mackey had a lead of about 11 hours over third-place musher Brent Sass of Fairbanks.
Michelle Phillips of the Yukon Territory, who arrived in Dawson in fourth place, nursed a frostbitten toe, sprained wrist and bruised body.
"I've never been so happy to see Dawson, actually," said Phillips.
Several mushers indulged in a little nightlife after six days on what was often a brutally rough trail.
"It's been three years since I had a beer in Dawson, so I'm gonna go out," said Hugh Neff of Skagway as he lounged in a spa at the Downtowner Hotel, the jets aimed at his sore shoulders. "If you ain't gonna win the race, you might as well have the most fun."
Mackey was looking to win a record fourth-straight Quest -- and have a blast in Dawson.
"Because I don't have many (dog) issues, I could probably do 10 hours of dog care, 10 hours of drinking Crown Royal, 10 hours of Diamond Tooth Gerties. I don't need much sleep," Mackey said.
Fellow musher David Dalton does.
"We'll save all the hoopla and partying until Whitehorse," said Dalton. "We'll have plenty of time until the (finish) banquet."
By MATIAS SAARI
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner