What's in your bag? 'Drop day' precedes 2018 Yukon Quest

Somewhere amid hundreds of kilograms of supplies,Whitehorse musher Luc Tweddell has a fewtreats.

"I have some desserts my daughters made for me, little energy balls or something like that. I'll be happy to see them," he said.

Tweddellwill findthem when he needs them most: in the cold, alone, in darkness, and a few days outon the 1,600-kilometre Yukon Quest.

The race between Fairbanks, Alaska and Whitehorsebegins Feb. 3.

On Jan. 20, mushers delivered supplies for drop dayin Whitehorse. Another drop took place in Fairbanks.

Race crews in Alaska and Yukon will exchange goodsand drop off bags at 11 different checkpoints along the trail.

Fish, beaver, pork, chicken and beef

Most of the weight isdog food and it's more than kibble.Yukoner Ed Hopkins is preparing for his 10thYukon Quest. He says he's learned to pack a variety of foodsall rich in calories.

"It's thousands of pounds of dog food," he said.

"We'vegot fish and beaver and liverand pork fat and chicken fat and dry food and beef and a whole lot of other stuff."

As for himself, he packs spaghetti,sealed meals, granola bars and trail mix.

Some items, like two-way communication devices,are forbidden by race rules. In 2015 mushing championBrent Sass waseven disqualified for carrying an ipod.

Race officials write down what each bag contains, because the routerequires participantsto cross theborder into Alaska.

Making a list and checking it twice

Doug Harris is race marshalfor this year's race.

He says the mushers need to pack carefully. Any item missing fromtheirchecklist could prove a costly mistake along the trail.

"There'll be dog food, there'll be dog booties, there will be food for the mushers, spare runners, there may be some spare parts for the sleds like like brake teeth, things like that," he said.

"Spare flashlight batteries, anything they will need along the trail to be restocked so they can continue along the race."

Each bag can weigh no more than 18 kilograms and all areofficially sealed to protect against tampering.

"It's a lot of work for the mushers to get prepared," says Harris.

"Once they're done they're done. There's no adding to them."