Time management for mushers

Solan, lead dog of the living dead: I really must find another way to take pictures of the dogs at night.

Boiling water, bloating the kibble, feeding the dogs, letting the them digest their food, taking out the rig, filling up the water bottles to bring along, checking the lines and harnesses: This all takes two, three hours. Its not very intensive, but its hard to do anything else during this time, unless you really have it all planned out. We didn't get going before way after midnight today. Better planning and we would have gotten out earlier.

I like letting the dogs get a breather and some water at this really nice place where the logging road just barely manages to squeeze in between two small lakes, but that spot was occupied by campers tonight. I probably could have pitched a tent there some years ago, but now it just seems really weird to me. The logging roads are trafficked by semis and trucks and the people who live here. It's not a lot of traffic, but it's way too much considering ten minutes walk in any direction would take you to a completely quiet place.
I don't know if we woke up those campers. I imagine it must be creepy to here six panting dogs and a guy who speaks to them in a baby voice.
"Come on, guys, let's turn around here."