Our handler, David’s, take on things…

Eureka is full of remote mining camps and trails creating an ideal network of roads to get the dogs in shape for the first race of the season, the Top of the World 350 in late Dec.
The weather was too warm for any teams to run this morning. Perhaps a midnight run is necessary. The dogs enjoy water breaks in the creek before they freeze. I get a chance to rinse my boots off. Paige drives the teams while I study the dogs from what might be a child’s booster seat on the back of the 4 wheeler.
The rush hour traffic on our road to Rampart might have 2 cars per day. Hunters and miners make up the traffic as this area still has moose and gold nuggets to get at. We are here for the roads the miners created and the trails the mushers mapped out. The hot springs are a huge draw for everyone out here.
The cabin is full of clothes and food making it feel cozy. It was a shanty when we first arrived two weeks ago and looked as if it would crumble when the door opened. Now it feels like home. I think 60 dogs helped make it that way.
Hooking them up to the lines is hard to compare to anything else. Impossible really. Maybe a frat party in the middle of NYSE or being in the front row at a Beatles concert would be an attempt to explain the feeling.