Expeditions

Tell me about Wild and Free Alaska Expeditions:
Brent: "Expeditions are a large part of my training. I feel like the more time I spend with the dogs out in the elements in remote locations the better we will be as a team on the race trail. For this very reason I have spent the last two Aprils living and mushing out of a camp in the Arctic of Alaska, at the base of the Brooks Range. It has been the most amazing thing I have ever done. Spending every day every minute with the dogs for weeks on end just existing out there is some of the best training for both the dogs and myself. Many days were spent just cruising the treeless landscape that rolls on for miles and miles. Breaking trail is something that my dogs just do, always have, always will and they love it, the Arctic is a great training ground for this. The accommodations were pretty amazing considering we were 350 miles north of Fairbanks by road and 13 miles off the road by trail. In 2006 we had 3 tents with Woodstoves, 2 large Solariums (3 sided snow structures that capture the sun and its warmth), 34 sled dogs, 1 pet dog, 4 loose pups, 3 permanent camp residents, 20+ visiting guests and our token Cat, kenevel. In 2007 we upped the comfort by adding a new 12x20 living tent 2 more sleeping tents and 20 more dogs. Our camp site was on a low ridge above a lake which we drilled a hole in for water (the most pure water a person can ask for). We ate like kings and queens. My camp manger and great friend Thom Walker prepared meals to die for and we snacked on his baked goods all month long. Throughout the month the dogs and I did many runs to the road picking up visiting friends and carrying heavy loads of supplies, we also did long fast runs chasing caribou across the frozen tundra. It is the best of both worlds for a dog musher and his dogs. Spending this kind of time with the dogs is something that cannot be done in town, for this reason, I will be spending every April exploring the Arctic and the great training it provides. I also regularly take the team on long trips/expeditions in the Alaska Range, White Mountains, and on the frozen Tanana and Yukon rivers of interior Alaska."

Base Camp on the North Slope near the Brooks Range