Copper Basin:Thursday 12:41pm-Contributed by Susie

It's 12:41 p.m. on Thursday, and they are loading up the dogs. The truck is running with the two sleds on top, on of which has a green, yellow and black sled bag with 'JAMAICA' in red letters on each side of it plus a large Jamaican flag sewn onto the top of the sled bag. I hope we've got Newton ready for this. Three hundred miles through the worst part of Alaska, with temperatures currently hovering at -40 Celsius or Farhenheit (they meet at -40). Doing this on a dog sled with no assistance, plus having to look after his team of 12 dogs is a big responsibility for Newton and a tough journey for anyone. The dogs are going wild in the yard and Hans is still deciding which dogs to bring. Newton has his dogs almost completely loaded. The issue with Hans's dogs is that two of them have what is called 'chicken legs'. The fur on their lower legs was rubbed off on the last training run by the extremely cold and abrasive snow. The dogs are fine and not injured, but now they have to wear leg gators to keep them from getting frost bite on their lower legs. They have bright blue leg guards, kind of like the polo ponies at Chukka Cove. Hans is wondering if he wants to go through the bother of keeping the leg gators on. On the other hand he wants to see if the gators work so he knows for the Quest. Hans's main leader Tushai is a female who is just coming into heat and the rest of the team is ALL MALES! Now that spells trouble, and he's considering leaving her behind. Kinvig's ear is bleeding where it got bitten by Minty Fresh, so that's another consideration. Even a small injury like that can be a major problem out on a trail like the Copper Basin. Newton's dogs once again have no injuries and no issues. That was also the case on the last big training run. Hans said that if they had have been racing, he would not have been able to keep up with Newton's team. Newton is packing dog jackets for this race, not something you need unless it is very, very cold. As I write here, I notice that they must be finished loading dogs because the dogs left in the yard just started howling. The dogs abruptly change from a caucaphony of happy excited barks to a long mournful howl as soon as the last dog is loaded. That's because the dogs left behind know they are not going. To the dogs these runs and races must be akin to 'the hunt'. Somewhere deep in their genetics sled dogs get extremely excited when they know they are getting ready for a run, just as a pack of wolves would get stimulated by the scent of another animal in the woods and the imminent prospect of a pack hunt. Even though it is a lot of work, and sometimes there is danger and sometimes injuries, they are born and wired to do this. Lisa got a few pictures before the truck took off, and I just watched them leave down the road, dissappeering into the woods that start about 500 feet past the dog yard. Now all we can do is wait for Saturday's race start and watch the race progress on the website.