Brent's Blog

A few days ago we went back in Dog mushing history by mushing from Eureka to Manley and pulling into the Redingtons Kennel to rest the dogs, feast on an amazing dinner made by Pam and talk allot of dogs with some real doggy people. It felt pretty special to drive the dogs into Joee and Pam's place, just like 20 years ago when mushers like Susan Butcher, Ed Salter Ron Tucker and other legendary mushers used their place as a resting spot on their training runs. Joee and Pam were out feeding dogs when we pulled into the yard and I think they also enjoyed seeing my motley crew come rolling in. As we parked the dogs I felt like I was carrying on a great tradition, and when Joee came up (with a big smile on his face) and said "they rolled in here real nice" I new that they were enjoying this just as much as Kyla and I. This is something I have dreamed about doing ever since we started training out in Eureka lat year, and it finally all came together. The best part is the trail is in great shape and a good portion of it was put in by dogs!! or lets say a dog named SILVER!! Which makes this blast from the past even more special for me. We are headed back to the Redingtons tomorrow and hope to continue the traditions the rest of this season and for many seasons to come!! Along with establishing the Redingtons place as a great stop we have also got Ed and Willows place all lined out as a great checkpoint.. We stopped at the Salter Checkpoint the other night, after a soak in the springs, for Pizza and to help Ed with Some computer issues. Nothing like visiting the only neighbors for miles and having a great home cooked meal and being able to give back at the same time. These opportunities are priceless for Kyla and I and we are very lucky to be welcomed into both the Redingtons and the Salters homes. I love to run dogs and there are allot of great places to train but Eureka has a history that lives on in the people that have been here for years. Stopping at these legendary dog mushers homes for some great Home cooked food and great conversation can not be beat. Between the tough trail conditions and great people, one thing is for sure we have got a lot of good dog juju out here even if we are the only dog team running trails. Other then all the history we are making Kyla and I have been making great progress on food drops and should be done soon. We have really done a great job this year, I will definitely have the best drops I have ever had. As for the dogs, they are amazing they look better then they have all season and I think they are still getting better!! I have made the decision on 12 dogs baring no injury so that only leaves 2 spots. One of my younger dogs, Jerry is going to run the Quest with Iris Woods so that leaves me with 7 dogs fighting for those remaining 2 spots. Jerry is just two and totally amazing but I am going to race really hard and felt that my pace would be too much for her first 1000 mile run and when Iris said she needed a leader I offered Jerry. Iris and her Husband AJ came out the other day and picked her up, it was hard to see her go but i know she is in good hands. I hope she makes her team it will be a great experience for Jerry and I know she will be a force in Iris's team. In trade for using Jerry Iris brought out 10 pints of Ben and Jerrys Ice cream for my food drop. it is a perfect trade since Jerry is named after my favorite Checkpoint snack. And because of the warm temps last week all the pints I brought melted so I need some new ones for the drop. I ma really excited about Jerry Running the race. Last year Phil Joy ran Rosie in his team, she made it 700 miles and had a great experience and it really shows, she is one of my main dogs this year and i know it has alot to do with the experience she had with Phil last year! A big thanks goes out to Phil for taking a chance with Rosie. So here are the 12 dogs I have selected so far for the Quest team but know that this can change at any given moment. My team is deeper then its ever been this season and all of these decisions are very difficult. I am going to leave you with the list of the top 12. I am working on getting the next chapter of the CB300 story done but it has been really busy with food drops,the next post will be the Chapter 3 Chisto to Paxson. thanks for stopping in!!

Wild and Frees Questers

Silver-Leader
Ling Ling-Leader
Madonna-Leader
Maude-Team Dog/Leader
The Dude- Leader
Walter- Leader
Thunder-Wheel Dog
Rocky-Leader
Budget-Leader
Heckel-Leader
Rosie-Leader
Taco-Wheel Dog

Looks like all I need now are a couple team dogs and we are all good to go!!!

Brent and the Gang