Brent's Blog

I owe a big thanks to Gary and his family at Exclusive Automotive in Fairbanks, AK.  I had two trucks and my cart break down this week and they have been extremely help full in getting me and my dogs back on the trail!  I highly recommend Exclusive for all your automotive and welding fabrication needs. 

A big thanks to our newest Dog Sponsors, your sponsorship is greatly appreciated by the Dogs and humans of Wild and Free!

Annelle Durham- Thunder
Thurston Williams- Carbon
Clover Creek Family Farm- Molly
For "Grandma" Anne- Linus and Lucy

Have fun following Wild and Free and your sponsored dog throughout the season,  its going to be a wild ride!!  To Sponsor a Wild and Free dog for the 2011-2012 season Visit "The Dogs" section of the website. 

Puppy Update!

Earlier this season when we breed Silver with Chicken, for the second time.  Silver was also hooking up with another female from Squid Acres Kennel  and the deal was I get one of the females.  Well, last night I picked up the newest member of Wild and Free.  After spending the night sleeping with me and not even moving and inch all night, see was introduced to her sibling from another mother!  And I think she fits right in.  In the pic Squid is on the left and her sister Xenon next to her.  I think they bare some resemblance!!

Fall training is in Full swing in Wild and Free Country and super stars are coming out of  the wood work!!  Buddy and Clyde are two dog to really watch as the season progresses.  These two are amazing leaders, have the very positive attitudes and are happy all the time.  They really love their job and it shows!  the countdown is on 14 days until Wild and Free makes the move to Eureka.  Casey is back and already out in Eureka with 18 dogs.  He is getting the camp all setup and ready for the rest of us to show up on the 25th.  I have started my supply runs and Eureka is coming alive! We are Stoked!!  Stay tuned as the excitement grows at Wild and Free!

What a Week!  I just spent the last 8 days flying and hiking around northern AK exploring some of the most amazing country on the planet... and getting paid to do it!!   My buddy Josh Horst of Horst Expediting and Remote Operations LLC.   also known as H.E.R.O  has been pulling in alot of field work and its getting me out into the Wilds of Alaska all on the clock!  Josh started H.E.R.O with the same idea that I started Brentwood Enterprises and Wild and Free Mushing with.  Why not take what we love and are passionate about and make it our jobs or better yet our lives.  Over the last 10 years we have done tons of trips all over Alaska, and gained tons of knowledge along the way.  Every year our camps got bigger more luxurious.  We went from trips on our feet, then trips on skies, then by dog team.   Every year we gained knowledge and our confidence grew.   That's when Josh quit is desk job and headed for the hills!  Literally.  He started as a grunt hired to hike around in remote areas dig holes and take soil samples. Stationed out of a remote camp he would spend 4 plus months working 10-15 hour days. While a the camp he was very interested in the camp itself, how it was constructed and how it operated.   He was soaking up all the ideas around him and figuring out how to make it better.   Josh was always trying to find ways to make things easier and more efficient around camp.  And the bosses noticed!  The next year he was the camp manager.  He was now in charge of all camp setup and maintenance for the entire season. This experienced not only had him in charge of the camp in the field but also all the ordering of the mass amounts of supplies that are shipped to the camp (by plane) on a regular basis.    That's when H.E.R.O was born.  With the experienced he gained as first the grunt and then the camp manager he took the leap to go out on his own and start his own business.  A business that would not only set up the camp from bottom to top in the field but also do all of the expediting in town.  Now in his third season Josh is a well known businessman in town, he has 1 full time employ expediting manager Matt Fraver, who manages the in town operation, and a bunch of "hit man" as we call ourselves. The "hit man" crew is a group of good friends both new and old that have businesses or jobs of their own but are available to head out into the field at a moments notice to tackle jobs of all kinds.    H.E.R.O is hired by a wide range of entities to provide all types of field support including camp mob and demob, camp maintenance, specific building projects, field work assistance and much much more.    Joshes clients come from all walks of life from university students and world renowned scientist to rugged old time miners and multi billion dollar mining companies.    Josh's reputation of being a very well organized businessman with a take the bull by the horns and get the job done type of attitude has his business growing and gaining momentum for the future.    Joshes success is sending me and the rest of the "hit man" crew (included Josh and friend and Musher Mike Ellis)  to some of the most extreme and remote places of Alaska to do what we love to do!  H.E.R.O is a true success story and proves that if you are passionate about what you do there is now limit to what you can accomplish!!  Josh is a great friend and a business partner that  has been there since the beginning of Wild and Free.  He is one of my main guides for my mushing expeditions in the spring season, has helped train alot of dogs over the years and was my handler for the 2011 Quest.  Josh played a huge role in our  best quest finish to date, 4th place.  Josh and H.E.R.O are a huge sponsor of Wild and Free!    Moral of the story...  Find what your passionate about and live it, there's no good reason not too!  To learn more about H.E.R.O and what we do find us on Facebook and at  www.horstexpediting.com 
Checkout the pictures below from a recent camp we built.  

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