Brent's Blog

What an amazing place, I am here in Norway visiting Sigrid and having a great time. The weather has been perfect so far with warm temps and sunny skies, although everyone says this is not the norm so we will see what the rest of the trip has in store for us. We are staying with Sigrids parents in their home town of Sparbu, they live on an old farm right on the shores of one of Norways many fjords. Today we are heading out on an overnight hiking trip in the mountains, it will be nice to get out into the Norwegian wilderness and see the differences from Alaska. Hope all is well back in the states. Until next time

Brent

Well its Official we are signed up for the 2009 Iditarod. just faxed in my entry paperwork and Payed my 4000 dollars to enter the 2009 race. Very Exciting stuff. My entry will not be official on the Iditarod site until June 28, the first day to sign up, but I will not be able to go to Wasilla for the official sign up so I sent my stuff in early to make sure I get a spot. They are only excepting 100 entrants this year and are expecting 60-70 to sign up on the 28th in person so it was important to get it in asap. Sign up for the Quest is Aug 5th and I plan on being he first person for the 3rd year in a row to sign up. once that is done the stage is set for one hell of a season. the summer tours are going well over at Trail Breaker Kennel we had 170 people out today for our show, the biggest day of the season so far. The dogs are all doing great i have been getting out most nights with the mountain bike training leaders and young dogs which has been great, just like the sled in the winter time as soon as I touch the bike the yard goes crazy with excitement. Cant wait for snow. Now that summer solstice is behind us we are on our way back towards winter. I know that is a crazy thought but I am excited, although I am not quit ready yet, I have alot to do before then. Hope the summer is going well for all of you, stay tuned as the summer progresses and we continue to prepare for the epic season ahead. Thanks for stopping by

Brent

WOW how time flies, it seems like just yesterday I was pulling out of the Brooks Range and here we are in the second week of June. The summer is going well I am working at Trail Breaker Kennel with David Monson doing everything you can imagine, from building dog houses to dinner presentations about Dog Mushing. I love it, keeps me busy while a the same time I am able to really promote Wild and Free. As it says on the front page of the site I am planning on signing up for both the Quest and Iditarod this year. My focus will still be on the Quest but I have some young dogs that I think would be great to run in the Iditarod, and I am excited to see the Iditarod trail as well. The dogs are all doing well, I have 36 dogs at the moment and everyone is looking happy and healthy. I have been running them with my mountain bike every night and they look very strong. I am especially excited about my younger dogs, they are showing alot of potential. Please stay tuned to the site it is sure to be an exciting season. thanks for stopping by

BwildandFree

hello from the arctic it has been a crazy few days the wind has not let up, we had gusts to 45-50 mph yesterday, it pretty much locks us to the tent for most of the day hoping that the tents hold up. so far we are all good with the exception of having to dig out the dog houses 3 times, but because of it the dogs have huge walls and deep holes to live in. This morning was out first calm morning it was amazing. I took Pete about 5 miles to the north-west out of camp to spend the day hunting while i came in to meet aren and Kyla with all the young dogs and pups. camp will be complete tonight with 5 tents with wood stoves, an outhouse with a view, 41 chain dogs, 2 loose dogs, 5 little pups and one Cat!!!! Hope all is well back in civilization. until next time

Bwildandfree

The Wild and Free Station is up and running!!!!!! Because my sheep hunt was cut a little short due to weather and snow conditions I was able to get up here to Toolik on the 26 of march and have been hauling loads and setting up camp for the last few days. it is always nice to get back to camp. Thom and I did alot of work getting the dogs all settled in with snow dog houses and holes. we were really proud of ourselves until the wind it. We have had consistent winds of 30-40 mph the last two days and everything has been blown shut including all of our nice dog houses. but the tents held up so I am not complaining, the dog houses can be rebuilt and will be even better now that the snow pack is so much bigger. the dogs are in the groove and have been hauling alot over the last few days. The attempt at at sheep hunt was a great trip we didnt make it to the hunting grounds but it was a great 2 day 150 mile warm up for the dogs. Spent some time with Chandalar Dave (the only year around resident of Chandalar lake) The trip was a great test for some young dogs, and they really shined. But the real story is a dog named Leer he is the oldest dog in the kennel at 13 and lead Kens team the entire 150 miles amazing!!!! Well better get going Thom will post this soon. Check back throughout the month for updates from the Wild and Free Station. I will try and send some photos as well

Bwildandfree

Well the race is on now we arrrived back in Fairbanks last night after getting my friend Kurt all settled in with his 20 dogs out in Eureka. It is so nice to have someone out there so that all of my none race dogs dont have to be moved back to town. It was sad to leave but I will be back, there is no doubt about that. I just got back from my vet check and everyone is looking really good, the vets said I have a really strong dog team, which is nice to hear before the race. I got 17 dogs checked so now it is just narrowing it down. There is still lots to do but it is a relief to have a clean bill of health. My new sled should be in on monday and then i head to eagle summit to do a test run so that everyone knows what to expect. I volunteered to do it because there is nothing like knowing first hand what to expect up there. i have a second string team in town so that i dont have to use my race dogs, should be a good time for them and me. Greg (the web man) is putting up a New blog for Quest 08 so stay tuned for that. I have whole team in place to do the updates so it should be very informational. ok gotta run 1 week until the start, kind of wish i could hit the trail tomarrow but we will definetly be ready when the time comes!!!!!

Bwildandfree