Chapter 1 ON THE TRAIL It's a frigid March day in central Alaska Teams of sled dogs are barking wildly They are ready to run It takes nearly a dozen people to keep them from dashing onto the trail A young musher looks over her team of dogs one last time She makes sure their harnesses are in place She checks that the towline is connected properly to the harnesses and to the sled She gives each of her eight Alaskan huskies a scratch behind the ears
sled dogs are wild with excitement at the beginning of a race
sled dogs take off at the beginning of the race A race official gives the musher the signal It's her turn to set off The musher tells her helpers that it's time to let go of the towline She takes a deep breath and yells Hike The dogs are off in a flash Thirty-two booted paws sprint away from the start line The wind whips snow all around Minutes later the team is far away from the sights and sounds of the city The two lead dogs Willow and Jasper
set the pace for the team They also keep their fellow team dogs on the trail Up ahead is a frozen lake The trail veers off to the left The musher calls out Haw This command tells the dogs to turn left The snow whooshes as the team makes a fast but smooth turn The dogs do not bark when running The path is quiet except for the dogs footsteps crunching in the snow and the swoosh of the sled The young racer and her sled dog team travel for many miles and days But her sled is full of supplies and food Her team has been training for this race for months They stop at checkpoints along the way to rest eat and sleep The trail is challenging They run into a patch of ice and one dog gets a cut on his paw He is dropped from the race and an airplane picks him up and brings him to safety One evening a swirling snowstorm makes it almost impossible to see If it hadn't been for the watchful lead dogs the team might have lost the trail completely Good lead dogs will lead the team away from danger even if it goes against the musher's command
