Come run with us and our elite canine athletes! Join us in our 2008/ 2009 training as we prepare ourselves and our sled dogs for the race season ahead. This year Michelle will again tackle the 2009 Yukon Quest, the CB 300, the Gin Gin 200 and the Kobuk 440. Ed will run many mid distance races such as the Sheep Mountain 150, the Gin Gin 200, the Quest 300, the CB 300 and the Percy DeWolfe.

    Throughout our long winters, you can experience the pristine beauty of the Yukon Southern Lake’s region in the best possible way – by dog team. Nestled among breath taking mountains and majestic waters, Pristine Wilderness Tours offers an experience that is as unique and as personal as their intimate family run kennel.

    For the past 10 years Ed, Michelle and Keegan and up to 50 Alaskan huskies have been providing visitors with adventures from 1 hour to 7 days. With our combined experience of some 34 years we would love to share some of our knowledge with you.

    Ed has been running dogs for 24 years and has completed 5 Yukon Quests, including finishing 8th in one of the coldest Quests on record. Michelle has been running dogs for 10 years and has completed 4 Yukon Quests, finishing 8th twice, 6th in 2007 and 4th in 2008.

    Are you interested in racing yourself? Do you have dreams of testing yourself in the Northern wilds? Contact us for information.

Ed and Michelle sell, feed and recommend Momentum Dog Food and Pursuit. Dr Tim Hunt has supported our dreams and gives us the best product to get to the starting line. Check out Dr. Tim’s web site at www.drtims.com. We now also carry Hydrolyte, a canine electrolyte replacement energizer and antioxidant. Contact us for prices.

We would like to thank our Platinum Sponsor, Yukon Zinc. Yukon Zinc’s support helps us to “Live Our Dream”, and we are proud to support mining in the North. YUkon Zinc is making our dreams possible!

    We would like to thank Lindy and Spike for their continued love & support, Carla at Arctic Tulip Bookeeping, Snowdrift Designs (check out their sledbags), and Lambert & Marnie Hazelar who are offering us deluxe accommodation in Fairbanks Alaska.

    If you would like to meet some of the dogs in training for this year’s season, click here. Help us out by sponsoring our team - there are many levels of sponsorship from a personal level to corporate sponsorship.

There are many things I love about being a musher. One is that I am so in the moment. Experiencing the extremes of racing makes me feel more alive and strangely, that brings death closer. I think our society shuns death and we need to realize it is a part of life. Raising funds for Hospice Yukon as I run the Quest this year makes the race all the more meaningful. My reasons for wanting to support Hospice come from my personal experiences with the deaths of my loved ones and my own grief. Sometimes these losses still overwhelm me with sadness. I personally experienced the warmth and support of Hospice Yukon during these times, even years after my loss. This has helped me in acknowledging my grief and working through it. I think it is important for everyone to be supported while they are grieving or dying. In the 2009 Yukon Quest, I will be carrying 100 handcrafted Feelie Hearts on behalf of Hospice Yukon Society. Feelie Hearts began with a grieving four year old girl whose mother had died. She was given a small, stuffed fabric heart to carry with her, understanding the soft heart neatly tucked in her pocket was proof of her mother’s existence and love for her. It gave her permission to remember and to grieve her loss which was far too vast for words alone. The Feelie Heart story has traveled to Hospices around the world, comforting dying people and those who love them. Now 100 hand crafted Feelie Hearts will travel the 1000 mile Yukon Quest Trail in Michelle’s sled bag. The power of these small, lopsided, fuzzy hearts is in the tangible way they remind us to handle our own hearts carefully, to remember that love is never far away and compassion and understanding are readily available. They may be purchased from Hospice Yukon for a tax deductible donation of $100 or more and will be sent out following the race with a copy of Michelle’s race journal, the Feelie Heart story and a team photograph. To purchase your very own Feelie Heart or one for someone you love, please contact Hospice Yukon: Hospice Yukon 409 Jarvis Street Whitehorse, Yukon Y1A 2H4 Phone: 867-667-7429 On the Web at hospiceyukon.net