Musher and team have become regimented to each others' needs and idiosyncrasies. In Koyuk, the dogs are quickly put on a bed of straw, which the musher provides without even thinking, and the dogs automatically lie down to rest. Gone are the idle gestures which waste energy, like barking at spectators or growling at teammates. Body and mind are geared to traveling one hundred and thirty miles per day. The musher provides a high-fat meal and the dogs' furnaces are ready to burn it.
Departure is ritualized.
We can't give up now, the end is too close. Then the musher takes the leaders and walks them off their beds and a short distance from the checkpoint. Dropping down onto the ice, the team is much different from the one that screamed and hollered and pounded the harness in Rohn River. Gone is the overt enthusiasm and wild exuberance of the first days of the race. The musher remains completely quiet and calm.