Matter of fact saw four, plus one wolf and twenty-five moose. Myself, I'm taking the easy way to the starting line. Already this year, I've covered the distance back and forth six times by car and bush plane, and during summer by canoe. Now I'm riding a charter bus with some Quest officials, a few reporters, and the veterinarians. It's a dark, fourteen-hour road trip, Fairbanks to Whitehorse, with three bottles of champagne, a tin of caviar, and a slab of smoked salmon in my satchel.
Windows frost up inside the bus, the road is bouncy, the seats hard, the scene inside raucous.
June Ryan, a specialist in the U.S. Army and a volunteer vet tech, is teaching Stephane to swear like a soldier in English. He looks proud of himself as he blurts out obscenities, the meaning of which he does not comprehend. We're all acting like third-graders. The champagne bottle takes another round. Nervous anticipation is one of the glories of any worthwhile journey.