Jake Berkowitz sleeps on a plywood bunk in a plywood shack, heated by a wood-burning stove.
Most winter mornings, the St. Paul native is up by 6:30 to help feed the dogs, more than 100 of them. After cleaning up after them and doing chores, he takes the dogs for an easy five-hour run in the snow-packed Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Well, they run, he drives.
The 21-year-old is a rookie in the 2008 Iditarod, an 1,100-mile slog over Alaska's punishing terrain in subzero weather. The race, which started Saturday, is dubbed by some "the last great race on Earth."
For Berkowitz, it's his first big test as a musher.
"You want to know how you stand compared to the other best mushers in the world. You're miserable throughout the race," he said. "It's test day. The rest of the year is just practicing.
"If you don't come in with broken bones or lost fingers or toes, you've done a miracle."
Berkowitz has been driving dog sleds for three winters.
He grew up a city kid in St. Paul's Crocus Hill neighborhood, with an affinity for dogs and a love for the outdoors. He played tennis and was active in his synagogue youth group. Music and movies didn't interest him as much as fresh air and trees.