CLAM GULCH, Alaska — When Gus Guenther takes his dogs out for a run in February, it will be a little different.

Like 1,000 miles in 40-below-zero temperatures over rough terrain different.

The 43-year-old Guenther, a Slippery Rock High School graduate, has lived in Alaska for 20 years and owns 20 Alaskan huskies. He has competed in two Iditarod races and is now preparing to join 14 dogs in forming a sled team for the Yukon Quest in Fenruary.

“It's more grueling than the Iditarod,” Guenther said. “The course runs from Fairbanks to Whitehorse in the Yukon. The elevation is higher and the terrain is tougher.

“I'm hoping to complete the race in 12 days. That's my goal.”

Only 13 of the 25 mushers to enter last year's race finished at all.

Such a challenge is nothing new to Guenther, however, who lives in a 12 by 16-foot treehouse, has no electricity or shower faciliites, and travels five miles just to get water.

“He doesn't have a lot of possessions and he's never cared to,” Judy Guenther, his mother, said. “But Gus knows how to take care of himself. I don't have to worry about him at all.

“He's backpacked all over the world. He works until he has enough money to get by, then he stops working for a while. I'm proud of him. He's living the lifestyle he's always wanted.”

Guenther does carpentry work in Alaska. He originally moved to the state to accept a job as a sports writer and eventually became sports editor of the Anchorage Times.

When that paper folded in 1992, he was more than 4,000 miles from home, out of work.

But he wasn't about to leave.

“Once I got out here, I knew it was home,” Guenther said. “I love Alaska.”

He's done numerous different odd jobs ever since the newspaper closed. These days, he gives dogsled tours on the Mendenhall Glacier near Juneau. He's done construction work at the South Pole for two years and some of his backpacking stops include South America, New Zealand and Europe.

“My only heat is a wood stove,” Guenther said. “But I love living in the woods. You have to haul your own water, chop your own wood ... You live how you want to live.”

For the Yukon Quest, Guenther is training some dogs owned by close friend Bruce Linton to pull his sled. He enjoys spending time with his huskies as well.

“We treat each other well. We depend on each other. It's a very special and unique bond that we have,” he said of the relationship with his dogs.

Guenther graduated from Indiana (Pa.) University this year — more than 20 years after leaving the school for Alaska. He received a degree in journalism,.

“It was just tying up a loose end,” he said of gettiong his degree. “I took a course out here, found that the credits would transfer and I thought it'd be cool to have a diploma.”

As far as Guenther utilizing that diploma to build a journalism career? Don't count on it.

“I don't grind through life. I experience it,” he said.

The Yukon Quest is an example of that.

Guenther is seeking sponsors for the race. Anyone interested may email him at wildthingkennels@hotmail.com.