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Amber Nichols / Pine Knot News

Musher Alex LaPlante of Esko heads into the Beargrease 120 Sunday with her team of eight dogs led by Monax, the gray dog on the right. LaPlante said Monax somehow always manages to stay clean. "She doesn't get covered with frozen spit, or mud," LaPlante said of her favorite lead dog. "She's kind of like the queen." By contrast, LaPlante said she almost didn't recognize the dog on the back right, her own dog. "He's covered with so much snow and frost he looks like a different dog," she said.