When was the last time you thought outside of the box when it came time to make plans for a day trip or even a weekend getaway? If you aren’t sure, then here’s a suggestion. Warning! This is an extraordinary activity that is not suitable for the non-adventurous. It’s dogsledding. I’m not questioning its popularity, but depending on where you reside, you may not have seen too much advertising for dog sledding.
The good thing is you don’t even have to go to Alaska to dogsled even though a trip to Alaska would be nice. Other places to go sledding include Minnesota, the snowy mountains of California, Idaho, Montana, and Canada. When you think of dogsledding, it can be as exciting as the arctic explorers trekking across endless miles of snow that come to mind.
According to the various sites I have researched, there is flexibility when it comes time to plan an event. I have seen some services that offer one and one-half hour trips, half-day trips, full-day trips, overnight trips and even weekend trips. They leave it up to you to dress appropriately. That includes bringing your own sunglasses or goggles to protect your eyes from the reflecting sunlight off the snow. Some do provide blankets. Another point worth mentioning is that for some, the minimum age allowed on a trip is three years old. Of course that would be for the shorter trips such as the one one-half hour trips.
Of the sites I’ve been to, there are experienced teams that will be your tour guide and get you set for the journey. There are even some dogsled tour providers that encourage participants to aid in the preparation. That might be especially exciting for the children. And there even are possibilities for you to be the musher and drive the sled. That would depend on the weather and the trail conditions.
Now this trip should be no different than any other. You should know to bring along a camera and/or video camera. Of the agencies that I’ve seen, most mentioned that they do stop along the trail for snacks and refreshments at various locations. Just to be on the safe side, you might want to double check.
If you read this and decided that trying to control half a dozen huskies is a little bit more than you want to handle, but still might be interested, there are plenty of opportunities to be no more than a spectator of an event. Some events include the Seeley Lake 100/200 Sled Dog Race and the Race to the Sky in Montana, with the latter being mentioned as one of the top five sled dog races in the world. Numerous others include the International Pedigree Stage Stop Sled Dog Race that has participants from as far away as Japan and France competing. Even though I mentioned that it’s not for the non-adventurous type, that doesn’t exclude you from being a spectator. Who knows, you might decide that you’re more adventurous than you thought you were.