My husband, Gord, was born and raised in Yellowknife, NWT. He was one of five children, the other four being girls. Their father, Roy, was and avid trapper and hunter. Roy owned his own dog sled team. Gord has told me many times what he remembers about his dad and his dogs. Everytime we watch a movie or a show on the discovery channel or history channel that involves dog teams, he reminisces about his dad and what he remembers. Roy passed away several years ago. His request was to be cremated. Gord built a fancy oak box for his dad’s ashes and on the lid of the box he woodburned in a picture of his dad and his dog team.Many times over the years we have talked about dog sledding and Gord has said that he would really like to try it. He never did drive the sled or work with the team as a child but would like to see what its like. So……We recently celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. What do you buy a man for an anniversary gift that doesn’t want anything???? Well I booked us a romantic weekend in Jasper at the Jasper Park Lodge and on the Saturday I booked a dog sledding trip. This was going to be really cool. We started out early Saturday morning with the tour company coming to pick us up at the hotel. We had driven about an hour and a half towards McBride when the van turned off on a snowy icy side road with a sign that read “Coldfire Creek Trail”. We had no idea what to expect.
The Firepit
There were two other passengers with us, a mom and son from England visiting the resort town. The were just as excited as we were because they had no idea what they were getting themselves into.We parked the van and waited. We were early. A few moments later the truck with the dogs and sleds drove up. Once the truck stopped you never heard such a commotion in your life. Those dogs just wanted to go!
The Team
The drivers unloaded the sleds and tied them off to the trees and then proceeded to unload the dogs. They have a very precise process for how they hook the dogs up. Some dogs have to be hooked up first and at the front cause they don’t like the dogs on the other team so if they are at the front and can’t see the dogs at the back of the other team, there is no fighting. It’s like kindergarten.
Starting the Chain of Command
Ready to roll
So once all the dogs are hooked up and the lead dogs are in place, then the owner of the teams proceeds to tell us that only one guide is going and will ride on one sled and the other will be driven by one of us. Yikes!! I IMMEDIATELY took shotgun on sitting in the sled. I wasnt gonna drive.So Gord was picked to drive his sled and the guide went with the other two people. I think he was a little nervous about doing this by himself but he was more than willing. We proceeded on a two-hour sled ride on a mountain trail. There were hills and valleys and cliffs and avalanche areas and everything. I was nervous a few times as the dogs were running at quite a good speed and I could see the valley below quite clearly.
The Amazing View
Several times I would look up behind me and ask if everything was good cause dog sledding is quite a workout for the driver. When going up hill you have to push the sled with one foot or get off and run with it up the hills. Going down the hills they sure took run fast (hahahaha) and the brakes have to be used quite a bit. I must say Gord did an awesome job and it was an amazing experience.
The Driver & The Rider
If anyone ever wants to have a truly Canadian experience this is the one to have. The day was a cool and a little foggy with just the right amount of sun poking thru the clouds. The dogs were awesome. The campfire lunch halfway thru the trip was great. I must say we will be doing this again I am sure.
One of the Team
Waitin for Lunch
Taking a Break
Having a Visit
Siblings
Come On Let's Go Already
Glad you guys had a riot, looks like fun.