February 28, 2010

Life List: #72 Go Dogsledding


This weekend, I got to knock an item off of my life list! Some friends and I headed out to lovely Canmore to spend some time in sleds with dogs.


Our tour was booked with Snowy Owl Sled Dog Tours. It seems they come highly recommended by Dean McDermott:


About 30 people were booked for each tour, and we were all driven out to Spray Lakes, where the teams were waiting for us. We got to mingle with the dogs, and were given a 30 instructional chat, where we learned how to go, HIKE!, and more importantly, how to stop, WOAH. There they also told us that we would each have the opportunity to drive the sleds on our own. I didn't know what to expect, but I didn't really think it would involve a lot of independent driving.


We were all split into teams and assigned sleds, where we were introduced to our dogs. I decided to drive first, while my partner climbed into the sled. And then we were off!


It was a bit intimidating when we were told we were going to be driving the sleds ourselves, but the sleds were deployed with a guide on every third sled, and they were there to instruct us through the entire process. They controlled the overall pace of the tour, as well as letting us know when up and down hills, or sharp corners were coming up.


We chose an absolutely beautiful day to go out. It was 4 degrees, which made it all the more pleasurable. The mountains were absolutely spectacular, and the sky was clear and bright. Such a perfect day for outdoor pursuits.


All in all, we were out on the sleds for about an hour and a half, each of us getting to drive for half the trip. I had such a blast, and definitely didn't want my turn to end. Turns out that Snowy Owl offers overnight trips if you are really interesting in spending more time with the dogs. Maybe that's the next item to add to the list?

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