It was a beautiful day for dog sledding. The trees were covered with snow from the previous day’s snowfall and the sun was shining brightly. We pulled into the half mile tree lined driveway leading up to Snowhook Adventure Guides of Alaska and parked next to a small cabin. As we headed into the cabin another group was just leaving, gushing about how much fun they had. My husband and I were in Willow, Alaska about 90 miles north of Anchorage and excited to try dog sledding for the first time. We were greeted by one of our guides who helped make sure we had the right gear to keep us warm. The temperature was 15 degrees (which growing up in Minnesota we considered acceptable), and we were provided with warm outerwear including coveralls, boots, and gloves. Once we were bundled up, it was time to meet the dogs!
Before heading to the dog yard, we were given a few instructions on meeting the dogs. We were told that ‘if you are calm, they will react calmly towards you’. We were also told they might jump up on us so be prepared. And they might even pee on you! Fortunately, that did not happen! We were also given a little information about the dogs and the Iditarod, the annual Alaska sled dog race. We were told when racing, the dogs will eat anywhere between 10,000 to 15,000 calories a day! Now that is some workout! As we walked towards the dogs, we heard their excited barks and howls before we saw them. The sleds were being hooked up, and the dogs were excited to start running. They were ready. As we were waiting for one more person in our party to join us, we were able to walk around the dog yard and meet and pet the dogs. A dog yard is pretty unique with each dog tied up to their own individual house, often brightly painted, and organized in to rows. The dogs were super sweet and seemed to enjoy meeting us as much as we enjoyed meeting them.
Finally, it was time. Eight dogs pulled our sled. I sat on the sled with the simple instructions to hang on tight, the guide stood behind me, and my husband stood on the back of the sled behind the guide where he was given a few more instructions. These included making sure to keep your knees bent to help stabilize you as we went over bumps. He did say however, that if you felt like you were going to fall off, to just let yourself fall. Otherwise, you might end up tipping over the whole sled and the dogs could run away without us. He also told my husband that he didn’t need to worry about the brake, the horizontal beam near his feet. He said the only reason you would need to stand on the brake would be if he had to get off the sled for some reason. Then my husband would stand on the brake with both feet so the dogs couldn’t run away. He also said to just follow his movements going through the tree lined path to avoid the branches my husband might not be able to see. If he ducked, you ducked, if he leaned left, you leaned left. And lastly, he didn’t advise holding a phone to take pictures or video from the back of the sled because you needed to be able to hold on with both hands. Apparently, he had someone try and it didn’t end well for their brand new iphone.
And with those instructions we were on our way. The dogs got off to a fast start, and we hung on tight as we dipped down a small hill and raced around turns. The trail was beautiful. It curved through trees that were covered in snow making it look like a winter wonderland. Our guide told us he had been working with dogs for over 40 years and the dogs that were pulling us were all between one and one and a half years old. I asked how old the dogs were that raced in the Iditarod and he said between 1 and a half and 8 with most being between 4 and 5. You could tell our dogs were younger and still learning because sometimes when we stopped, they enjoyed rolling around in the snow and playing. They were definitely having fun! I also noticed our guide never said ‘mush’ when directing the dogs but gave commands such as ‘alright’, ‘hey get up there’,’ come on’, ‘let’s go’, ‘pick it up’, and ‘easy’. The trail took us out onto a frozen lake before we headed back through the woods again. The whole trip was about 45 minutes which felt just about right as my hands were cold. Although this was mostly because I kept pulling them out of my gloves to take pictures and video of the experience!
When we arrived back, we were told to thank the dogs by giving them lots of pats and praise. Then it was time to see the puppies. There were two puppies and their momma in a separate kennel and they were very affectionate and playful. We played with them for a bit before heading back to the cabin to warm up and return our gear. We had such a fun time dog sledding. We would definitely do it again.
Since there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, we decided to drive the 45 minutes to Talkeetna, a small town located at the base of Mount Denali where we knew we would see great views of North America’s tallest peak. We enjoyed the drive and marveled at our luck that there were perfectly clear skies for viewing Mount Denali. Once we arrived in Talkeetna we headed towards the river where there is a trail and took in the view.
Afterwards we wandered around Talkeetna. The town itself is only about two blocks and full of quaint art shops, restaurants, coffee shops and also a micro-brewery. We wandered through a couple of shops and ended up getting a warm drink at Conscious Coffee. Tea for me and coffee for my husband. Denali Brewpub looked tempting too with a huge fire pit out front. If we had had more time, I think we would have stopped to eat at Mountain High Pizza Pie. They have some pretty unique pizza toppings including reindeer and smoked salmon. They also have a Mountain High Pizza Pie which includes over 30 toppings. But as I am not a sled dog burning 10,000 to 15,000 calories, I am probably going to have to pass on that one!
A Postcard Journey 