Megan's Nature Nook
Nature Notes, Phenology, Photography, Fun Facts, Trips, Maybe Even a Bad Joke or Two... and More!
Each year when I see the John Beargrease Dogsled Marathon on the news, it reminds me of this unique winter sport that we’re lucky enough to have in Minnesota. Last winter I wanted to learn more about dogsledding, so I read Yukon Alone: The World’s Toughest Adventure Race by John Balzar – a book about the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race. While reading I was so amazed at what these mushers and dogs go through and their dedication to the sport. So naturally, after reading about dogsledding, it made me want to go dogsledding even more! So, I started looking into different dogsledding outfitters in Ely, Minnesota – the self-proclaimed capitol of dogsledding. There are all sorts of different styles, lengths, and price points of trips to choose from. Ones that are a few hours to others that are multiple day trips including camping. Since this was our first time dogsledding, we decided to go with Chilly Dogs Sled Dog Trips. (One of the reasons I picked them was because I liked the name!) Chilly Dogs is operated by the Hway Family. Jeff and Donna, along with their son, Jake and his wife Jess run the day-to-day operations. They also have other staff members that come in to help, and Jake and Jess’ kids help with the dogs, too! Their place is home to over 90 retired Alaskan Husky sled dogs, many of them having participated in well-known races like the John Beargrease and Iditarod Dogsled Marathons. Most of the dogs are around 12-15 years old, a few were 17 and even a 19-year-old dog was there! The dogs had so much energy and definitely didn’t act or look their age, you can tell they love running! Because of their breed, diet, and lifestyle it’s not uncommon for these dogs to be able to live and perform for so long. Although many of the dogs are older, they run an average of 25 miles a day doing dogsledding trips and about half the dogs are used on the weekends by the Boy Scouts of America to do trips into the Boundary Waters. This is the Hway Family’s 18th season running dogsledding trips. They usually run trips from December – March, depending on snow conditions. If you’re wanting to book a trip, don’t delay! They can fill up fast, especially on the weekends. We secured a weekday afternoon trip in early February. The booking process was really easy, and they sent along some great information on what to expect and how to dress for the trip. On the day of our trip, we headed just south of Ely to Chilly Dogs. Jake was waiting for us and welcomed everyone as we arrived. To start off the trip, we met in the lodge that was decorated with dogsledding memorabilia and had a wood stove. Jake and Donna talked about Alaskan Huskies, dogsledding, how to dress properly and gave a rundown of the trip. We chose the Snowy Owl Run which is a three-hour trip, about one hour on the trail. Before heading outside, they checked over everyone’s gear. If you don’t have the proper winter gear, they have anything you would need for a reasonable rental fee including coats, boots, gloves, ski goggles, and even hand and foot warmers! Once we were bundled up, it was time to head outside into a winter wonderland! It was snowing when we arrived and now had huge, fluffy flakes coming down. We headed to the dog yard to meet our new four-legged friends! Just before heading into the yard, we were met by two guides, John and Haley, who had two sled dogs out and told us a little bit about the dogs, their diet, personalities, and how to properly approach them. Then we were able to go in and meet the dogs! Most were very eager to meet us and loved being pet and getting butt scratches. A few weren’t as interested and stayed in their houses relaxing. As we were meeting the dogs, the guides were around to tell us their names and a little bit of their backstories. After we met the dogs and they met us, it was time for some dogsledding orientation. Luckily the dogs do most of the hard work, but there are still some things you need to know before heading out on the trail. They had another building where we went for our orientation. Jake had a sled and gangline laid out so we could learn how to break and steer the sled and what to do if we tipped the sled. The biggest thing we learned was: never let go! And secondly the dogs are the gas pedal so it’s important to know how to slow down and stop! Now is when the fun really began! We headed back out to the dog yard and got our sled assignments. The guides put together the assignments each day based on the people riding/mushing, number of sleds, and dogs that will be going on the trip. For our trip we had a total of five sleds, and Tony and I were the last sled to go. We had a guide at the front leading the group, two guest sleds, a second guide, and then us. I hopped in the sled bag and Tony stood on the brake of the sled while the guides and various Hway family members (including the kids) hooked up our dogs to the sled. The second we came out of the orientation building the dogs knew what was up! They were barking, howling, jumping, and dancing around in anticipation and excitement. Once all the dogs were hooked up it was go time! The anchor was lifted, Tony stepped off the brake bar, yelled “hike,” and away we went! It was crazy how fast it went from noisy pandemonium to silence as the dogs fell into rhythm and ran with their team. The snow was really coming down and with the wind we were dogsledding in a blizzard. The scenery was beautiful as we wove our way through wooded and brushy areas. It was fun to see the dogs in their element and see them grab mouthfuls of snow from the edge of the trail – some seeming to dunk their whole head in the snow as their ran. Some of the dogs had their tongues lolling out and you could just tell that they were really enjoying themselves! We were on the trail for about an hour and covered around eight miles. About halfway through we did a quick stop and switched positions. Now it was my turn to mush! Riding in the sled was fun, but wow, mushing was a whole new experience! It was so cool to feel the power from the dogs and how effortlessly they pulled the sled. During the ride, one of the guides, John, on the sled in front of us told us the names of our dogs and what positions they were in (lead, swing/point, and wheel). For the most part the dogs do all the hard work, but when you come to hills you have to help them out. I’d say the hardest part as a musher was when you went up a hill, you have to hop off the sled and run alongside it until you reach the top, then you can hop on again. You have to run pretty quick to keep up with the sled, and if you hopped on too early (before you got to the top) the dogs would look back at you like, “Really? Come on, help us out!” As we approached the dog yard near the end of our trail ride, the other dogs were barking and howling to welcome us back. We had time to stop and take some pictures with the dogs and our sled to document our awesome experience. From the snow and cold Tony’s beard was a pretty impressive sight. Once pictures were taken, the guides and Hway family brought the dogs back to their spots in the dog yard and we headed back to the lodge. Inside we shed our snowy outer layers and warmed up with a nice cup of hot cocoa and some treats of individually wrapped cookies, fruit snacks, and candy bars. While we were enjoying our treats, Jake and Donna told us more about dogsledding and answered more questions. Before heading out we perused the gift shop and got some fun souvenirs to remember this awesome experience! If you’re think about doing a dogsledding trip – do it! It was totally worth it and will always be a fun experience to look back on! I know Tony and I both greatly enjoyed it and I wouldn’t be surprised if another dogsledding trip is in our future. The Hway Family did a great job welcoming us into their world of dogsledding. You can tell they care a great deal about the dogs, and ultimately do it for the dogs – so they can keep on running even after they’re retired from long races. They did a good job explaining how the lives of sled dogs are different than your typical pet’s, but not any worse than a pet’s life. Alaskan Huskies love to be outside, are built for the cold and are acclimated to it. They are fed high calorie diets that fuel them during their running activities. They’re working dogs that enjoy running, they don’t do it because they have to, but because they want to. And because of this active working dog lifestyle, they are healthy and can live long lives. But just because they’re working dogs doesn’t mean they aren’t loved, these dogs get plenty of attention with lots of pets, hugs, kisses, and butt scratches from the Chilly Dogs family and staff, and visitors alike. If you’re looking to try dogsledding for yourself, check out Chilly Dogs Dog Sled Trips and have the ride of a lifetime! It was a really neat and unique experience and I’m so happy Tony and I could experience it together. I’m writing this as I drink hot cocoa from my new Chilly Dogs mug and snow falls outside my window, leaving me wishing that I was out on the trail with the dogs today. Check out the video below that Tony made of our dogsledding trip!
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