Driving your own dog team is an adventurous dream that can be realized at several mushing businesses across the Northern Wilds. Most provide some instruction so you gain confidence before heading off with team. Photo by Don Watson

Driving a dog team, or "mushing" as it is known in the sport, is an activity that many people want to try. Being a child in the 1960’s, I had to wait until young adulthood, when I moved to Alaska, to learn about dog teams and raise and run my own team.

Since that time, there has been a resurgence of interest in dog teams and dog team racing. Viewing dog teams in action, or even reading about dog teams of the North, leads to fantasies of driving your own team through the boreal forest, along crystalline iced-over waterways. Your dog team glides silently across a frozen lake, with only the whisper of the sled runners and gentle pad of the dog’s paws on the hard trail.

Up hill and down, the musher exalts in the freedom of the Northern Wilds. The dogs speed up in excitement as they come onto the site of a wolf kill, ravens and bald eagles flying up from the remains. You stop for a mug of tea or cocoa around a crackling campfire, while your faithful huskies are lined out and resting by the side of the trail.

These iconic images are the reality of the dog musher’s world. Is it any wonder that so many people are interested in trying mushing? Today one can experience this world, mushing through the wilderness without the effort and expense of raising and training a team. A number of mushers and lodges cater to folks interested in dog team vacations. Other dog team businesses transport ice fishermen and supplies into wilderness areas where snowmobiles are forbidden.

Finding an outfitting business for dog teaming is as easy as performing an internet search, but many questions may be left unanswered by a website. How do I keep warm? Will my children be bored? Am I too old or physically unfit for a dog team vacation?

Some dog team businesses allow the client to mush the dogs under the supervision of the guide, who accompanies the client. This makes a two-some on the sled. Other kennels will give a training program, a type of ‘Dogsledding 101’ course. This prepares the clients for mushing a team of dogs on their own. Usually there are two customers per sled. A guide leads the way with a separate dog team.

Most companies will accommodate a wide variety of fitness levels and interests. Dog mushing can be quite aerobic but many dog sledding programs can fit you in no matter what your age or fitness level. Some outfitters regularly accommodate people from five to 85 years old, and programs designed for those with special needs and disabilities.

You may now be dreaming of a dog team adventure. Head North to the great winter wilds for a vacation of a lifetime.

Editor’s Note:

Don Watson of Houghton, Mich. spends his winters guiding sled dog trips for Wintergreen in Ely. He first began working with sled dogs while living with his familiy in the remote village of Eagle, Alaska. This is his first story for Northern Wilds.