a day of dogsledding

A day of Dogsledding at Nakitsilik

When we decided to try dog sledding - we began a search , expecting to find that we would have to go to the Yukon for this unique winter sport. To our great joy we were able to find an outfitter right here in BC! The owner, Laurie Niedermayer of the Wolfden at Nakitsilik - was easy to talk to on the phone, and very patient as we asked all sorts of questions about the experience.

So we made arrangements to drive up on a Friday and to meet with our tour guides the following morning.

When we arrived at the trail head in Moose Valley provincial park - it was a typically stunning winter day – clear bright blue sky, sun sparkling and reflecting off the snow like millions of little diamonds. Fresh snow blanketed the towering pines that surrounded the house.

While dog handlers unloaded all the gear and dogs and got things set up- Laurie showed us our sleds, and how to handle them - it was basically a refresher on the video we had watched the previous night at our motel room. It was hard to concentrate on what she was saying because the dogs were screaming. At first we were really overwhelmed by the noise - but our guides assured us that it was because the dogs were excited to get going.

Once our guides had harnessed the dogs they began moving the them to what we had been told was the mainline and they were clipped into whatever position they ran in. The noise level escalated and the dogs were bouncing and jumping and lunging ahead – eager to get going. My friend & I looked at one another in fear, anxiety and terror. Our guide laughed and said – “Don’t worry – you will be fine”.

Well – in minutes we were ready to go – Laurie led out with the first sled, I was next, then my friend Carrie, followed by Allie and our snowmobile support, Matt.

Holy cow! Did those dogs fly – as we took off, the dogs fell silent and I hung on in terror! In fear! Adrenaline coursed through my veins and I started to laugh – this was great! It was wild! It was amazing! I could not believe I was actually doing this! When we finished the slight climb out of the parking area - we were now on an old logging road. Laurie, our guide had pulled up and stopped, waiting to see how we had fared coming up the hill. Once all four teams were up on the roadway, Laurie led off again and we went a few feet before turning onto a narrow trail. Then we simply followed the trail. We were out in open meadows, along a logging road and then after a while we turned onto a forested trail The scenery was awesome. Beautiful pine trees, rocky hillsides, frozen lakes and fresh snow covering everything. After what seemed like ages, we pulled up and stopped at a lakeside campsite and our guide tied her team off, then came back and tied each of ours off as well.

“Well – what did you think of that?” Laurie asked, with a grin, and we could not quite gushing about the feeling. The adrenalin had leveled off somewhat and we walked around, cameras in hand to take pictures with the dogs, of the view and to have our pictures taken with our teams.

Very quickly the dogs were frantic to get going – so we got back on the sleds and continued on our way.

While on our break - where we were served hot chocolate and coffee, and some munchies, we asked questions, and they were patiently answered. The dogs, all purebred Siberian Huskies, were friendly, fun and full of mischief and we talked about the tour, stuff the dogs had done and how hard they had worked. How fast they went. Then we found out that the dogs we had been running are actually movie stars – having appeared in movies, TV and commercials, with the likes of Skeet Ulrich, Natasha Henstridge, Cuba Gooding Jr. and James Coburn. How cool! Now we were definitely going to have to go home and rent those movies – just to see if we could spot our “team” in them.

20 kilometers later, we returned to the trail head, exhausted and exhilarated. The feeling of being on a sled defies words, it is amazing, fun, and hard work. It wasn’t until we were on our return trip that we began to understand our guides repeated instruction about riding the brakes on a down hill, and after we helped to unhook and un-harness our teams – and all the gear was carried inside, we got back into our car and drove back to the resort we had chosen to stay at. We soaked in the hottub and recounted our day - it had been absolutely amazing!

Our guides asked if there was anything we wanted to know about, or would have preferred or that we felt should have been improved about our tour – and what??? Were they kidding? The experience beats anything I could have imagined! I can’t believe that we had been out on the trail for two and a half hours… it didn’t seem to be so long at all! Whatever my preconceived ideas – I could not have come close to what an invigorating, amazing experience this had been. I was already trying to figure out how many of my friends I could talk into coming back so I could do this again!

I asked for more information about the dogsledding packages – where we could actually go dogsledding for full days or multi day and week-long packages.

The dogs were amazing and friendly, the guides knowledgeable and funny, the instruction more than adequate, and the exercise and fresh air were huge bonuses. The accommodations and food were good and hearty. Driving conditions to the cariboo were good - the roads were well maintained. Even the weather cooperated for us.

Would I come back – oh yes! Would I recommend the experience – Absolutely!

For more information on Dogsledding in the Cariboo - call Laurie Niedermayer

The Wolfden at Nakitsilik 1-877-397-2108 or check out their website: www.nakitsilik.com