Dog Sledding in Canmore

It was a beautiful sunny day in the Canadian Rockies at Canmore, Alberta, when we arrived for our dog sledding experience with Snowy Owl Sled Dog Tours. We were loaded into a large van with 11 others, from as far away as the Blue Mountains just west of Sidney Australia. We traveled up the Smith Dorrien Spray Trail, which is a steep mountain road south of Canmore, until we crossed the dam on Spray Lake, our starting point.

Our group got a chance to meet the huskies and the trainer/guide Jereme Arsenault, who gave us a light hearted but thorough introduction to the sport of Dog Sledding prior to heading out on the trail. "Hike" "Whoa" "Easy" "Good Dogs" The few simple commands that we would master to make the trip enjoyable....and not confuse the dogs with needless screaming. And remember "don't let go" "help the dogs by pushing on the up hill portions" and "ride the brake, with 2 feet if necessary on the steep sections, or when one of the dogs needs a potty break and the other 5 keep running" ......Simple Right!

Peggy and her "Bucket List" was the reason we were embarking on this adventure, so she took the lead and tried her hand at Mushing first. Swee and I were seated and strapped snugly in the sled, along with our backpacks and camera gear. Because Swee was just a smidgen taller, she got the rear position and I took the forward seat. A bonus as far as I was concerned, because it kept my back warm.

The trail was well worn due to frequent use, icy on some of the down hill sections, and lay in a wide clearing amongst the tall trees which kept most of it in the shade. The huskies and their masters make this trip up to 4 times during the day, and sometimes at midnight, they know the route well. One Hundred and fifty dogs work regularly on these trails, and each one is rested on a rotated basis, so they are fresh and anxious to move. The dogs are as fit as the any of the Olympic Athletes who live and train in this mountain paradise, and are keen to run, even when you are not ready to go.

The trails were a bit steeper and icier than I had expected, and the dogs ran much faster. It felt cold on our faces because of speed of the sleigh, and I wished that I had brought warmer boots. Occasionally when we got too close to the sled in front of us, or maybe it was from the dogs paws, we felt bits of snow and ice flipped into our faces. Peggy was doing a good job of taking the hills and corners, and stopping when the guide instructed. We could hear her laboured breathing when we had an up hill section where she had the pad with one foot to assist the dogs. Peggy was more exposed to the elements, but was also working hard, so she was fairly warm compared to Swee and I strapped in our cocoon.

The sled in front of us was driven by Jereme the guide, the snow and ice kicked up as he applied the brakes on the longest down hill section of the ride. Our rig is in close pursuit, with our dogs hot on their trail. The huskies had a uncanny sense if they got tangled in the rigging to keep running while managing to get themselves clear of the ropes. For myself I would have probably tripped immediately and got 10 points for a face plant

Jereme has to make an emergency repair on the brakes on his sled as we approach a long down hill section of the trail. We all wait for a few minutes while the repair work is being done.

The dogs are patient momentarily, but are anxious to get moving and have a eager look while checking out what's happening behind them. The huskies would prefer to keep running rather than these unplanned stops. The 5 breeds used by the Snowy Owl kennels are the Siberian Huskies, Canadian Indian Huskies, Canadian Inuit Huskies, Alaskan Malamute Huskies and Alaskan Huskies. All beautiful dogs who LOVE to run.

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Soon we are back on the trail, and heading down hill again and around a hairpin turn. There were additional Snowy Owl staff on hand to make sure that we all negotiated this particular turn without incident. A safety aspect of the tour that was appreciated by all of the novice mushers and passengers.

We eventually pulled into the half way point and wait for the guide to assist us with the strap and help us out of the sled. Swee and I look like a couple of mummys, all wrapped up in the sled coverings, which were lined with fleece. We have very pink cheeks caused by wind burn from the fast moving sled. Some of the trail was quite bumpy so we are looking forward to getting out of the sled for a 10 minute break, photos and driver change. At this point my feet were getting cold too, so I wanted to get my feet moving to warm up a bit.

The dogs take a well earned rest too! However, other than taking a roll in the snow they were on their feet, moving around and dangling their tongues in the fresh air and occasionally barking. Seeming to say "What's taking you so long, lets get going" The dogs were very observant at this rest stop and were always checking over their shoulders to see what the humans were up to. The huskies were well behaved and allowed me to climb over and between them to get the angle I wanted for my pictures.

Now this is where this story gets interesting, and unfortunately, even though we had 4 cameras between us, AND there was a photographer on route to capture our adventure, and sell it to us at the end of the trip, we don't have one single picture of our runaway sled to share with you. At the half way point Swee and I decided to do some tandem mushing. Jereme had given us sufficient information in this technique at the orientation, and after Peggy mushing the first leg by herself, we thought we could manage this task between the two of us. But first, I went up to the lead sled and asked Jereme if we were returning on the same route, as I was concerned about the long hill we had just come down, and I thought I might have to run up most it if we returned on the same route. Of course, I knew that I was out of shape and incapable of running up hill. When he said we were going forward, and that most of the return trip was down hill and on the flat, I thought OK - No problem the two of us can handle this.

Jereme strapped Peggy in the sled, and Swee and I hollered "Hike," as our dogs took off running down the trail at a fast clip. We took the first couple of turns and down hill portion in stride, applying the break and slowing down when required. Our guide hollered back to us to keep our knees bent, which we did, and everything was going fine. My sun glassed kept fogging up every time we stopped, but once we got going they cleared off right away and I was starting to enjoy standing on the left runner and gliding over the snow covered trail, breathing the fresh mountain air.

Then it happened! I found myself laying in the snow on the far side of the trail. It happened so fast. I imagine it was something like a cowboy making only 1 second of his 8 second ride on the back of a Bahama bull. The first sensation I had was tipping sideways then landing on my hip. There is no memory of what happened in between. My head snapped back and came in contact with the hard packed ice on the trail. Then I just laid there stunned for a few seconds, and I think I remember seeing Swee hitting the snow and the runaway sled turned on its left side still skidding down the trail, Peggy trapped inside.

Jereme somehow knew what was happening, it must have been when Swee called out my name, (as I was told later) and he quickly stopped his outfit and came back to assist. I got up slowly and wobbled a bit before I got my balance back. It felt like a train wreck.

Jereme was hollering "Miss" "Miss" stay there. "Miss," come to the other side of the trail. Swee was coming to my rescue and we didn't know which 'Miss" he was calling to. He just wanted to keep us out of the way if one of the sleds could not stop on the blind corner behind us. We made our way back to our sled, and by that time Peggy had had been extricated and had conversed with the guide. They both assumed that she would mush the sled carrying the wounded back to the meeting place, which she did very skillfully and once again saved the day!

Remember: Always look up to your Musher!

We all have bumps and bruises to show for our weekday warriorette experience. But we won't let that hold us back from other adventures. No Pain, No Gain and No Regrets!

A laugh, hot apple cider and cookies were a good way to end the day in the mountains. Oh yeah, there was also an opportunity to purchase cold weather gear and souvenirs at the booking office in Canmore, and of course the ever present pictures that the photographer took while we were on the trail.

The only thing that remains is to tend the sore muscles and technicolour bruises we have as souvenirs of the day. Badges of honor reminding us not to be couch potatoes, and it's never too late to try something new.

A Whisky Jack looking for crumbs at the campfire; probably laughed himself silly at all the antics in the mountains today.

Thanks for dropping in... until next time,

Delane