Here is my dog sled.
If you think you won't have to work, think again. To start, you stand up the entire time. You have to steer (by leaning to each side) to make sure your sled turns along with the dogs. You also have to break sometimes to stop your sled from going faster than the dogs (especially when going downhill). When going up hill, you either stand with one foot on the sled and push with the other or you run behind you sled to help your dogs out. You actually get quite a good workout.
The sled the other people took. One person sat in the front and the other stood on the back.
I didn't take any photos the first day (busy getting used to sledding). I also never checked the temperature but I'd guess between -10C and -15C.
My dogs with the sled. The first day we went across the lake fairly directly to where we were staying.
You can't really see it but the second day was around -11C. A bearable cold.
You are provided with a snow suit and boots. There are also hats and gloves if you don't have any. They provide sleeping bags. Along with my regular clothes, I wore thermals and my wool coat under the snow suit. I was warm enough the first two days as long as my scarf was covering my face. The first day was worse than the second because it was also snowing so you get snow in your eyes.
We started the second day by going back to the main base to drop off the other people.
One of my dogs taking a rest.
After a short break we went on a rather circuitous path through a forest and then around the lake.
The dogs got tired so we took a break.
Some rolled around in the snow.
Others sat and rested.
We stopped and ate lunch while they all rested.
Taking a nap in the middle of a lake.
The snow was very deep.
We ended up switching some of the dogs after lunch before going sledding again and then back to where we were staying.
Back by the cabins.
That night, while we looked at the Northern lights it was -24.5C.
The third day I was really cold. At first I couldn't find the line marking the temperature. It was -26.5C! No amount of clothing could make this bearable.
Despite being extremely cold it was really pretty. By this point I'd gotten the hang of dog sledding so these pictures were taken while we were moving.
Again, we took the long way back, going through the forest and across the lake.
Here's some video I took while dog sledding. Of course my camera battery decided to die which is why it's a bunch of short clips. It should be noted that batteries don't last as long when it's cold so make sure to change your batteries even if you think they're okay.
And that was my dog sledding adventure. I'd definitely do it again if given the chance.
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