Saturday, February 25, 2006
Dog-Sledding
I just returned from the dog-sled trip to see the northern lights. And very unluckily, I didn’t get to see the glowing aurora. The group size was small: Stefan, Claudia and me. I didn’t expect dog-sledding to be such a hands-on experience. I was thinking that when I was ferried from my hostel to the starting point, a group of polar dogs would have been there waiting for us. But no no… The guide went around the kennel to pick dogs for the trip and we are actually involved in holding onto the dogs and tying them to the sled.
I was sitting at the front of the sled and the feeling was incredible. Have you seen small pieces of stone fly up when a car is moving very fast on a road with big debris? The same thing happened to the sled; and I experienced the small pellets of ice hitting my face. The bumpy snowy and icy cross-country track made the experience felt like a mini roller coaster ride. There would be occasional stops to let the dogs rest and their breaths were the only thing I could hear in the silence around me. The wind was super icy and I don’t have a scarf around my face. My lips and face felt like they are on the verge on cracking in the dry -15 degree Celsius air.
The check-point was a nice warm teepee where we had some cookies and coffee. It was very enjoyable hearing the guide, Stefan and Claudia talked about their travel experience in Finland. Oh yah, the guide was a Finnish and he was complaining how the Swedes stole the idea of the sauna.
At first, the dogs sounded very miserable; they were howling. But later I found out that they are very, very friendly and their howling and barking were voices of energy and enthusiasm. Well, if they have been very angry with human, they would have bit me when I hold them on the leash and pat them on their backs. The polar dogs who pulled the sled were dogs of character. They are very smart and obedient but they can have some temper too. For example, there was a particular dog, Igloo (her body was totally white), who always bark non-stop and disturb the other dogs. But when the guide shouted her name, she would look very guilty and stop barking (not for long though).
Molly was the lead dog of the sled. Her memory is very good and I was amazed at how she could suddenly make a turn at a corner and steer the whole sled towards another direction. She loves human touch too. I remember that I was giving her a hug at the end of the trip and when I was leaving, she let out a “doggy” sigh and look at me with those big beady eyes. Molly was hurt in a fight recently and she had to stay in an indoor cage. I heard she was not harmed physically but psychologically.
Though I didn’t see the northern lights, the whole interaction with the polar dogs made the trip worth. I love dogs!
# posted by William : 11:00 PM
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ehhhhh ya ya the dog sledding was the coldest experience ever in my lfie man coz the dogs were moving damn fast then i was so scared abt my thumbs when i held on the railings liek they are going to fall off loh!! and the dogs kept shittin on the way then have to wait for them haha and did u smell ur clothese thereaffter?? got dog shit smell one eh heh....but the dogs veryv ery guai and nice eh and i think they are quite kelian eh some like super thin and kept shivering one!
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