Dog Sledding- Wyoming 2005

Dog Sledding

Jackson Hole, Wyoming

March 2005

My dad had just died earlier in the month and now it was spring break.  Every spring break, I pick a state I haven't visited yet, fly out there, rent a car and go exploring for four or five days.  This year, I didn't want to do a lot of exploring.  I wanted to stay put in one place as I didn't have the energy to explore.  I picked Wyoming and I wanted to try dog sledding. So off I went to the cold, cold, vast land of Wyoming.

I found a tour group that had trips but they only had day trips at this late time of the year. While I found the area to be freezing and unpleasant, Tom, the guide told me it was seasonally warm and he was worried about taking someone out overnight and getting stuck in slush and ice.  So a day trip was the only option for me.

Tom hooks 12 dogs to the sled and he examines each dog first to determine if a particular spot is better than others for particular dogs.  "Bruno is the alpha dog:, he tells me as Bruno takes the first spot. :He don't like Max so Maxie will go in the back and that's good because he never tires."

Butch, Angie, Spirit, Patches, Salty, Star, Vic, Wolf, Baby and hank are placed according to their interactions with the other dogs and then we are all set to go.

I was asked if I wanted to ride the herd and I most definitely did not.  I had visions of me holding on the  reins and falling off the sled and never seeing my guide or the dogs ever again.  So Tom drove and I bundled up and parked myself in the comfort of the sled.

Tom whistled and all of the dogs took a stance that indicated to me that they were ready to go. A word was shouted and off we went, twelve sporadic dogs ran like crazy with me in the sled and Tom standing in the back. Commands are given to move right or left. and Max set the tone and the other  dogs followed with an abundance of energy.

I hadn't realized that all of this moment would reel havoc on the dogs' intestines.  I quickly smelled and then saw little balls of shit flinging by me.  I bundled up just a bit more in hopes that none of these projectiles didn't hit me.

The dogs would run for ten minutes and then rest for five minutes.  They would stop and lay down and eat snow.  Then Tom would whistle at them and they would be up and ready to follow Max who always turned and looked for some cues from the guide.

After two hours, we stopped again and set up a place to have a picnic lunch.  We sat in the snow and ate sandwiches and drank warm tea that just hit the spot. No one else was around.  It was just the two of us in the beautiful woods.  After lunch, we rode around the Grand Tetons and headed back to the lodge as it was getting dark and we didn't want to risk getting lost or delayed.

I loved that day.