DREAM DAY.
Holy…read moremoly, our morning at Inukshuk is going to go down in our history books, no doubt about it. If I ever get Alzheimer's, dogsledding will be the one thing I never forget. The fact that this is something you just can't really do in Australia factors in to the enjoyment a bit, I suppose, but this truly was an amazing experience on its own.
See, I broke my ankle five weeks out from my amazing overseas White Christmas holiday and things were pretty grim for me. Not only did Inukshuk let me still go on a dogsled, but they covered my legs in a big fur coat (my mum in the sled behind me was very jealous of this and by the end of the ride I was super grateful) and one of the mushers was my guide. Plus we were right up the front! That bit was a real struggle for me on my crutches in the snow but I wholeheartedly appreciated it once I was in the sled. Stunning views and nothing but clear track ahead of us.
I gotta clear something up for you all, too: YOU WILL NOT BE ATTACKED BY FLYING DOG POOP AND WEE. It's true, this was a fear of mine after reading reviews and hearing comments from others. It may be that some sled dogs just keep running but the teams at Adventure Inukshuk come to a halt, do their thing and then take off again. Yes, sometimes you skid over the poop and things smell unpleasant for a couple of seconds, but uh... that's life? It's no big deal? And if dog poop smell is the worst thing that'll ever happen to you, I think your life is pretty good.
My family and I did the half-day sledding adventure, making sure we'd get plenty of pre-sledding puppy cuddles in before the big ride. And it WAS a big ride! Almost two hours of sledding through stunning white forests and fields took my breath away (because it was really pretty and also because it was really bloody cold). You do pause for a break in the middle of the ride, but it's only long enough to snap a couple of photos and maybe swap mushers (when you don't have a busted ankle, you split the work between yourself and a friend) and then get back on the track again. A clever idea would have been to bring a thermos along for this pitstop! But then I would have had to find somewhere to store it...
Inukshuk have plenty of snow gear for you to wear if you're an Australian who just doesn't own the right warm clothing for being out in the elements for over two hours. I strongly recommend borrowing everything they have available, from snow jackets to snow pants to snow boots to snow gloves, because you will find no matter what you do you will not reach a suitable level of warmth. Except perhaps if you're almost constantly jumping off the back of the sled and running to help out the dogs (they encourage this where possible).
We got bogged a couple of times but my musher Phillip was such a rad dude that I didn't panic, he was very confident in leading the dogs to get us back outta those hilariously big and fluffy snow piles. I learnt a lot of awesome stuff about mushing in general, like the fact that musher language (to give the dogs directions and commands) is universal. The dogs at Inukshuk seem to love their job and the mushers speak so fondly of them, you gotta believe them.
Magic, magic, magic day. Add this one to your bucket list.
