A Night Mushing and Winter Camping Excursion
Imagine the adventure of traveling at night with a dog team plus an overnight camp along the trail in our Arctic Oven Tents. To witness the sled dogs trotting down the trail with their breath highlighted with your headlight is only topped off by looking up to the sky to see Northern Lights! This is an amazing tour of the lifestyle we live.
Northern Lights Run
Price: $849/person, minimum 2 guests
Tour Availability: November – March
Tour Times: 12 pm – 12pm next day
Distance: 20+ miles
Guest Limit: 4 guests
Difficulty: Advanced
Alaskan Dinner, breakfast, and snacks provided.
Clothing
We supply all heavy Arctic over gear, boots and mitts for our adventures together. You will be expected to bring basic winter clothing from our clothing list.
Details
We start with at noon with our Mushing 101 orientation and getting your clothing gear ready for the adventure ahead.
As we make our way to the kennel, you’ll be introduced to the dogs in your team as everyone has their own personality to learn. Together with your guide, you will run your team of excited dogs in the afternoon so your first introduction to mushing will be in daylight. Your guide will be with you all the way, one on one, teaching you the basics. We use a two-sled system to teach all our guests. We’ll start you out on the second “Tag Sled” to help you learn the ropes. This is a wonderful way to learn, as mushing is not always as easy as it looks.
You’ll finish your first learning run with your guide in the late afternoon. Together we’ll give the dogs their dinner and a pat each on the head or a scratch behind the ear for doing such a great job.
After the dogs are fed we‘ll join up in the main log home to have one of Kathi’s signature Alaskan meals.
After a great dinner and discussion of the trails options we can take tonight the time is here to find the Northern Lights by dog team. We’ll prepare the last details our night run adventure together and get geared up for a night you’ll never forget.
As we dress our dogs in their harnesses and place them in the line, we’ll keep our fingers crossed that tonight the Northern Lights will be out to play. You’ll realize the wonder of this day, once you and your guide give the command for the team to launch into the darkness of an Alaskan night. Gliding into the night we hear only the rhythm of the dogs feet on the snow. Time seems to stop as we become only aware of the here and now. Our dogs are taking us back in a time and place when both human and sled dog each depended on each other without question, each giving the other pure dedication. Be aware that this night run may change you in a way you never expected. This is, in so many ways what it is all about. This is our lifestyle, this why we run dogs!
We’ll finish our run at our campsite of warm Arctic Oven Tents set up as an Iditarod checkpoint. Don’t worry about being cold at night. These tents are amazingly warm and heated with propane heaters. You’ll be taking your parkas and snow pants off and enjoying 80-degree warmth as you sleep on cots and warm bedding ready for you.
Dog care always comes first. We’ll teach you how to care for the dogs just as we do in our races by cooking their food and getting them bedded down for the night.
Once dogs are cared for, we’ll build a campfire and share stories and adventures we’ve had along the trail. Remind me to tell you the story of hitting a moose in the nose to get him out of my team!
In the morning we’ll melt snow for the dogs watering and give them meat snacks of beef and salmon. Your guide will cook your breakfast as well. Pancakes and Alaskan reindeer sausage anyone?
Before we hook up the dogs we’ll rub each down and teach you leg stretches we do with our dogs before leaving a race checkpoint. We want to be sure each dog gets individual attention before we take off for today’s run home. Our dogs love camping and it shows. Once we hitch up the team for our mush home do hang on tight as our dogs usually bolt out of camp in excitement for another days adventure.
At our arrival back to the kennel we’ll be sure to make each dog feel special by giving extra pets and a solid look over before they jump into their dog house. Every dog gets a treat of their favorite snack, beef mixed with liver – yum!
It’s warm up time by the fire in our log home. It’s a great time to share pictures and memories of our overnight together. It’s our goal that you’ll have made a lifetime memory with us. We hope you’ll have a deeper appreciation of the sled dogs and Alaska we love.