The most important reason people should go dogsledding is because of the dogs. Both times I went dogsledding, I formed a really close bond with the dogs there. In fact, the second time I went I was able to have two of the dogs on my team that were on my team last time. At Wintergreen Dogsled Lodge, the place I went, you get to spend a lot of time with the dogs. You can help feed them, harness them, and hook them up to the sled. Also, you can spend a lot of time interacting with them–everytime we stopped for longer than a minute I would always go up to the dogs and pet them all.

Another reason you should go dogsledding is because of all of the stuff you learn. The guides at Wintergreen explained a lot: things about the dogs, the races, the sleds and even stuff about the environment like the different types of trees. For instance, the order the dogs are hooked up isn’t random, they go in different places depending on their skills. Lead dogs are at the very front. These dogs have to have a natural instinct for leading – they have to have a good sense of direction and be able to listen well. Swing dogs are next. They also have to be good listeners as they help turn the rest of the team. Team dogs are the largest group:  these dogs make up the brunt of the force. Finally come the wheel dogs, who are the strongest. Because they are closest to the sled they feel the weight of it more than any other dog. Usually a team has dogs in two rows, with either one or two lead dogs.

One thing I really liked about Wintergreen was that you get to do a lot of the stuff by yourself; for instance, you get to stand on the sled runners and command the dogs, while in some places you only get to sit in the basket at the front of the sled.

Of course the main reason people don’t want to go dogsledding is because of the cold, and yes, it is quite cold. However, it’s easy to stay warm using three tactics: lots of layers of clothing, moving around, and eating. For clothing, you should try to wear three different layers, a wicking layer – anything that repels moisture, a warmth layer – fleece and other warm materials, and a wind layer – windbreakers and other things. Moving around stimulates blood flow and helps keep your extremities warm. Lastly, when you digest food your body generates heat, so if you’re cold eating helps a lot.

If dogsledding sounds interesting to you, you should definitely check it out. Even if you can’t go dogsledding, you can learn more about it on the official Iditarod website, iditarod.com or any other source of information about dogsledding.