Dog Sledding :)

Over Spring break I went to Colorado as you might know. There we got to go dog sledding. I was so excited because the time before this when I went to Colorado we went and it was the most memorable time there for me. When I was there this time with a lot of the people that did not really know what dog sledding was like I kept getting really excited over it and I am pretty sure they all thought I was going over board but I did not care. They finally understood when we went why I was acting that way.

We went to the same exact place that we had gone the time before. We arrived there and filled out forms then got all of the gear we needed and put everything on so we were ready to go. Soon our instructors came in and took us outside to the dog teams. Our group was split up into six and four because there are only six people allowed for each group. I was in the group of four and we had two other people from another group join us. We got to our dog teams and the group we came with all took a picture with the lead dogs. Then we soon met the dogs on our team and learned a little bit about them. There are eight dogs on the teams that pulled us. First off on our team was the two boys. The rest of us sat in a two bench sled thing that was being pulled by the snowmobile that the instructor was driving. Each bench sat about two and maybe three if you squeezed. The dogs are taught to follow the snowmobile so our instructor took off, yelled a command, and then the dogs took off.

Dog sledding it not the fastest thing in the world especially when they had been on the same trails day after day so they get bored. The people on the sled were going at a more leisurely pace then one might think. The instructor started to make new trails for the dogs to be interested and pay attention more. This just meant a bumpier ride for those on the sled behind the snow mobile though. It was fun for me but maybe not for the people that did not have things covering their face.

Soon enough it was my turn and I went by myself first with no one sittting in the seat area. He asked me if I wanted to go the easy way or the hard way and I told him the easy for this first time.... sooo he went the hard. Well I have gone dogsledding before but I was no where near an expert. He took me down and path where the corner takes a hard steep right and then quickly a hard steep left. Well luckily I got the first corner down without hitting the trees on my right. But then there was too much slack in the line that attached the dogs to the sled and dumb me forgets how to break at the moment we try to go around the second quick turn to the left. The dog were going so fast and got the turn but the sled did not and whiplashed out to the right taking me in the same direction. I pretty much launched off of the sled and to the snow. It was fun that I fell but I kind of wanted to have a re-do and prove that I could do it. And just my luck too, the other six from our group had just crossed the trail across from us and saw me launch off the sled. One of them even got a picture.

Moving on to another exciting part of the trail ride was when a little boy in our group who was one of the additions rode on the dog sled. He was probably in elementary school or middle school. He was so light and little though, so he got to ride a lot so the dogs could pull him easier and we could cover more ground. Our instructor unexpectedly led us up this crazy little snow ramp thing. It is hard to describe but it didn't feel like we should make it over but somehow we always did. Well the dogs get excited to go up it and the instructor takes us up then we looked back and see the dogs come over and then soon the sled.... but with no little boy. Then we circle around and the dogs follow so the boy quick jumps back on the sled. Again we go over another one of those crazy little ramps and this time we all think the little boy might make it because we can see him on the sled coming up... but then the sled flicks over that quick hill and launches the boy up. It was sooo crazy, he did like a superman in the air. That was the talk of the day for me.

The entire experience was sooo much more amazing the second time than the first. I think it was a little bit more adventurous too. I loved dog sledding and I wish I could do it more often because it is so incredibly fun and enjoyable.