Canada – Jasper – Sled Dogs
Since we are already in the wilderness of Canada, we also want to experience the hard, original life of the Canadians. By chance, we meet Tommy in a small pub in Jasper in the evening over a bottle of beer. As he tells us, he is a woodcutter by profession in the summer. In winter, he is on tour with his sled dogs and explores the untouched nature in the Rocky Mountains. At the end of the day, he spends the night in small log cabins, which he is allowed to use from acquaintances. He invites us to take part in a day tour. Of course, we are thrilled and so we arrange to meet for the next day. The car is supposed to start at 5 a.m. in the morning. Since sled dog driving is prohibited in Jasper National Park, we have to drive into the wilderness about 2 hours north of Jasper outside the national park. At a lonely farm station, Tommy has rented a log cabin as a base for his tours.
Once there, we first need a little refreshment in the form of a breakfast we have brought with us. The sled dogs housed in the trailer are then harnessed. The dogs are well rested and you can tell they are looking forward to the upcoming tour. Tommy has brought his wife Patricia with him to support us and so we are two sled dog teams. One is run by Jürgen as a musher, the other by Patricia. Tommy will follow us later with his snowmobile. In the event of an accident or unforeseen event, we have built in a small safety level in this way. Before the start, we are introduced to our huskies and receive a crash course in team driving. Of course, Tommy has already stuffed us with a lot of theory the evening before, but the practice looks a bit different as always.
This starts with the harnessing of the dogs and does not end with the unusual commands during the journey. Thickly wrapped up with several layers of underwear and thermal shoes, we are still very optimistic about the matter. It will be okay. The temperatures today are about 25 degrees below zero. Due to the wind chill, it can sometimes reach -40 degrees Celsius during the average 20 to 30 kilometers per hour. Brigitte is to be accommodated by some blankets well padded in front of me on the floor of the sleigh. I stand on the rear runners of the sled and do my best not to let the team go too fast. But this is only the case in the initial phase of our tour, as the Huskies still have too much excess strength. The team consists of 10 dogs. They require a lot of persuasion even before the start to do what I imagine. Okay, so much for the theory. Then you’re ready to go
The first few kilometers are so fast that there is hardly any time to enjoy the natural beauty of the wilderness we drive through. I’m too busy navigating the corners correctly and keeping the speed. The route initially leads us through dense forest area. We scurry past the trees at breakneck speed. The terrain is characterized by constant ups and downs. Uphill I have to test my condition and make the work easier for the huskies by pushing along. Downhill, the ride becomes so fast that sometimes the brakes have to be pulled. The curves at the end of a downhill ride are difficult. If the speed is too high, there is a constant risk of overturning. Gradually, in the course of the morning, the feeling arises as if I have done nothing else all my life than drive a sled dog team. Mushers and dogs are already growing together into a homogeneous unit. Only Brigitte has some difficulty sorting her battered cross on the hard ground after several hours. But the completely untouched nature with its impressive beauty compensates us many times over. On the way we pass wild mountain rivers, most of which are icy.
In a wooded area, we meet a moose who, given its considerable size, advises us to keep a proper distance. On a wide open plain, a herd of rams crosses us in search of food.
In the last few days it has snowed considerably at night. The trees writhe under the weight of the masses of snow. At lunchtime, we treat ourselves and especially the huskies to a well-deserved breather. The tea from the thermos flask I took with us is delicious. We enjoy the silence of the forest, which is only interrupted by the panting of the huskies. Soon we are on our way again, after all, we still have a few hours until dark. Where the rivers are still partially free due to the strong current, dense fog banks form due to the enormous temperature difference between water and air.
A few hours further on we find two moose grazing together and do not feel affected by us. It is an impressive experience to come face to face with these huge animals in the wild. Towards evening we reach our starting point. We are completely exhausted but satisfied and happy to have survived everything safe and sound. It was a great experience that we can only recommend to anyone who is interested.
