There were many gifts I was excited to give Adam this past Christmas but one in particular I could hardly wait for him to open - you know, the kind of gift that makes you feel like you've got the best secret ever?! On Christmas morning, Bailey gave Adam his final gift - a small husky stuffed animal and a card inviting us to "mush" with the best! That's right, we were booked for our very first dogsledding trip!
Arriving at Mountain Mushers was better than either of us could have expected! Five teams of 10 dogs were hooked up to sleds and were waiting the arrival of their passengers. They yelped and moaned letting us know that they were ready to hit the trail.
Standing at the base we quickly surveyed the dogs but one particular pack caught our attention. It was really love at first sight! All the dogs looked so sweet and friendly - perfect, a friendly pack won't mind if I love on them with hugs and kisses. We loaded into the sled, snuggled under the blankets and readied our cameras for our trek up the mountain.
Our sled was fourth in line. As the first sled prepped for take off, the musher climbed on the back and with one quick motion, the sled was cut free from the tethering post. In an instant, the sled was gone!! We laughed with excitement as the next two sleds left the base. Finally it was our turn...in the blink of an eye the dogs were in a full run and we rocketed down the first hill and up the next!
The next few hours were unforgettable. The minute the dogs "go to work" they become silent - no yelping or moaning, just the sound of their paws hitting the snow-packed trail. Seeing all 5 sleds (that's 50 dogs) on the trail together was incredible! Why go snowmobiling when there's dogsledding?
Once we reached the top of the mountain Adam and I filled up on homemade pumpkin bread and hot chocolate, and spent time getting to know the dogs. We quickly fell in love with Homer - possibly the sweetest dog ever (except for Bailey of course)! He won our hearts with his big brown eyes and snuggle personality. If only we could have taken him home with us!
After letting the dogs rest, we loaded back into the sled and headed down the mountain. Our musher was amazing and actually allowed Adam to drive part of the way down.
Once back at the base we spent more time loving on the dogs and thanking them for what was an unforgettable trip. Certainly an Andrus favorite that we plan to do again next year.
And with that, we're ready for the Iditarod!
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