Call Of the Wild

Enough said?

I first read the Jack London classic when I was 8 years old. My parents gave it to me as a Christmas present, although I strongly suspect that they never actually read it themselves. Wiki says it best: "Because the protagonist is a dog, it is sometimes classified as a juvenile novel, suitable for children, but it is dark in tone and contains numerous scenes of cruelty and violence." Since every single human in it dies a horrible death, I have not read it to my children yet.

From age 8 to 12, I probably read that novel a dozen times. And dreamed of driving a sled dog team.

Now, if you know me in real life, you know two things about me (1) I don't like the cold and (2) I don't like dogs. So why I have fantasized all my life about shushing through the snow following a dozen flying canines, I cannot say. Except that Jack London's book lives deep within my subconscious.

And so the opportunity to go sled dogging was not to be missed in Kiruna. Of course, as with many things that are presented to tourists, what you actually get is a tiny taste on the tip of your tongue of what the real thing might be like.

Seriously, spending an hour being driven around by a guide is not "the same" as, well, anything, if you were serious about wanting to "drive a team." My analogy would be something like always wanting to drive in a Formula 1 race, and then having a professional driver take you around Yas Marina. At 100kph (although technically since Formula 1 cars are single seaters, this is not possible at all - but I think the analogy holds.)

That said, I loved it. Loved it, loved it, loved it. Look! Can you see how happy I am (that's me next to Tom - Hope is the one with the pink lamb on her head; but you probably guessed that)??

It was great. We arrived at the kennel and the dogs were just howling (exactly as one would expect if one grew up reading Jack London over and over again), and then, as the sled started off, silence, as they all got down to work. It was amazing to watch the dogs loping along pulling all four of us piled on the sled, plus the driver. We drove along a well worn path, and the children were amazed at how the dogs seemed to "know" where to go. I explained that the driver was actually giving them directions, although we could barely hear him.

As someone who has done a small bit of driving in the equine world, the simplicity of the harness and attachment to the sled was a delight. Each dog wore a simple nylon harness that attached with a simple hook to a single line that ran from the sled to the lead dog.  No breeching (the driver has a foot brake that he uses to slow the sled), no tugs, no shafts, no bridle! And, critically, no leather to clean! Easy peasy!

Some in our party, though, were less impressed. A crackhead and his berry are never parted.

 And others? Well, it turns out that for the 8 and under set, snow was all they required. These two have never really had the chance to frolic in the snow. And that's about all they wanted to do for the rest of the trip. So, we let them. 

 

 As for me, I am pondering how on earth I could ever manage to actually spend time with a real sled dog team. You know, learning to drive, actually go somewhere, learning to train them. I can't imagine it happening without moving somewhere really cold. And I'm not sure I'm ready for that.

 Ah, well, it was a grand adventure for me. And it makes me want to explore it more. So, we'll see where that goes. Maybe someday I will spend a week sleeping in a tent in sub-zero temperatures. Stranger things have happened.

Stranger things, like, can you imagine going all the way to Sweden, spending half a week in sub-zero temperatures and losing your coat??

 This was our last sighting of it. By the way, the temp in this photo was probably somewhere around -10C and the child refused to put gloves or a hat on. So, maybe she didn't need the coat??

Tomorrow: Dog Sledding was Not A Good Time For All Members of Our Party. Someone Had A Very, Very Bad Day.

Comments

[Debbie Hanson]

Please don't tell me you got "sled"-sick!?!?

[Gwynna]

Goodbye, purple coat! *sniff*

I have a good friend who has a sled team in Montreal. I would be more than happy to meet you at his place for a week next winter (I'm inviting us - I'll let him know later). Just gotta get my passport, because the US and Canada aren't friends anymore. *rolleyes* In Montreal, they have things like "hotels" that have things like "heat" and "showers" with "hot water." Again with the going out of your comfort zone... ;)

I am completely baffled by this comment, though: "These two have never really had the chance to frolic in the snow." You lived in Pennsylvania??!!!?!

[Ellen]

Montreal next winter?? Sounds great! And, no Debbie, I did not get sled sick. ;-)

As for the snow, we left PA when they were 5 and 3, so there was some snow ... and there was even one great snow in Nanjing! But, they really don't remember having experienced snow. The snow in Kirnua was brilliant.

[Monica]

Hope is a thermo! What a brilliant experience!