Scroll Down And Check Out More About Dog Sledding DOG SLEDDING Native people of the arctic and subarctic have used sled dogs for thousands of years. We have been raising and working with sled dogs for over twenty five years. It's no coincidence our dogs were chosen to star in several movies, including Never Cry Wolf. We are proud of the relationship we have with our dogs. We refer to our dogs as Yukon huskies. They are mixed breed huskies from various areas in the north, Old Crow, MacKenzie River and Athabascan villages. Some of them are descended from the last RCMP dog team in the Yukon. They tend to be large and long legged; ideally suited for pulling heavy loads in deep snow conditions. Their energy, enthusiasm, intelligence, and loyalty is inspiring. All are well socialized and enjoy receiving attention from people.. DAY TRIPS: Come rub noses with our happy huskies! We offer day trips on Umbagog Lake and gentle trails near Grafton Notch. This is a truly unique opportunity to experience the thrill of mushing while traveling through beautiful mountain scenery. We provide a hearty lunch cooked over an open campfire. For those contemplating trying dog sledding on their own, we offer instruction in training, handling, and the opportunity for you to drive one of our well behaved dog teams. WEEKEND OVERNIGHTS Our weekend trips are an introduction to winter travel by ski, snowshoe, and dog team. No experience is necessary and we provide all the specialized winter clothing and equipment. After some instruction participants ski or mush one way into our base camp. Accommodations are white canvas wall tents with fir bough floors and equipped with a wood stove to remove the survival aspects of winter travel. Camping with the huskies you are able to witness first hand their ancestral link to wolves as they howl to communicate with each other. PIMOTAAU WEEKENDS Pimotaau is Cree for traveling through the bush. On these 3 day weekend trips we will travel every day by dog team to a new camp and group size is limited to five. Since the itinerary is linear (point A to B) these trips provide the opportunity to see more country and to travel further by dog team. Pimotaau weekends also explore some area that are different from our regular weekend trips. Cross country skiing and snow shoeing are optional from camp. NORTHWOODS TRIPS: We refer to our 4-6 day trips as our northwoods trips. The increased length of the trip and a smaller group size enables us to all travel by dog team. The additional husky power makes it easier to reach more pristine remote wilderness areas of Maine's northwoods. These trips are popular with people who want more time working with the huskies. We will take a layover day mid-trip to explore by ski or snowshoe and cover various winter ecology topics. NORTHERN NATIVE CULTURAL TRIPS Twenty years ago we started doing our own trips in the north in the spring as the snow began to melt here in Maine. Through our travels by canoe and dogteam we would often meet families of Native hunters. As our understanding of Native cultures grew, so did lasting friendships with several Cree and Inuit families. Today, even a subsistence hunter in the north lives in a wage economy with bills to pay. Based on our belief that guiding and cultural tourism has great potential to create jobs that re-enforce and maintain traditional skills and values, we began offering guided trips with several families. We have worked with Native villages to create cultural tourism offerings that has resulted in several Cree and Inuit families running their own businesses.