It is rare that you complete a holiday and consider it a once in a lifetime experience, an experience that you talk about over and over and it never gets boring - not even to your friends.
Here are your six Huskies, here are their harnesses, here is your sled and this is the brake. Have fun.
This is the type of induction you can expect when you are 145km north of the Arctic Circle. A ‘just get on with it’ attitude is the normal way of life. There is time for little else when exposed to minus 15 degrees Celsius.
Our first night in the Swedish Lapland was spent in Kiruna, which is a small mining town that is approximately a two hour internal flight from Stockholm. Sam, my travel mate, and I were to meet our tour group in the afternoon the following day, so to fill in the morning we successfully navigated our way to the spectacular ice hotel, in the next town of Jukkasjärvi. The ice hotel was brilliant and a great starting point for the adventures.
The dogging journey begins. Our instructions were to take an hour long bus journey from Kiruna to meet the tour guides at Nikkoulata bus station at 4:00pm.
After an anxious wait at the bus station we were met by our guide Tomak, a young man with a goatee beard and a wry smile. It was a welcome greeting as Nikkolauta consists of no more than a tin shack bus stop, a lot of snow and no mobile phone reception.
Tomak guided us to our hut and introduced us to our other guide, Andreas, and our four other co-doggers. As promised as part of the package, Tomak kitted us out in some quality snow attire, including snow boots, snow overalls and gloves. This snow attire was a welcome addition to our wardrobe. It had become very obvious in the 30 minutes waiting at the bus stop that denim jeans and a London snow jacket wouldn’t exactly cut it out here.
The sounds of dogs barking and howling could be heard in the distance. We were soon to understand that this sound represents feeding time. We trudged through the waist high perfect powder snow for the husky introductions. It is immediately apparent that a key focus of each dog’s life is food. Dog feeding time represents the laborious process of carrying large drums of water and filling bowls of dry food for all 45 dogs. Although it sounds difficult, it is actually a highlight of the trip and it simply complements the rugged experience. It is very easy to tell that Tomak and Andreas respect and look after the dogs.
The next morning we were up and out early harness to the dogs. Once set, simply take your foot off the brake and whoooah off we go. You are in control of six dogs and a wooden sled (‘in control’ is probably the wrong term here!). From the time you harness the dogs they are barking and pulling on the sled, eagerly waiting for their driver to let go of the brake. Hang on, enjoy the sound of the pitter patter of the dogs paws on the hard snow and be amused at their funny antics of eating the snow for hydration and going to the toilet while not missing a stride (and no, you do not get covered in it like I had been told).
The dogs are extremely hard working and tolerant of their un-coordinated novice drivers hanging on for dear life. The dogs make you, the driver, very accountable. They do not have the strength to pull the sled and driver up a hill, which means the driver has to get off and push. If you get to the hill and the dogs find it hard going, all six dogs will actually look around at you as if to say ‘C’mon buddy, give us a hand here’
Negotiating steep hills, large trees, eager dogs, ice lakes, 3 sets of gloves and the biting cold is a much more complex skill than simply hanging on and letting the dogs do the work. The dogs know only one thing, go hard, go fast. The only thing stopping the dogs from running away is your trusty brake or a hill. Trees, rocks or sudden dips are no concern for the dogs but a major concern for the driver.
On occasions, you would hear a team of dogs looming from behind much faster than usual. Usually in this scenario you looked around to find a driverless sled moving along at speed and a figure running a distance behind trying to chase it down. Seeing Sam’s 6fl 7in frame running to try and catch his run-away sled with broken sunglasses, his hat missing and a face covered in snow was one of the funnier moments of the trip. Everyone fell off at one stage. The snow softens the fall of the driver and the dogs are caught by one of the drivers ahead meaning it is all harmless fun.
The dogs are very competitive and the drivers even more competitive. Throughout the day the opportunity to overtake presents itself. When overtaking, the dogs snarl at each other and the drivers give a cheeky smile.
After lunch on day four the competition came to a head when we came across a large ice lake. All the sleds were spread wide and F1 sledding began. Imagine seven sleds of dogs side by side running at full pace with all the drivers shouting and whistling sounds of encouragement, with Martias producing a high pitched yelping sound. The dogs absolutely love it. Their competitive streak kicks in and they get really excited and boisterous. If another team edged ahead they would bite and snarl. This was brilliant and highly recommended for any dog sledding trip.
At no stage did we feel we were on a guided tour, this tour felt that we were out there in the wilderness being pulled along with our own dogs and fending for ourselves. Of course nothing was further from the truth. Our guides were utmost professionals, and had us under complete control the whole way.
Our co-doggers were Matteas and Camilla , a lovely Swedish couple who actually live in Kiruna, Andrea, a young Italian fellow with a dry sense of humour and Voltra, the 65 year old German lady who was tough as Nails and stronger than 4 bears. All of them had been sledding with Tomak and Andreas before. The repeat business is testament to how well they operate.
We followed the well worn Kings Trail from Nikkoulata to Abisko. Strategically located approx every 30km along the Kings Trail are clusters of huts which comprise our accommodation. Each season these semi comfortable huts, which have a live-in caretaker, provide cross country ski-ers and dog sledders with much welcomed shelter. No need to book ahead, everyone is accommodated, even if it means 25 people being squeezed into a hut that comfortably sleeps 9.
Although it was the end of March, it was a quiet week. We were lucky enough to have our own hut at each station which accommodated the 8 of us comfortably. The huts are unpowered and have no running water. There is something much more satisfying about having a Sauna at the end of the day which is powered by firewood you cut and from water you gathered. Of course there is the obligatory running nude into the snow between steams. This water and firewood also comes in handy for heating and cooking.
The natives of Lapland are the Sami people. They are also the custodians of Scandinavia’s Reindeer. The Sami herders manage many of the Lapland reindeer. The whole animal is used and sold for various uses and the resulting income is the basis of their livelihood. It is a rich and tasty meat, which was served to us regularly each evening as a superb stirfry.
I don’t think it is possible to fill six days with much more action and diversity. This is a tour like no other. It is the magic of waking to the sound of the collective and elongated howls of the dogs. It is the dogs being as excited as you are to start the day. It is the bonding with the dogs and the feeling of freedom when travelling on a sled through vast snow valleys.
It is the extra activities such as ice fishing, jumping off snow cliffs and having snow fights. It is about gaining an understanding of life in Lapland. It is being so well looked after by our guides and by the Swedish people that you want to return over and over.
From a holiday which started with a couple of mates sitting in a London pub in Winter discussing their basic desire of wanting to see the Northern Lights, this was a holiday experience which offered so many once in a lifetime experiences. Our final two nights were spent in Abisko, which is world renowned as the best vantage point for the Northern Lights, so yes we did see the lights and they were amazing. This trip however was all about the dogs.
We booked our adventure through: www.wildernessadventure.co.uk
