Dogsledding at Windrift Adventures

With winter not over yet, and Toronto getting a fresh dumping of snow over the last few days, I thought it appropriate to post my recent snowy outdoor experience (there's still time to go before the end of the season!).

Having been wanting to go dogsledding for quite some time, my good friend Michelle and I finally got the opportunity a few weekends ago when we visited Windrift Adventures in Orillia. With it being over an hour and a half away, we woke up pretty early and made our way up north. And it's a good thing we left when we did because by the time we hit Barrie, it had begun to snow quite heavily, whereas Toronto barely had any snow!

Upon arrival, we were asked to sign a waiver and then proceeded to follow the guides to the trail about two kilometres away from where the sleds were already waiting for us.

After listening to instructions from our guides Ren and Cody, on how to handle the dogs, they were harnessed in and instantly the dogs were anxious to start. Getting the dogs to start running requires you to yell "Hike!" to which the dogs respond quickly. Turning requires you to shift your body in the direction you would like to go and stopping or slowing down requires you to stand on a u-shaped metal piece attached to the back of the sled.

Trasher and Mac, our lead dogs, waiting patiently.

Buster and Aero, who are brothers, were our wheel dogs. Aero was the loud one who couldn't wait to get started.

Several minutes into our run, Buster and Aero were replaced with Brynn and Gamble, as they were too fast and we kept catching up to the sled in front of us too quickly.

There were also several spots during the trail that we had to stop at and have our guides lead the dogs through these difficult to cross places. The whole experience was incredible. It's hard to describe the kind of connection you make with these dogs so early on. I loved how they would look back at you in frustration when your foot touched the brake or when they were made to stop.

Midway through the half-day tour, we stopped to drink hot chocolate, eat snacks and Cody made us a fire in the snow. 

Brynn and Gamble.

Tunis and Kenya.

Prince and Darka (left). Hatfield and Lycan (right).

Our dogsledding team.

Michelle getting some love from Taz and Gremlin.

We took this time to pet the dogs, ask questions and relax, as controlling the sled is a lot harder than it looks and basically gives you a full upper body workout. Initially, I had worn mittens, and had to switch to my leather gloves, which had more grip, otherwise my hands kept sliding all over the handle.

We had the best time and would like to thank Windrift Adventures for having us and would recommend them to anyone who has wanted to try dogsledding (they also offer horseback riding in the summer and off-road dune buggy experiences). Not only is it a great workout, but it was an amazing experience, especially if you love dogs. The staff were really knowledgeable, friendly and answered all of the our questions. You could tell that everyone working there loved what they do and was a true dog lover.