How Dog Sledding saved my sanity
I’ve always loved dogs. I’ve been around dogs my whole life. Since I was a teenager, I’ve always had huskies.
During the course of my career as an outdoor instructor, I’ve had many jobs including scuba instructor, climbing instructor, canoe instructor, bushcraft instructor and pretty much anything to do with the outdoors I’ve helped teach.
In 2012 I was finishing up a term as a camp instructor in Orillia, Ontario and was looking for winter work. Some of my co-workers had mentioned that the dog sled place an hour or two north in South River was hiring dog sled instructors.
I made an appointment, aced the interview and was on my way to combine two things I was passionate about, dogs and outdoor education.
My contract ended and I headed back to my home in Southern Ontario still holding the passion for dogs and my new found love of working dogs.
I had a single husky, and she was a strong personality and runner. The next winter I got myself some skis, a rock climbing harness and special harness for my dog, and we began to run trails in my area. It was amazing.
Over the next few years I gave homes to several unwanted dogs and had my own pack of huskies. Watching buy & sell groups like Kijiji and Facebook Marketplace I eventually came across a specific dog scooter and a dog sled.
Although I despise the cold and winter, Every year I wanted patiently for the loving warmth of summer to pass and for the cold darkness to take hold so I could run my dogs.
In 2020 and 2021, the world was hit by something known as COVID-19. Governments panicked and locked society down. For the first time in history the world was quiet and empty like an apocalyptic movie. Everyone was forced, by law, to stay home and do nothing in hopes to alleviate this strange new virus that had gripped the world.
I wasn’t able to see my friends. I lived in the country, and there were literally police, by-law and security officers patrolling every nook and cranny of the civilized world seeking to issue tickets for simply being outside.
As much as I adored being by myself, being removed from the wilderness is a death sentence to those who worship the Old Gods, and dwell in the forests for both work and play.
My love for my dogs, and the wilderness, came together to preserve my sanity in a world gone mad with COVID fever.
Every evening, around 2am, I would pile my dogs into my car, strap the bike or sled (Depending on the weather) and slip silently onto the trails.
The cold would awaken me, the darkness stir me, and excitement of putting the harnesses and rigging on my dogs ignited a deep connection to the natural world around me. As I shouted “Team, at the ready! Team, POWER-UP!” To my dogs, I would feel the lines taught, and away we would go.
Through the silent darkness we would run as team. 7 hearts beating as one. 14 eyes all seeing the same path. I could hear the panting of my fur babies, the whirring of the tires on the pavement, and the delicate glide of the ski runners on the snow. The cold, damp air filled my lungs, enchanting me like a spell from the wilderness. I would look out at my pack, running in unison slipping deeply into the silent winters night. I would stare up into the stars and see my ancestors shining brightly down at me.
I would awaken each day, covered with dogs in my bed. I would spend the day contemplating the sadness of life to which I missed my outdoor business, missed being able to consistently pay my bills, and slowly loose faith in our government. The love of my dogs, and their love of running kept me focused on their welfare, and the future.
Night after night, we would creep out of our home, into the darkness, and share our passion for existence in the realm of the unseen winters darkness.
I often tell people the sun rises and sets with my dogs, and they are the centre of my entire world. It is the undying love and devotion we have for each other and the passion for running that helped us survive the challenging times of COVID.
Wolfmaan waking up in a bed of dogs