Hilary from Moncton with doggy from Yukon.

Today we got to do the real thing: mushing. Firsts are always exciting, and this was definitely a new experience for everyone. Six sleds pulled by a total of 48 dogs got 12 of our team members across the Yukon’s rugged landscape. It took two hours to complete a stretch of 20 km. A good distance to get a hang of our dogs.

The pooches respond not to “stop” and “go”, but to “woaw!” and “Hush! Hush!” There’s also “eeeeeasy” which is self explanatory. With the three basic commands, intonation is the key and repetition is to be avoided. Be clear, and the K9s will guide you properly. Maryo, 17 years old from Montreal, confirmed that “woaw tabarnak!” doesn’t work yet.

To my eyes, at least, it looked like controlling a ruckus. These dogs bark, howl and cry like there’s no tomorrow. The trick is to keep them going, so they stay quiet and warm. Lest we not forget that we are braving the cold.

It was smooth sailing altogether and Rod is confidant in us. He took precious time to evaluate the different sleds and their performance. The teams are distributed by weight: the biggest with the smallest. You can add and remove dogs as well, but I think we’ll stick to 8 dog-powered sleds. We are already stretching Uncommon Journeys’ limits: all their dogs are taking part already!

As for the accompanying adults, myself included, we got a chance to test drive our skidoos. Freight is our mission. But at times, I’m sure we’ll get to try the real thing ourselves. That is, if our teams want to let go of their sleds.