Adventure and camping have always been favourite pastimes of mine. While my regular camping trips normally include hiking, canoeing, and the beach at sunset, winter camping is something I have never had the pleasure of taking part in. Well, back in January, all that changed! I was lucky enough to receive a surprise dog sledding trip for my birthday with Chocpaw Expeditions in the Algonquin area. What an incredible interactive adventure!
Upon arrival at the kennel, 300+ super excited (and adorable) Alaskan Huskies greeted us with loud barking! These beautiful and friendly dogs clearly couldn’t wait to get harnessed up and ready to go! We helped harness up all of the dogs heading out on expedition that day. Once the dogs were ready to go, and our sleds were loaded up, they were off to the races! There is no question that these dogs are born to run. The excitement of the dogs was palpable.
Two people shared each sled. Getting used to the sled was less difficult than I’d imagined; what was more difficult was hopping on and off the moving sled as the passenger! It didn’t take too long to learn to lean and hop on and off to run and help the team of dogs haul our gear up hills.
Our team of 6 dogs were just incredible. When we stopped for lunch, we literally had to overturn our sleds so that these beauties wouldn’t take off!
Camp
We made it to our camp for the night after a few snowy hours. The campground boasted a beautiful view over a nearby lake and a canvas tent.
After we got the dogs off their harnesses and onto their lines for the night, it was time to get to work! First we went down to the lake to chip out a hole for water. Next onto feeding the dogs and making straw beds for them. The last chore was heading out to find some trees to chop down for fire wood. We made dinner for ourselves after all the chores were completed. Our incredible guide Heather was so helpful and knowledgeable, not to mention so sweet to the dogs.
After dinner, we got a nice fire going, and enjoyed the silence of the woods. There is nothing quite like the silence of nature in the winter. When we were ready to turn in for the night, I was so grateful to see that Heather had been stoking the wood stoves in the tent to ensure we had a warm and comfortable sleep.
The next morning we woke up to a perfectly clear day. We spent some time with the dogs, ate some breakfast, and took a walk out to the lake to explore the surroundings a bit. What a beautiful place! Soon enough we were back on the sleds with our amazing teams, heading back to the kennel. We ended our trip with an excellent home cooked meal back at the base camp.
I can’t recommend this adventure enough. From the warm and friendly guides and staff, to the amazing and well-treated dogs, great food and gorgeous surroundings. I urge you to check out Chocpaw Expeditions for your next winter getaway! And a special thanks to our guide, Heather for all of your incredible hard work to make our trip the best it could possibly be!
So many adorable pooches!!
