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Dog-sled tours a 'cool' way to revel in winter's glory
By GREG JOHNSTON 
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
It might be the coolest way to slide along the snow, on a wooden sled like those used by winter travelers for three millennia, pulled by 10 bundles of obsessed, panting fur with 10 bushy tails bobbing, 10 tongues flapping and 40 paws tearing into the snow.
Dog sledding is cool in many ways.
The breeze sends the single-digit chill right down to your toes.
The icy path is lined with deep powdery drifts, trees flocked white, and nearby an ice-lined river rushes as clear as crystal.
Best of all are these amazing animals. No encouragement is required, no enticement necessary. Alaskan huskies -- they're born to pull.
"That's what it's all about," says Karen Rook, musher and operator of Enchanted Mountain Tours. "They are bred to do this. They love to do this. People need to see it to understand. It's very important."
It is readily apparent when you do see it. And at least three dog-sledding companies in Washington provide the opportunity to get a taste of a winter activity that archaeologists believe began in the frozen north some 1,000 years B.C.
As Rook and her brother, handler John Rook, prepare the sled and harnesses, the dogs are tethered to an anchored line. With tails wagging non-stop, they pull at their bonds and yip, yap and squeal.
Two of my children are along for the ride and they're drawn to the animals like bees to a tulip field. Tara, 12, quickly fixes on Moon, a striking dog with one brown eye and one blue, who embraces her with a paw. Clint, 9, a veteran musher, renews acquaintances with Red, whose steady but affectionate countenance befits his stature as one of the team's two lead dogs.
As Red is harnessed in the front position, the other dogs go fairly bananas, tugging at their lines, howling and barking.
"I can walk out with one harness and my whole entire dog lot will go crazy," says Rook, who owns 25 huskies and malamutes. "I have dogs that get so nervous they shake."
With the team harnessed and riders aboard, Rook steps off the spring-loaded metal claw that serves as the brake and says, "Let's go." The team jumps forward, yanking the sled into motion with surprising force.
Rook began operating Enchanted Mountain this winter after she and partner Ruth Semler purchased it from company founder and seasoned musher Randy Bozelle of Plain, near Lake Wenatchee in Chelan County.
They run one- to six-hour tours on groomed trails out of the Fish Lake Sno-Park near Plain, always with Alaskan huskies, the fast, 40- to 60-pound animals preferred by top mushers in Alaska's epic Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
On the longer trips, the client is allowed to drive the team at times, and refreshments such as hot cider are served during a break.
In Okanogan County, Roy and Sue Fuller, along with their 10-year-old son Jesse, have been operating Malamute Express Dog Sledding Adventures for six years, using the slower (but stronger and larger) 75- to 95-pound Alaskan malamutes.
The Fullers run three-hour trips with three or more sleds, allowing clients to drive their own teams.
"We've had stockbrokers from Chicago, and people from all over of different lifestyles, but the one thing they have in common is they're dog lovers," says Sue Fuller. "It's really a lot of fun."
Lelia Meffre, an Australian from Tasmania who is staying with friends in Seattle, fulfilled a lifelong dream when she took a trip with the Fullers earlier this winter.
"It was just incredible. It was all I expected and more," she says. "The dogs were great, really friendly to people. Straightaways they were all wanting a pet."
Like Rook's huskies, the malamutes were bordering on frenetic as the Fullers prepared the sleds and harnesses.
"They want to go so bad," Meffre says. "That first pull, they give this yelp of joy when they run, and then I just found it so peaceful. They all quieted down, you don't hear any barking, just the noise of their paws and the runners on the snow."
The third operation is Alaska Dreamin' Sled Dog Co., operated by longtime Alaskan musher Perry Solmonson, now living on a 20-acre spread in Plain. He owns huskies and offers half-hour rides on his property, as well as a 1-hour introduction to mushing class.
"People are real intrigued by the sport for sure," Solmonson says. "The most popular program has been our introduction to mushing. We do a short ride, then familiarize them with the equipment and then they drive their own one- to six-dog team. We open up the door for them and let them see what's going on and what's involved in having dogs."
The teams run at a mellow rate, 5 to 10 mph, and the trips are relatively safe. The biggest mishap that might occur is tipping over the sled. It happened to us, but the kids bounced up with a smile and we resumed the journey.
Rook says some who take her tours approach mushing with the perception that it might be less than humane, perhaps because of concerns raised by animal rights activists over the treatment of dogs in the Iditarod. She notes that the 1,049-mile race is a test of endurance for human and beast, and the dogs are obviously driven hard.
But the tours are more casual trips and provide essential exercise for the animals.
"I had one person who thought it might be cruel, but after she went out with us she said, 'I've never seen animals who wanted to do something so much,"' Rook says.
Jude Rosenberg of Seattle says she thought about that when she went with Meffre on a trip with the Fullers.
"It's like they were born to run," she says. "They were tired by the end and they were moving a little slower. (But) it wasn't like, 'Oh, I'm abusing these animals just for fun."'
The animals seem well-suited to the winter environment, curling up after the run in contented, furry bundles. Subfreezing temperatures don't seem to bother them a bit.
But thermometer readings will bother you. It is essential to bring along your warmest clothing when you take these tours: long underwear and a snowsuit (or heavy pants and a wool or fleece shirt), a heavy parka, a stocking cap and thick scarf, and good gloves (a lightweight knitted pair won't do).
After all, you don't want your mushing adventure to be too cool.
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