Running with the pack is ultra cool
It’s chills and thrills all the way for CLARE FITZSIMONS during a thrilling dog-sled ride to explore the Yukon’s desolate beauty
WHIZZING through the snow, with nothing but miles of brilliant white in every direction, it’s easy to be overtaken by the beauty of it all and drift into a happy, peaceful daze. Until, of course, the yell of “lean left” comes from behind as the dog-sled you’re sitting on tilts precariously at an almost 45-degree angle and you grab on for dear life and hurl yourself sideways.
Dog-sledding might be an amazing experience but it’s not all that easy – even if you’re not driving it yourself (years of having terrible balance told me I’d be a much better passenger).
Thankfully, our team of seven huskies knew exactly what they were doing and, with the exception of the odd over-excited sharp turn, it was the perfect way to travel through the wilderness of Canada’s Yukon territory.
With snow-covered forests, even more snow-covered mountains and half-frozen rivers with mini icebergs floating along them, there’s no doubt this really is the wild.
Winter temperatures plunge to -40C and even at a relatively balmy -10C, half an hour outside is a challenge, especially when you’re travelling at speed.
The icy wind biting at your face is half the fun, but racing back into the Sky High
Wilderness Ranch comes with a sense of relief and a chance to warm up again.
I visited at the end of autumn and, while the sunshine makes it even more stunning to look at, the clear air is bitter.and this really is proper Canada – the North, with a capital N. Landing the previous night at midnight in the city of Whitehorse, 1,500 miles northwest of Vancouver, was rather like arriving on the moon: desolate and very chilly.
You will absolutely need proper boots, overtrousers, thermals and a hardcore coat – and no, sorry, that thick jacket at the back of your wardrobe really won’t cut it.
Not that the huskies seem to mind and the deafening cacophony of barks and excited yelps is testament to how much they seem to love to run.the staff know the name of each of their 150 dogs and clearly adore them.
After reading Jack London’s book The Call Of The Wild just before my trip I’d hoped for
a half-saint Bernard and halfscottish shepherd, like his main character Buck.
Sadly there was no sign of a Buck, but the descriptions of sledding seemed even more vivid after a trip on the snow and ice for real.
The bestselling novel has now been made into a film, which is released onwednesday and stars Harrison Ford. Half live action and half CGI effects (for the dogs), it tells the story of Buck’s dognapping from a comfortable home in LA to the wilds of the Yukon as a sled dog during Canada’s Klondike Gold Rush.
The trailer shows men trekking up a mountain pass in blizzards and thick snow – something London himself had to do when he headed north in 1897 to try to make his fortune.
SOME OF the estimated 100,000 people who went in search of gold there struck it and were instantly made very rich. Others, like London, didn’t have so much luck.at first anyway.
After his arduous journey to the Yukon he finally arrived at Dawson City – the place that would become the heart of the gold rush. But as he searched for his fortune, alongside thousands of other hopeful prospectors, he came down with scurvy.
He was lucky to survive and, despite his brush with death, a love for the desolate and harsh countryside had become deeply ingrained.when he returned home it inspired him to write Call Of The Wild – believed to be based on a real dog called Jack that he met in Dawson City – and he went on to become the first American author to make a million dollars.
The house he lived in is still in Dawson – well, the bottom half of it is anyway (the top half is in Oakland, California, where he was raised).
His tale of sled-dog Buck has fascinated generations and has already been made for the big screen three times – with Clark Gable in 1935, Charlton Heston in 1972 and Rutger Hauer in 1996.
Sledding is not just a thing of the past here, in fact it’s a huge part of the culture and every year 50 mushers (sled drivers to you and me) and their dog teams take part in Yukon Quest, a 1,000-mile race from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Whitehorse.
But of course, things have moved on and there are now faster and marginally less precarious ways to see the wilderness than by dog sled. And they’re just as much fun.
The cryptic description of “Viking Excursion” turned out to be the name of the vehicle.aviking is a sort of cross between an open-sided