Girdwood Mushing Company Sled Dog Adventure - Girdwood, Alaska
“Life is like a dog sled team, if you are not the lead dog, the scenery never changes.” - Lewis Grizzard
“Anchorage, fifteen minutes from Alaska.” - Dave the Shuttle Driver, Tour Guide, and amateur Sit-Down / Stand-Up Comedian
The Story -
Jokingly, Ginger mentioned that we could have left Alaska after only one day. Her comments were not totally ridiculous, as our first day in Alaska could not have been any better.
Seriously, that’s quite a statement
Most good jokes have a little truth in them, and while Ginger’s statement was a little absurd, minus seeing Denali, we could have left Alaska very happy and fulfilled after just the first day. Our van driver and impromptu tour guide Dave picked us up early and we headed to the Girdwood Mushing Company for a summer sled dog adventure. Our North Face Trail hike was next (read about that in my previous blog) followed by a late lunch at the top of the mountain and a ride on the sky tram down. After lunch we headed back to Anchorage, rented e-bikes and toured the thirteen mile Coastal Trail which included multiple moose and bear sightings as well as a ride through the largest sea plane depot in the world (read about this in my next blog).
Wow, that’s a full day -
Summer days are quite long in Alaska, and we made the most of it, leaving the Airbnb in Anchorage at 8am and returning just after the sun went down at 10:30pm. The ninety minute ride southeast to Girdwood was a stunning prelude of what was to come, minus the the first fifteen minutes to leave Anchorage and get to Alaska of course, as Dave pointed out. Snow-capped mountains, valleys, glaciers, waterfalls, marshes, the Gulf of Alaska including Turnagain Arm Waterway, multiple sightings of wildlife - Dall sheep grazing high atop mountain cliffs, bald eagles, beluga whales, geese, moose, and trumpeter swans (the birds, not supporters of our last president).
Peter, don’t call me Pete -
We met Peter, a musher with the Girdwood Mushing Company, who would lead us on our Dog Sled adventure at the entrance to the Alyeska Resort in Girdwood. He greeted us standing beside a large Pinzgauer ATV that the company had purchased from the Norwegian military, adapting it to use for their tours. At first Peter was rather intense, making several pointed comments, even calling out a young boy who was on his phone and not paying attention (thankfully it wasn’t Alex). Names were important to Peter, not Pete mind you, and he was intent on learning all ten of our names on the tour and using them repeatedly to earnestly learn them. He used the thirty minute off-the-grid ride in the Pinzgauer to educate us on his dogs, the mushing industry and history, the Iditarod, and his spirit animal (it was a porcupine - no kidding). By the end of the ride, his rough Alaskan outdoorsman edge had softened, even letting me take a picture of his 2017 Iditarod Finisher belt buckle that he wore proudly. I admit that I felt a little odd taking a picture of another man’s crotch, but the belt buckle was really cool! The more Peter talked, the more I could sense his passion and deep love for his dogs and his work. This passion would show up again at the end of our tour when the conversation turned to PETA. More on that below.
I can’t feel my face -
We arrived at the sled dog summer training location to the sound of eighteen loudly barking Alaskan Huskies. Ryan Redington, a third generation musher whose grandfather founded the Iditarod and eight-time Iditarod finisher himself, was waiting for us on a modified sled with wheels to take us on a training ride. (Ryan finished seventh in last year’s race, his best finish to date) The ride was bumpy and very fast, reminding me of the old GoldRusher roller coaster I rode as a kid at Carowinds. Ryan was in complete control of his dogs as we sped away, yelling commands to them in French as they maneuvered the sled like a seasoned team through tight stretches and narrow turns. Truthfully, I was glad I had a seatbelt on, and was wondering to myself why I wasn’t wearing a helmet.. Fortunately I guess, Ryan kept the dogs from going full speed like they wanted (I imagine it would have felt like the White Lightning ride at Carowinds, going from 0 to 60mph in 4 seconds).
Ryan Redington frostbitten face - Bob Hallinen / Alaska Dispatch News
Puppy love & the Iditarod
After the sled dog ride, Ryan took us to visit his training headquarters to meet the dogs, even letting us hold several nineteen-day-old puppies. We learned about his life as a third generation musher, his Iditarod experiences, and his love and care for his dogs. I was surprised at the level of care each of the dogs received, including the expected yearly vaccinations and check-ups, around the clock veterinarian care, meals and shelters that would be the envy of all dogs, and even annual EKGs. Before we boarded the Pinzgauer to leave, we sponsored a mile marker for Ryan to be displayed at next year’s 50th year anniversary Iditarod Sled Dog Race in March 2022.
Peter “the porcupine” and PETA -
Once back at the entrance to the Alyeska Resort, Peter turned into a polished dog mushing and Iditarod lobbyist as if he had worked in Washington all his life. Peter explained that PETA had recently started putting pressure successfully on many long time large corporate sponsors of the Iditarod, with most pulling their support for the competition - Wells Fargo, ExxonMobil, Coca Cola, Alaskan Air, and State Farm to name a few. PETA even went so far as to buy out all of the available local advertising on buses, billboards and television stations leading up to and during the event. After listening to Peter talk about his love and care for the dogs, it was easy to sympathize with him and understand his hatred for PETA. However, like most issues, the debate is complicated, with valid opinions on both sides. While I have learned more about the subject lately, I still feel too ignorant to take a stand either way. I will say that every Alaskan I asked about the issue during the rest of our stay was in strong support of mushers and the Iditarod, abhorring PETA almost as much as Peter. And I do feel that if all mushers loved and cared for their dogs as much as Peter and Ryan do, it would be hard to not support them.
