Mushing...

Hello Everyone!  Our family decided to do a dog sledding tour today.  I really thought it would be a safe little ride say around a golf course, but we went up into the mountains to a camp and went for an unbelievable ride through the wilderness.  There were 5 dogs pulling each sled and each sled held two people.  They asked for 2 volunteers to drive the sled, so I volunteered.  I can’t even begin to describe what an experience this was.  Almost 2 hours out there.  Below freezing conditions and lots of snow falling.  These dogs were amazing!  My husband has better pictures and videos because his team was behind mine.  I can’t believe it was just Sonia and I driving these dogs.  Sonia sat in the sled and I was behind riding on the rails holding the reins with a small brake and a hook to dig into the snow when we stopped.  I stopped the dogs once to take pictures, with my foot on the brake and the hook in the snow.  They heard the camera click and they took off – dragging me along for the ride.  All I could remember is the guide telling me to not let go.  It is  a lot better to be drug than to have to chase them down.  I got a pretty nasty lump on my leg, but I managed to get back up.  There is a lot of distance between the teams.  The team way behind me heard my scream but it took them a while to get to me and by then I was back up and going.  Sonia was so calm.  An unbelievable time we had today.  Here are a few pictures and  short video.  The team behind Sanjay and Maia’s got tangled up, so the driver of Sanjay’s hopped off to rescue them leaving no driver for Sanjay and Maia.  They were rogue for a few minutes until the guide in front of me got his team stopped and hooked and sprinted past my team to get Sanjay and Maia safe.  Just an amazing adventure.  In the 4th picture, you can see me in front driving my team of dogs.  Crazy!!!  I had soooo much fun?!  Have you ever been mushing???