Vermont Travel Notes

Photo courtesy of October Siberians

I read today that the famous Alaska Iditarod race is starting this Saturday and it lead me to thinking about all the sled dog activity here in Vermont. (Side note: many participants in the sport prefer the term "sled dog" rather than "dog sled" but you will see both terms used even by the people who run professional operations.)

In fact, if you would like to see a sled dog race and won't be in Alaska this week, there is a race you can watch at Burke Mountain Ski Resort in East Burke VT. There will be races both Saturday and Sunday.

A number of operations around Vermont offer sled dog rides and a couple of them offer skijoring too. Skijoring is done on skis and involves the dog(s) pulling the person via a harness attached to the dog. I've seen skijor racing a couple of times and it's impressive how fast they get going. You certainly don't want to fall down . . . I'm not sure the dogs would stop for a while - they're pretty enthusiastic.

The best one-stop source of information about sled dog rides in on the Vermont Outdoor Guide Association website. Atii is listed as one of the sled dog outfits but they are taking a year off from sled dog rides because they are rebuilding their group of dogs. Many of the current dogs have gotten too old to pull. However, Atii is still offering skijoring this year.

It's a unique adventure. Give it a try.

(c) 2008 [except the October Siberian photo] Jeff Connor Grunberg Haus Inn