Husky Dog Touring, 'Luas Huskie', Algonquin National Park, Canada, Mar 2009, ID 802

Liverpool University Air Sqn

LUAS Huskie consisted of 7 days of travelling around the winter wilderness of Algonquin National Park, Canada, using husky dog driven sleds.

Upon arrival at the expedition base camp, one of the instructors gave the shortest of briefs on how to control the dogs and the do’s and don'ts we should adhere to. After that we met our dogs and made our way onto the trails.

No one really had any idea of how physically challenging the next 7 days were going to be, and there may even have been a slight impression that you either drove the dogs or you sat down and enjoyed the scenery. After the 7 days had passed however, there wasn’t a single person who could have said they weren’t tired, both physically and mentally.

Each day consisted of around 4-5 hours of touring, usually with fully laden sleds. There were two people per sled, with 5 dogs pulling it. Whilst one person stood at the back of the sled controlling it, the other either sat on the sled for the downhill’s, or ran alongside to help prevent the dogs from tiring. Needless to say, there was a large amount of running involved!

Once the day’s touring had finished, it was time to set up the night’s campsite. We stayed at pre-prepared sites - big canvas tents were waiting ready for us to use. However, there was many other jobs that remained, such as collecting wood and starting a fire, cooking food for everyone, but most importantly, ensuring that the dogs were ready. This meant that after the long days work, they received enough love and attention, which was their reward. As well as this, they needed to be fed and given some water before giving them plenty of straw to keep them warm during the night. The ‘dog’s come first’ policy taught everyone an important lesson - it’s not all about looking after yourself - if the dogs didn’t receive what they needed then they would not run the next day.

LUAS Huskie was definitely a thoroughly enjoyable expedition, but it was no easy ride. Everyone put in 110% of effort day after day. Over the entire 10 days, there wasn’t a single argument or disagreement, showing just how well everyone worked as a team and bonded together. I can honestly say how proud I was of every single person who was a part of the expedition.

OC L Nunn

Thanks to

working in partnership with