Outside our little four bunk cabin, snow was gently falling. We woke to the sound of many many dogs barking. The noise was quite incredible.
After meeting our local guide at breakfast, a crash course in husky sled driving and dog handling began. Our guide gave instructions in short bursts with a deadpan delivery. He had a bone-crushing handshake, a large knife on his belt and a look that suggested that he could (and will) kill you with his bare hands if his instructions are not carried out to the letter. By mid-morning, we were deemed safe enough to let loose and we were given our own dogs and sled.
My crew comprises of four dogs - Johnson and Tequila out front, with Winna and Tinka closest to me. The sled was held in place with a snow anchor. On Markus’s command and with dogs straining on the harnesses, I almost flew off the back as the anchor released and we shot out of the yard and straight into a winter wonderland wilderness. 30km later, having stopped briefly for a lunch around a fire, we made it to a small hut settlement by a frozen lake without drama. There was a lot to sort out before relaxing with mint tea inside the hut. Dogs were unharnessed and chained up and food for the dogs had to be prepared. This was particularly gruesome and involved hacking blocks of frozen ‘meat’ into fist-sized lumps, boiling it up over a wood fire and serving it in bowls.
Water was collected from a hole in the frozen lake, a short distance from the huts.
It didn’t get dark until late (22:00 and there was still a glow on the horizon). Fabulously, the northern lights turned on just before we went to bed and green lights danced across the sky. Not super strong, but lots of it. Pretty incredible to witness.
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