Saturday, April 02, 2011

Dog sledding and the aftermath

Last week my department at work went dog sledding as a team building event.  I was very, very nervous about it.  I was worried I would have to drive the dogs and that I would fall off the sled and have the dogs go running wild. I was concerned about the dogs and the fact they would have to haul me and my excess weight around.  I felt very sorry for them.  I was also nervous about the cold.  I don't like the cold and it's been such a harsh winter.

To ensure that I didn't feel any cold I spent a small fortune at Mountain Equipment Co-op.  I bought my three layers to keep my body warm as well as fleece pants and snow pants.  My supervisor lent me the best, warmest socks ever.  I made myself a gaiter neck tube, something like this. I bought industrial mitts so my fingers wouldn't freeze.  With my toque and boots that I already had I was set to go.

So off we went to the dog sledding location in the mountains.  We got our orientation and it really didn't make me feel any better or any more confident.  The guide kept telling us what we shouldn't do or else we'd fall off, spook the dogs, etc. My colleague and I were assigned our sled and I opted to go along for the ride for the first half rather than drive (I don't want to drive a car, never mind a pack of dogs who all think their the alpha).  The dogs, I might add, were quite cute.  

Being the passenger wasn't too bad, except for the parts when we hit some bumps.  You felt every jolt and bump on that thing.  The shocks weren't very good.  We reached our halfway point and stepped on the brake so my co-worker could go and pet the dogs.  Then our guide told us to get ready, we were heading off and I was going to be driving.  Did I mention we were on a frozen lake at this point?  Yeah, extra reason to panic.  I was so nervous.  I gripped on to that sled for all I was worth.  Thankfully my colleague was very encouraging and never made me feel like I was doing something wrong.  Our pack was amazing and listened really well, mostly.  

Before I knew it, the ride was over and we survived, I didn't kill my colleague and the pack never got away from me.  I realized afterwards I really did have a good time, especially petting the puppies. It truly was a wonderful experience and we got to experience it in one of the most beautiful areas in our area.

Saturday though was another story.  I woke up with a sore back and sore arms.  I was so sore I could barely lift my arms above my head.  My back ached if I stood up for too long.  Bending was very, very difficult.  I went for a massage but the masseuse didn't hit the areas that I needed hit.  I did manage to heal in time to go to work on Monday.

Proof that I did it and didn't kill anyone, me driving and my colleague enjoying the ride. I loved our pack.  They were amazing.



2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Despite the pain...LOOK AT YOU!! Well done!! :D

4D said...

What a cool experience!! Rock on!

Keep smilin!