The pace was comfortably slow as we progressed for two reasons as explained by Danny. First, it was important to pace our progress as the dogs could potentially overheat in this ‘warm’ 10 ºF weather. Secondly, we were actually going the approximate pace of teams in an Iditarod as the lengthy race is more focused on endurance than sprinting. We took various breaks on our way to Exit Glacier, with the overall speed being leisurely and enjoyable. We met more people than I was expecting on the trails, from fat tire bikers, and dog walkers to cross country skiers. When we finally reached the main Exit Glacier viewpoint it was a bit anticlimactic due to the heavy snow obscuring the iconic glacier. Making it to the end of the path, we all congregated in an old log cabin where Danny started a fire in a stove while we enjoyed hot chocolate and snacks.  With our damp gloves drying on the stove top we learned so much more about Danny and his family, along with their history dog sledding. As we were talking about the famous race, I learned that my three dogs had all taken part at some point, with my precious Taku even being a member of one of the nine day teams.  We also learned about how Danny’s father, Mitch, had broken the speed record for the Iditarod by resting two of his dogs at a time, allowing the animals be more refreshed and race longer in a day.  The past several years of the Iditarod, multiple rules had been put into place to attempt to thwart this loophole, however each year the family had found a way around the new rule whether it was keeping the dogs in the sled or on their seat.  Alas, this year the rules changed the teams from 16 dogs to 14 dogs, which doesn’t allow for the extra resting animals. Honestly, I can see both sides of the debate from the sport purists and from the aspect of the dog’s health.  I’m sure there are quite heated debates in both corners regarding the pros and cons of both methods.  More on this later in the post as our forty five minutes or so of thawing out came to an end and we began our return journey.

On the trek back, I gained a fourth dog to increase my overall dogpower, introducing Merlot into my crew.  I was also moved from the back of the pack to the front, adding a new perspective and allowing my dogs the open trail freedom.  They proved quite speedy in contrast to Samuel’s dogs that enjoyed a methodically leisure pace. Being the stereotypical big sister, I couldn’t help but rib Samuel regarding his dogs’ speed. Eventually, we traded one set of dogs, where I donated Merlot to Samuel’s squad and I gained Delta to my team. The way back seemed to go faster than our initial trip, thankfully so, as my hands and feet had just started getting cold as we neared the end. We did make several pit stops for photo ops in front of the Kenai Fjords National Park sign, as well as Danny video taping us in action as you can see below.

Arriving back at base, we said goodbye to the dogs we’d bonded with and headed back to the car where we put the heat on full blast. Due to the quantity of snow falling, the rest of my remaining day in Seward was relaxing in comparison to our morning excursion. Samuel and I ate a fantastic dinner at The Highliner Restaurant before heading out to the Yukon Bar for drinks with friends. While at dinner Samuel and I couldn’t stop reliving our bucket list worthy experience dog sledding during a snow storm through a national park. As a fans of all sports, Samuel and I had both independently come to the suspect during our previous conversations that due to winning 7 out of the last 8, as well as the family finding loopholes in the rules to gain an advantage, the Seaveys might not be the most beloved family in the sport.  Take any historically successful team and you’re going to either love or hate them, e.g., the Yankees, Cowboys, Man United. This thread of discussion led us down a wormhole of Googling, some of which we wish that we hadn’t stumbled across. I’d debated adding this line of conversation into my blog, although I would feel remiss to not briefly address it.  We were disappointed to find allegations of dog doping plaguing one of the successful Seavey brothers, as well as accusations of animal abuse.  As a dog lover, the corresponding images and discussions were difficult to read, however I always try to see both sides of the conversation.  In Alaska dogs are legally viewed as livestock (according to several of these articles), as such, having grown up around farms, the many of the images could have been transposed with livestock of a different type on a different farm. It is all about what lens you view the photos through. As a dog lover, where my Buddy would sleep cuddled up next to me every night, it is hard to imagine him outside all the time in cold weather, but I did grow up with outdoor farm dogs (Norwegian Elkhounds) who never came inside but were built for winter. When they did come into the house they were uncomfortably warm and couldn’t wait to go outside again. It would be the same case with these sled dogs, who were too warm on a 10 ºF day.  I’m in no way excusing some of the allegations, or defending the large operation at all, I’m just trying to understand both sides of a controversial topic. That being said,  the dogs we encountered on our trip were healthy, happy and excited to go sledding and I would still whole heartily recommend this novel experience.