Last weekend, eighteen Grade 11 students travelled to Northern Ontario with Mr. Weiland and Mrs. Owen to complete the Adventurous Journey component of their Duke of Edinburgh Gold Award. The trip aimed to “Cultivate a spirit of adventure, discovery, self-reliance, and environmental conservation while undertaking a wilderness or adventure experience.” The journey revolved mainly around dog sledding. Students worked closely with Chocpaw, a dog sledding organization that has been planning expeditions for the past 30 years. Most students had never experienced dog sledding before, which made us both eager to set off on the journey and unsure of what to expect.
Upon our arrival at Algonquin Park, we put on our snowshoes and heavy backpacks containing all our material for the entire journey and set off on a hike. We travelled through trails and across a lake covered with only ten inches of ice. The hike proved to be a challenge, as it put many students’ fitness to the test. However, beautiful scenery made the hike very enjoyable. After a tiring five hours, we arrived at a camp not only breathless from the hike, but also from the sheer beauty of nature that surrounded us.
Arriving at the camp meant chores. Tasks were delegated: some students were in charge of felling wood, which would later be used in the stoves to heat the tents. Our guide instructed us how to do so, and we learned which types of wood were useful in which conditions. Others were responsible for collecting water by making a hole through the ice in the lake, which would later be boiled and used for drinking water and to heat our dinner. As for our meal, small grills were present in the tents and a few students were assigned kitchen duty.
These tasks took a fair amount of time to complete. We worked well after sunset, pausing for aerobic sessions to warm up. We ate a warm and rewarding supper, enjoying each other’s presence and bonding as a group. The communal effort provided was gratifying. We settled into our warm, heated tents and slept throughout the night. However, the fluctuation of the temperature inside the tent as the fire died out and was stoked kept some of us awake.
The next day, we gathered all our equipment and hiked back to our original starting point to obtain our team of dogs. Arriving at the kennel was overwhelming: 387 enthusiastic dogs were barking, eager to start running and pulling our sleds. We packed our sleds with our bags, attaching them with tarp and rope. In teams of two, we were assigned to a team of six Alaskan huskies, which are a mix between Siberian huskies and another breed, usually a German shepherd.
At this point, the chaotic process of hooking up the dogs to our sled began. Each student had to retrieve a dog, remembering its name, harness size and position on the dog sled. We learned how to attach the dogs properly and how to keep them calm and tamed. The sleds themselves had to be duly attached to a nearby tree, for the dogs would otherwise run off as soon as they were harnessed. We then set off on our dog sledding adventure, with one student as passenger and another as the driver. The latter was in charge of breaking and calling out the appropriate commands to steer the dogs. Sledding was not a passive experience; on the contrary, we were up and running most of the time, encouraging the dogs to run and pushing the sled uphill.
We sledded all day, stopping at night at camps. The dogs were tied to chains, fed and given straw for the night. The process of chores was repeated over the course of the next three days. We were outside all day, sledding, taking care of the dogs and doing chores. It was quite a change of routine to have to complete chores that were essential to our survival. Also, the trip enabled us to learn how to stay warm in the coldest of conditions.
The trip was truly an exhilarating and unique experience. I never would have had this opportunity if it were not for the Duke of Edinburgh Award programme. Working in such close proximity to the dogs was amazing. I can say without a shadow of a doubt that the trip exceeded all of our expectations. Bonding with both the dogs and our classmates was awesome. I am so grateful I was given the chance to go on this journey.
Tatjana Dimock ’14