Me and Bravo

I spent some time living in northeastern Minnesota where they receive very cold temperatures and an abundance of annual snowfall. As a result, many folks (especially the many outfitters in the area I lived in) have adopted the use of dog sledding for both fun and profit by touring the numerous frozen lakes and rivers that abound. While I was there, I picked up on the sport of skijoring. If  you are not familiar with skijoring, think of it as a combination of cross country skiing and dog sledding. You basically harness up your dog, throw on a pair of skis and allow your dog to pull you – just like dog sledding, minus the sled. Here in western New York, we don’t usually get snow accumulations consistent enough for winter activities like snowshoeing and nordic skiing. However, this season, like in many other parts of the country and the world (like Britain for example), we have been blessed with a large quantity of fine, light snow. And you can bet that my dog and I have been taking advantage of it. We’ve been out every day (and sometimes at night) to explore the countryside and practice our teamwork. The beauty behind this form of travel is that it doesn’t require a lot of gear to get started nor do you need a team of 10 or 12 dogs to manage during the off season. You just need a pair of nordic skis, a harness, a medium to large sized dog, and some snow. There are some simple directional commands that your dog should know for negotiating turns in the trail.  But other than that, it is fairly simple to pick up. Skijoring has its roots in Scandinavia and has historically been used in a variety of ways. Now, it is mostly used for recreation or sport. If you want to learn more about it, pick up the book Skijor With Your Dog by Mari Hoe-Raitto & Carol Kaynor. It is a great introductory book for beginners and it helped me get started.

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