Not all dogs are sled dogs.
More than once — when I was younger and lighter — I tried to entice our good-natured family dog to pull me down the street while I sat inside a wagon or on a skateboard or disc sled, depending on the season.
Additional Photos
To encourage Brandy, a German shepherd-yellow Lab mutt, I’d lay a long trail of treats down the sidewalk or throw a cookie out ahead of her. Then I’d brace for the jolt that was sure to follow as Brandy raced for the irresistible Milk-Bones, pulling me happily screaming behind her.
But the jolt never came. Brandy wasn’t a runner, per se. She was more of a meanderer, a lounger, a cushion.
I even tried tying a hot dog to a long stick after seeing how flawlessly it worked in morning cartoons. What the cartoons didn’t show, however, was how persuasive the begging eyes of a big yellow dog can be. I ended up giving her the hot dog, even though she never moved an inch.
I had to resign myself to a simple truth: My dog-pulling-human hopes weren’t going to be realized. Not with Brandy in the lead, anyway.
But dreams — the good ones — never really die. And decades later, you might find yourself gliding over the ice-corked surface of a Bridgton lake, a team of dogs pulling the way. And there you’ll be, reclining in the trailing sled, squinting from the wind and sun and thinking, “Yep, it’s as awesome as I thought it’d be.”
The dogsledding opportunity came for me during last year’s Mushers Bowl and Winter Carnival in Bridgton. Dogsled rides were offered on Highland Lake throughout the weekend, while the competitive dogsled and skijoring races took place at nearby Five Fields Farm.
No long sticks or hot dogs were needed — just the ability to appreciate the wide, blank canvas of a frozen lake and the rhythmic plod of dog paws on snow.
It just so happens that a year has passed since then, and the Mushers Bowl and Winter Carnival returns to Bridgton Saturday and Sunday. The dogsled-centric weekend includes two days of dogsled rides and races, skijoring (wherein people on skis are pulled by their canine friends), as well as winter hikes, guided snowshoeing, a polar dip, a Saturday-night dance and snowmobile rides.
Aspiring mushers can give the family dog a rest and get a first-hand dogsledding experience on either day as long as they sign up beforehand. The dogsled rides are a popular offering, said Jim Mains, executive director of the Greater Bridgton Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce, and spots usually book quickly.
Dogsledders who prefer to leave life to chance can hope a spot opens up when a scheduled rider fails to show, but reservations are recommended, and can be made by calling the chamber at 647-3472.
Rides cost $25 per person for 20 minutes, and run every half hour from 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. Two people can ride together — one tucked comfortably in the sled and one standing on the footboards in the back alongside a musher guide.
The dog teams don’t require much guidance in this environment, allowing novice mushers to relax and revel in the adventure.
And after the call of “whoa!” brings the dogs to a stop at the end of the ride, a well-deserved “thank you,” expressed through a hearty scratch behind the ears, is simply good courtesy.
For the dogs, I mean.
Staff Writer Shannon Bryan can be contacted at 791-6333 or at:
sbryan@mainetoday.com
Follow her on Twitter at:
twitter.com/mainetoday
Send questions/comments to the editors.
