Gee Haw!

In honor of yesterday's finish of the 35th annual Iditarod, my thoughts turn to mushing with my own pack in the arctic wilds of Greenland. Wintergreen (based out of Ely, Minnesota) offers up a serious call of the wild each spring with a 14 day odyssey through Northwest Greenland. Not for the faint of heart or the cold of toes, this is a true arctic trek via dog sled by day and winter camping by night.

But for those who can brave the cold, they will be richly rewarded with spectacular fjords and coastal scenery, daylight round the clock and wonderful wildlife including caribou, polar bears, seabirds and arctic fox. You'll observe the native Polar Inuit in their hunting and fishing and share meals with them in the evening for a unique cultural understanding presumably so very different from your own.

Now you, dear reader, may take issue with dog sledding -- many animal lovers do. But as a lifelong lover of animals myself, I feel that sled dogs were born to race, born to love the snow and cold. And yes, unfortunate accidents and injuries sometimes befall them. But I feel no different about them than I do about mountain climbers, deep sea divers, heliskiiers or any other adventurers who tackle difficult journeys and climates -- they are equally born to love what they do and fate ultimately plays the tune we all dance to (thank you, Al Swearengen.)

Mush on!