Husky Owner's Dream Fulfilled - Dog Sledding in Iceland

Being a Siberian Husky owner, it’s crossed my mind multiple times to hook on a wagon to my dog’s harness and teach him to mush! Of course it wouldn’t work as well because as strong as he is, he’s still just one husky pup.

To my delight, there’s one company in Reykjavík who does offer dog sledding with a pack of huskies! Even though this trip is for Harrison, I had to throw in an activity that I would enjoy! And of course I would enjoy any activity with dogs and even more so that they're huskies!

I chose the combo package where we would be able to sled with the dogs as well as visit a local pool for some hot spring action. It's the perfect combo: a nice brisk sled ride in the morning followed by a relaxing and comforting dip in the spas in the afternoon.

We were picked up at our hotel by Dog Sledding.is and driven over to Skalafell to meet the dogs. The morning pickup wasn’t on time because the driver had a “Hangover” incident before picking us up. She was scheduled to pick up a bachelor party and drive them to the airport but they lost their groom at one of the strip clubs the night before. And since strip clubs in Iceland are well hidden in secretive locations, she had to drive around asking everywhere and visiting various spots to find clues before finally finding the groom. By the time we were picked up, she already had a full morning adventure and story to tell us.

Since we got a later start in the day, the dogs had a chance to sleep in a bit more. When we first arrived, there were 50 dogs spread out in organized rows and columns along the snow. Each one of them dug their own little hole in the ground and were curled up snoozing. When we started changing into snowsuits and gearing up for the cold, the dogs slowly started getting up and stretching and one by one started howling until it spread throughout the whole line. The howling sent a shiver down my spine and I was more excited than ever!

We had 5 people to a sled including the musher, with 8 Greenland huskies yanking on the harness, excited to run. There were four different opportunities to stop and switch spots on the sled so each person rode in the front, middle, back, and stand with the musher. Throughout the whole ride, our musher would tell us stories about each individual dog’s personalities as well as overall facts about huskies and sledding. Our musher seemed very passionate about the dogs and cared for each and every one of them.

We learned that the -2°C weather we were in was a warm day for the huskies because their thick coat allows them to withstand up to -50°C. Every time we took a quick break, the dogs would start munching on the snow in front of their feet to cool off. The larger dogs who just wanted to run were put in the back, while the smarter dogs were in the front. This was very evident whenever the musher asked the dogs to stop, the two in the front stopped immediately, whereas the two in the back kept pulling and jumping forward to try and continue running.

The huskies also loved cuddling! There were 2 huskies we were warned not to approach because they were nervous around strangers, but the other 48 were the friendliest dogs who appreciated any type of attention. Even a quick glance in their direction would lead to tail thumping and ears perking up. It's the best feeling in the world to be surrounded by 48 dogs who have unconditional love for you. It was really cute how some of them would get jealous if you pet another dog more than them. At one point I pet one dog on my left, and the other dog started howling and whining on my right, and another dog behind me started bumping her head onto my leg to get attention, and the dog in front of me gave me the saddest puppy dog eyes with accompanied head tilt. They just wanted to be loved and adored! Whose heart wouldn’t melt in that situation?

After the dog sledding, the company provided us with a tasty boxed lunch which we enjoyed en route to a local swimming pool. There were numerous heated swimming pools, various hot springs with different temperatures from hot to scalding, and relaxing isolated saunas. It’s a delightful sight to see people lounging in their bathing suits in steamy hot springs while wisps of snow lightly dropped around them. The most amusing part was seeing people leave their hot pools and hurriedly bracing the frigid air to get to the next pool. There were also slides to enter the pools that you had to be very careful with because the steps leading up to the slides were frozen and slippery. But after you conquered the iced steps, it was the best sensation to slide straight into the warmth of the pool.