A Two Day Adventure
Spend a couple of days following in the tracks of the explorers and adventurers of times past!
The day begins with a light continental breakfast, at our booking office at the Mad Dog Cafe & Market in Dead Man's Flats. Here the guides will ensure that you have all the clothing and equipment needed for your 2 day adventure. An introduction to dog sledding will be given with discussion on the itinerary for the 2 days. From the Cafe, you will follow your guide to the trailhead (45 min drive) to begin your day.
Once at the Spray Lakes, you will be encouraged to assist in unloading the teams, harnessing the dogs and setting up the sleds to get familiar with your dogs and equipment. A hot soup & sandwich lunch will be provided before heading out on the trail. Once on the trail, you will enjoy an exhilarating dog sled ride with breathtaking views of the Spray Valley. This trail takes you out over the frozen lake then up into the trees to navigate an exciting trail to Mt Nester Viewpoint where our back-country campsite resides. Here you will enjoy a campfire to warm up by while camp is set up with hot drinks and snacks. You will have time to play with the dogs, walk around the general area looking for animal tracks, and to get some fantastic pictures while your guides prepare your evening meal. The evening is spent sharing stories while building smores and drinking hot chocolate before crawling into your cozy 4-season tent.
In the morning your guide will prepare you a breakfast by the campfire then it is back out on the trail for another 5-6 hours of dog sledding as you explore the lake further South, past Buller Creek & Smutz Creek, following the South shore to our day camp below Isolation Ridge. Here you will enjoy a trailside lunch and views SW down Bryant Creek and W to the flanks of Fortune Mountain. Once back on the trail, you will loop around the Frozen Islands, going up and down frozen ice rifts, to connect to the trail back to the trailhead.
When out on the trail, you will be given the opportunity to drive your sled with the assistance of your qualified guide or you can just sit back in the sled and enjoy the wonderful Canadian winter scenery. Photo stops are encouraged as well as trail snacks and beverages offered throughout your tour.
This is an intermediate tour and requires a reasonable level of physical fitness and stamina.
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Schedule & Pricing
Availability- NOT AVAILABLE WINTER 2020/2021Minimum of 2 people - Maximum 4 people.
Pricing
- $3350 (CAD) + gst per sled for 2 people. ($1750 + gst per person)
- Not suitable for children under 16 years of age
- See sled loading document for details of configuration and weights
This tour is weather dependant.
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Tour Includes
- Delicous meals, beverages,and snacks for the 2 days out provided by the Mad Dog Cafe & Market.
- Orientation on dog sledding, dog handling, & equipment and basic training for driving your team.
- Approx 10-11 hours out on the trail with photo stops along the way
- All camping equipment for overnight with an experienced backcountry guide.
- Ample time for some great photos of the dogs and the beautiful Rocky Mountains
Tour duration is approx 31-32 hours depending on trail conditions which includes orientations, dogsledding, overnight, campfires, meals, snacks, and beverages.
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Transportation
The only way to get to the Spray Lakes is to drive yourself. There is no public transportation available into this area. As it is a secondary gravel road to the trailhead, we ask that vehicles have a min of front wheel drive and good all-season tires. If nervous about driving in winter conditions, we can provide a lead car to the site from the Mad Dog Cafe in Dead Man's Flats. It would take approx 2.25 hrs from Calgary, 35 min from Canmore, and 1.25 hours from Banff. See our "Map Page" for more info.
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Small Group Sizes, Real Adventure
There are a number of dog sledding companies in the Canadian Rockies to choose from. At Mad Dogs & Englishmen Expeditions, we believe in providing an authentic experience, with small group sizes, usually with a maximum of 3 sleds unless more are required for larger groups. By choosing us, you will experience a more personable, relaxed, real adventure... Experience what mushing is really like!
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Sled Booking info
This tour cannot be booked online. If interested in booking this tour, please fill out the inquiry form provided for you or call our office directly.
We run our tours with the following configuration:
Guide-Driven Sled + Client-Driven Sled + Guide-Driven Sled and so on...- For sled configuration purposes, children 10 yrs and up will be considered as an adult. A child 4-9 yrs of age will be considered a child. Infant is any child under 4yrs of age. Please see configuration examples in sled loading document for details.
- Please call or email our office if booking a group of 10 or more participants. We do offer group discounts and may be able to move sleds around if it appears that we do not have availability for your tour of choice.
- If your party does not fit in these outlined parameters or you are unsure, please call or email our office. We will be happy to look at your specific needs.
IMPORTANT - THE SLED LOADING DOCUMENT MUST BE READ BEFORE ANY BOOKING
For the safety of our dogs and you the humans, please read open and read this document BEFORE you make a booking.
