A New Brunswick man making a 3,000-kilometre dog sled trek from Manitoba to his home province says the journey thus far has been “a mix of beauty and terror.”
Justin Allen and his 12 Alaskan huskies left Churchill, Man., on Jan. 22. They arrived in Moosonee, Ont., earlier this week after travelling roughly 1,700 kilometres through the tundra, down tree-lined trails and along the frozen Hudson Bay.
“It’s been an incredible experience. As we’ve been going, the landscape has been changing a lot,” said Allen in a phone interview Saturday. “This country is absolutely beautiful, but at the same time, it’s a harsh environment where we’ve been going. You can’t take it lightly. If you misplan or go out ill-prepared it can cost you a lot — potentially your life.”
Allen, 34, said he discovered dog sledding by accident. He was travelling across Canada when he visited Churchill in 2012 and decided to volunteer at a dog kennel for a few weeks.
“A few weeks turned into the winter, and then the winter turned into six years,” he said with a chuckle.
Now, Allen is returning to his hometown of Saint John, N.B., to be closer to family and to open an adventure business with his dogs. Boss Dog Expeditions will offer dog sled rides, dog-assisted hikes and camping trips.
“I couldn’t see driving or flying the team across the country. It just didn’t seem to fit. These dogs have been travelling across the land for thousands of years, so I decided I wanted to reconnect with that culture and the art of dog sledding,” said Allen, whose dogs are all between the ages of two and four.
“The origins of the sport come from the First Nations and that’s why we chose to do the route we’re doing. I wanted to give back to the First Nations communities and say thank you.”
The musher said there have been many challenges thus far, including sledding through waist-deep snow and over icy roads. Each day he spends hours caring for J.T., Bella, Goldie, Howler, Mouse, Acer, Alpine, Ash, Juniper, Sequoia, Tamarack and Willow.
“After I’ve been running the dogs for eight hours and I’m exhausted, my work is far from over. I still have hours of work ahead of me — massaging the dogs, putting lotions on their feet, preparing their meals, and the list goes on,” said Allen.
Allen said it’s important to him to lead by example, so he often sleeps outside on a caribou hide beside his dogs, even as temperatures dip to -35 C.
“We’re out in the wilderness and there are lots of predators. I don’t feel comfortable being inside a nice warm tent knowing that dogs are out there exposed,” he said.
He said the pups are happy, healthy and well-loved, but are a bit confused given this is the longest they’ve ever been away from home.
Until now, the longest trip he has taken with the dogs was about 380 kilometres, but he says they ran thousands of kilometres in their training for this trek.
“I know what we’re doing. The dogs don’t. They just blindly run for me because they trust me. But they’ve really come around and they’ve really adapted to this,” he said.
“The dogs dictate everything. Sometimes I think we’ll have a small day and only run a couple hours and then at two hours the dogs are screaming and want to keep going. Other days I plan on having a big day and they’ll let me know a couple hours into the run they want to stop and rest. I’m reading them and watching them. I’m really in tune with my dogs and I listen to them.”
Allen’s girlfriend and a friend are following a similar route by truck, meeting up with Allen at pre-established checkpoints. They help prepare meals in the communities Allen visits, stuffing stir-fry, stews and quinoa into vacuum-sealed packages that Allen reheats during the trek by boiling snow and ice.
Allen has been visiting schools along his journey, showing off his dogs and sled and talking to students about the sport and the benefits of living an active outdoor lifestyle.
He’s amassed a following on social media, garnering thousands of views on his live video updates.
Allen will soon continue crossing Ontario and then Quebec before winding up in Saint John sometime in mid-April.