Nestled in the middle of nowhere is a cosy, magical place, that is home to our Wilderness Lodge and Husky Sledding in Swedish Lapland experience and Niki from the Nature Travels team visited in early January.
After a rather grey and boring winter so far in the UK, I was excited to travel up to Kiruna to see some snow and, more importantly, meet some huskies!
After the 1-hour transfer from Kiruna airport, we arrived at the entrance of the trail that leads to the basecamp, where the final 3km are not accessible by road, so we climbed onto a trailer attached to a snowmobile and enjoyed the final part of our journey into the wilderness. As you travel through the forest, it gives you a real sense of how remote you are and, as we got closer to the Lodge, we were greeted by the howling of our soon-to-be new husky friends.
Once we had settled and gathered our winter clothing, it was time for an afternoon of getting to grips with dog sledding. The first day at the Wilderness Lodge, whether you do the 4-day or 8-day tour, is a training day, and you will share a sled so you can take turns having a go at driving and slowly get more confident driving.
The huskies knew some of them were only moments away from going for a run and they were all barking excitedly. These kennels are home to around 90 dogs, and the main guide at the Lodge, Asbjörn, impressively knows all of them incredibly well and all their individual personalities.
The guide talked us through how to drive our sleds and things to look out for. I was very excited to get back out sledding. We were told which dogs would be taking us out today, shown how to harness them and what order you are to attach them to your sled. Once we had attached our two front lead dogs, one of us kept them occupied and of course gave them lots of cuddles whilst the other got the rest of the team.
And then we were off! It was wonderful being out in the snowy forest with just our headtorches lighting the way. It had been a little while since I had driven a dogsled, but it came back quickly and it was as incredible as ever to watch the team running ahead like pros. You also have to do your part of course, just stepping off and helping the sled up short sections when going uphill, or you’ll get glared at by your team for not pulling your weight! It’s not just up to the dogs to do all the work.
These huskies are all athletes, but some of the dogs have run the famous Iditarod, which is an 1850km race in Alaska. The head guide at the alternative kennels in Kiruna has run this race a whopping 7 times, which is more than any non-US musher. These alternative kennels are where you spend your first night on Northern Lights Dogsled Adventure in Lapland, but you can see memorabilia of this iconic race at the Wilderness Lodge and meet some of the stars that helped him race it.
On return to the kennels, we sorted our dogs out, as they always come first, and we then warmed up inside the very cosy Lodge. It was so warm and cosy that we all had to get changed into lighter clothing and one person was even in shorts, as the stone fireplace is very effective.
During my stay, the person who did the majority of the cooking used to work in a Michelin-starred restaurant and was a wonderful cook! Tonight’s delicious meal was a traditional meatballs and mash with lingonberry jam. We devoured our lovely dinner whilst getting to know the other guests at the Lodge. Some had been there a few days already and were excitedly telling us about what their adventures so far.
After my very early start, I headed off to bed shortly after dinner. I was incredibly lucky to be sleeping in one of the Aurora Cones available to stay in for the night as an optional extra. Fortunately, the Northern Lights did not dance this evening, as I would have completely slept through them if they had.
As with all our dogsled tours, part of the fun is getting stuck in and helping out, and the morning routine at the kennels is up early for poop picking and cuddles! In pairs, we went around each of the kennels, had a little tidy, and then spent time getting to know these adorable creatures.
One of the kennels housed some teenagers who are not quite ready for full tours yet and they were full of excitable beans. It was wonderful carnage, so a couple of us attempted to distract the puppies whilst others quickly went round and got picking.
After a hearty breakfast, we were told the plans for the day and got ourselves ready for a day of dog sledding. I was travelling in early January, when the sun appeears just above the horizon for a few hours each day, so as we were getting ready the sun was just starting to rise. A few of the dogs that were meant to be part of my team decided they didn’t want to run today and hid in their huts when we went to collect them, so a quick change of plan and the new team were very happy to be going out and couldn’t get out of their kennels quick enough! We got each of our teams together and before we knew it we were sledding out into the wilderness.
The wonderful thing about travelling at this time of year is the colours in the sky! Whilst out sledding on this very cold crisp day, I couldn’t believe how beautiful the scenery was, travelling over lakes and through forest, while the sky was a bright turquoise, the bright pink sun just above the trees and the snow shone a rosy, peach colour. With the sun rising for a short while each day at this time of year, it means you have hours of sunrise/set and a moon that never seems to set!
There’s nothing like travelling by dogsled with your own team and you get to know their individual personalities pretty quickly, but one of the lovely things about doing day tours from a fixed base is that some of the more senior dogs can come out just for the day and relax the next. Today, I had Beth and Malibu at the front and Passoa and Moki behind. Malibu tried to be in charge at first, but Beth quickly took over and made sure the others stayed in line, keeping a particular eye on Passoa. Moki was just happy to be there and took it all in his stride!
Once back at the kennels and having settled our dogs back in their homes, we started the sauna. It would not be ready for a little while yet, but once the fire got going, we took it in turns to check how it was doing and topping up the firewood until it was the right temperature before enjoying the relaxing heat to soothe our muscles after a very chilly day.
Tonight’s lovely dinner was chilli con carne (or sin carne for the veggies who were with us) and we each had a second helping to refuel after our epic day out. You have got to keep your energy up in the Arctic and I don’t need any excuse to eat more food. Once we were happily full, we settled on the sofas and were joined by some of the senior members of the dog team for more cuddles as we chatted with the guides about life as a musher.
Day 3 of the usual itinerary for the 4-day tour is another day out dog sledding, and that’s where those that were doing this experience headed out for the day, but I was joining the guests staying for 8 day instead, as this itinerary includes other activities as well as dog sledding. Today, we travelled down the road for an Icelandic horse and Sámi experience. This isn’t part of the usual itinerary at the moment but may be possible in the future.
First we met the beautiful Icelandic horses, who love a cracker, are built for the winter and are nearly as affectionate as the huskies but a little less excitable. Then we headed to the reindeer enclosure, where our guide enticed some of them to get closer with some tasty lichen and then expertly lassoed them so we could take a couple for a walk. Reindeer are feisty and headstrong, so it made for an interesting walk, but one of our group turned out to be a natural!
Back at basecamp, I was happily enjoying the evening routine of sauna (and a dip in the lake if you’re brave enough!), another wonderful dinner of lasagne, and cuddles on the sofa with a few of the resident huskies, but with the sad realisation that it was my last evening here.
I was a little teary leaving this winter haven the following morning, and as we slowly made our way back to civilisation, we chatted about our recent adventures, huskies who had stolen our hearts and how soon we could return for another stay.
I was spending another night in the area, at the alternative kennels, which are home for the Northern Lights Dogsled Adventure in Lapland. That afternoon I visited the Ice Hotel, which is part of the itinerary for the 8-day experience at the Wilderness Lodge. This impressive hotel is rebuilt by artists every year and each room in the art suites has a unique style.
The following morning, it was sadly time to say goodbye to Kiruna and make the journey home to the UK, with very happy memories and also wondering how I was going to wash everything in my luggage before my dog figured out who how many huskies I’d been hanging out with…
Best regards
Niki from the Nature Travels Team