Husky News

At the Boyne Highlands resort near here, for instance, you can go dog sledding with an experienced musher who has raced three times in the famed Iditarod dogsled race in Alaska.

Ed Stielstra and his wife, Tasha, own Nature’s Kennel Sled Dog Adventures in McMillan, near Newberry in the Upper Peninsula.

Stielstra and his employees bring about 24 dogs and two sleds down to Boyne Highlands every weekend between December and mid-March, weather permitting. Rides are available 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sundays.

Stielstra will take two adults and a small child for a dog sled ride for 20 minutes for $50, or for an hour for $150. The short ride is about four miles long, while the hour-long ride is about seven miles long. The longer ride includes a stop for hot drinks.

There are few things more fun and exciting than skimming across the snow at a fairly good clip behind 10 happy-to-be-running Huskies.

Stielstra has been running dogs for 17 years, ever since he got hooked on the sport when he was in college. He has raced in the Iditarod three times; his best finish was 42nd out of some 80 race teams. His business has been running charters at Boyne Highlands for three years.

Stielstra’s wife is a veteran, too; she won the Upper Peninsula 200 two years ago.

Bookings for the rides can be made through Boyne Highlands at (231) 526-3000 or by logging onto www.BOYNE.com.

Source: The Flint Journal