Yappy trails. Tasha Stielstra, a top-flight dogsled musher, enjoys taking adventure lovers on pooch-powered tours around her acreage in the remote wilderness of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. It’s a cool way to revel in winter’s beauty.

Leader of the Pack

Her energetic sled dogs rate best in snow.

Traffic is scarce around Tasha and Ed Stielstra’s place when winter hugs Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. Unless, of course, you’re visiting them during “mush hour.”

“At sled ride time, we’re surrounded by bundles of bouncing fur, yipping and ready to run,” Tasha notes from their isolated acreage outside the tiny town of McMillan. This wilderness is both their home and headquarters of their business, Nature’s Kennel Sled Dog Racing and Adventures.

The couple raises, trains and races lean, muscled Alaskan huskies—some 100 of them—and teaches people to “mush,” or drive, a dog team. “Ed was a musher when I met him, but I’d never even owned a dog,” Tasha says. “I’m not sure who I fell in love with first…him or his dogs.

“Being a former kindergarten teacher, I do all the harness breaking of our puppies, beginning when they’re 6 months old. They’re born to pull, so they don’t need much instruction. I just hook them onto the gang line next to an older, experienced dog. They watch and learn.”

Four-Paw Drive

When the snow melts, these canine athletes aren’t content to snooze and dream of the next white Christmas. “In May, we pack up the dogs and drive to a glacier resort in Alaska where we lead sled dog tours for tourists,” Tasha says. “The dogs get exercise all summer. We train in spring and fall by letting the dogs pull us on our four-wheeler. When the snow returns, we switch back to sleds.”

Even if you’ve never set foot on a dogsled, the Stielstras will soon have you mushing. “All our guests—from age 12 to over 70—are beginners,” Tasha says. “We teach them how to harness and hook up their dog team and the basics of driving a sled. Then, it’s best to relax, move with the sled and let the dogs do the work.

“Our guided tours include a 1/2-day mini drive covering a 10-mile loop that follows paths and logging trails across our property. We also offer a 50-mile round-trip overnight adventure, which includes bunk-bed lodging in heated tents, homemade meals and time around the fire pit to tell trail tales.”

Back at the kennels, each dog enjoys its own cozy house, complete with wood deck and warm straw bedding. While Ed fills their dishes with high-performance dog food and beef, Tasha checks for sore paws. The dogs wear booties if temperatures are below zero or trails are rough.

Off to the Races

“Each winter, Ed and I take time off to compete in some long-distance sled dog races of 200 miles or more, including the Iditarod,” Tasha adds. “For these teams, we choose our best runners. The leader must respond well to the musher, give 100% and be respected by the rest of the dogs.

“Humans can learn a lot from sled dogs. That’s why I started an educational program for kids called Pulling Together,” she explains. She reaches over 6,000 students annually. “We either take a few dogs to grade schools or lead field trips here. The kids meet the dogs up close and learn how determination and working together can make a successful team.”

There are faster, comfier modes of transportation than huskies hitched to a sled, Tasha agrees. “But you won’t find a more exciting and fun way to travel.”

Editor’s Note: For more on their dogsled tours and racing schedule, go to Tasha and Ed’s Web site through ours by clicking our links page.

Photos: Krister Raasoch