Our trips are conducted in a very safety conscious way. We spend a lot of time prepping the trails before a trip by removing branches and blown down trees, packing the trails by snowmobile once we get snow. This is for the guest’s comfort and also to make it easier for the dogs to pull the sleds.
We go out before a trip to check the ice if we are planning to go on the lake by using an ice chisel to find out the thickness of the ice. We often mark our trails with fir boughs so we can find our old base in case of snow storms.
All of our trips are snowmobile supported so we can lighten the loads the dogs are pulling, provide a better trail and also have a snow vehicle in the case of an emergency.
We carry spare warm clothing, the ability to start fires in all conditions, and a satellite phone and two-way radios for communication among the dog sledding guides, cross country ski guides and snowmobile support drivers. We do check in calls once or twice a day to Mahoosuc’s home base so any emergencies from people’s homes can be relayed on to them on the trail.
We always carry a first aid kit for both humans and canines. Guides maintain current Wilderness First Aid or Wilderness First Responder and CPR certification.
If weather or trails are unsafe for any reason we can always adjust our itinerary to continue to conduct a safe and enjoyable experience for our guests and our canine friends.
Our trips are alcohol free for both guests and guides.
Polly, I just wanted to write you a note to thank you again for a wonderful and memorable experience on the Allagash. It was so much fun! I was impressed with your knowledge of the river, technical skills and ability to manage everything, including transportation, canoes, campsites, food and helping all of us have a good time. I was sorry that we didn’t give you the floor more of the time because your stories were so cool and I could tell you were just scratching the surface. Your guiding was great and there’s nothing I can think of for how you could have done it any better.