Women’s Weekend at Umbagog Lake (3 Day) AND (4 Day)
Calling any women adventurers! Join us on an exciting action-packed weekend of cross-country skiing and dogsledding on Umbagog Lake.
Calling any women adventurers! Join us on an exciting action-packed weekend of cross-country skiing and dogsledding on Umbagog Lake.
| Date(s) | Price(s) |
|---|---|
| January 23 - 26, 2025 (4 Day) | $1800 |
| February 28 - March 2, 2025 (3 Day) | $1500 |
This follows the same format as our weekend dog sledding trips but provides the special opportunity to share this experience with other women. This four day trip is a combination of dog sledding and cross country skiing on Umbagog Lake or the Mahoosuc mountains area.
Activities for this weekend include dog mushing, cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. On the second day of the trip we take a day trip from our base camp by dog team and cross-country skis. We switch participants around throughout the weekend so everyone gets a chance to dog sled twice and cross country ski twice.
This trip begins at 7 p.m. the first day with an organizational meeting. We will outfit you with winter equipment, answer questions, and review the itinerary. The following morning, we head out with the huskies for three days on the trail. We return around 4 p.m. on the last day. You will need to make reservations to stay with us in our Mahoosuc Mountain Lodge, farmhouse bed and breakfast or a local hotel or bed and breakfast the first night (this is not included in the trip price).
All you need to bring is warm clothing and a sense of adventure. We provide food and all specialized winter equipment, such as skis, poles, boots, parkas, gaiters, sleeping bags and sleeping pad.
Winter travel can be physically challenging. The better shape you are in, the more you will enjoy your trip. If you are relatively inactive, start exercising at least one month before your trip. You should be able to ski or snowshoe four miles with a light pack of your personal belongings that you are bringing on the trip. While we’re on the trail, we camp in the traditional style canvas wall tents heated with wood stoves with balsam fir bough floors. To view a trip itinerary, click here.
For trip itinerary, click here
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.
Meet at Mahoosuc Guide Service at North Newry at 7 p.m.
Meet other trip participants.
Guides give an overview of the weekend trip; answer questions; review route on map and safety considerations, and issue gear provided by MGS, such as insulated winter parkas, boots, sleeping bags, gaiters, duffel bags, and backpacks.
Meeting lasts around one to 1.5 hours.
Participants stay at Mahoosuc Mountain Lodge or B & B or motel for the night.
Arrive at MGS at designated time (8:30 or 9 a.m.).
Participants are packed and dressed, ready for the trail.
Load gear in vehicles, meet the sled dogs, and have an introductory talk about the dogs.
Load the dogs into the trucks and drive to trailhead. Half of the group skis into camp and half mushes to camp.
Skiers gear up and take off. Mushers have a lesson about dog sledding, then hook the dogs up to the sled and mush into camp.
Once in camp, participants have a tour of the camp, chop a hole through the ice with an ice chisel for drinking water, and get settled into their tents. There is an opportunity to go snowshoeing, skiing or looking for animal tracks. Feed the sled dogs, eat supper, tell tales of the day.
Guides talk about how to sleep warm, use of the wood stove, stories from the far north.
Bedtime.
After a hearty breakfast, we plan and organize for a day trip from our base camp.
Where we go depends on the weather and trail conditions.
Half of the group skis to a prearranged lunch spot; the other half mushes.
We will have a hot lunch on the trail cooked over a campfire. We switch mushers and cross country skiiers after lunch for the trip back to the base camp.
This is also the best day to address individual interests, such as winter ecology, tracking, or plant and tree identification.
Wake up. Eat breakfast. Break camp, which involves packing belongings, resupplying boughs to tents, and resupplying firewood to tents.
Skiers gear up and take off. Dog sledders have a lesson about mushing, then head out to the trailhead. (If you skied in, you will mush out and vice versa.)
Load dogs into trucks, and eat lunch at the trailhead. Drive to Mahoosuc Guide Service. De-issue gear and say good- byes to trail mates.
Participants are ready to go home by 4 p.m.
Deposits are non-refundable. From 0-14 days before trip starts, no money is refundable. Within 14-30 days before the trip starts, money is non-refundable, but you may apply the amount to another trip for one year (on a space available basis) minus your deposit. If you cancel within 14 days of the starting date, money is non-transferable and non-refundable. We go in all conditions including rain and thaws. If extreme weather conditions prevent you from traveling to Maine for your trip, you may use the full amount less the deposit for another trip for one year from the trip starting date. You may wish to purchase vacation insurance to cover this possibility. If you have to cancel due to Covid related issues we will not be able to give a refund, but will lock in the price of the trip and give a 2 year credit to be used toward any of our trips.
We only cancel a trip for safety reasons (i.e. flooding, bad ice, extreme windchill or lack of conditions – not enough snow or ice.) For canoe trips we may need to cancel due to safety issues such as extremely high or low water on rivers. If necessary we may need to change the itinerary to a river or route that is passable from the trip you signed up for due to the extremes of climate change (i.e. low water, flooding). If we need to cancel, we try to reschedule people to another trip. If we need to cancel for safety or lack of conditions you may use the full amount toward another Mahoosuc trip for 2 years.
If you are having any symptoms of Covid before your trip please test yourself before arriving at Mahoosuc Guide Service and if positive contact us to reschedule your trip.
Mushing can be physically demanding. We cannot predict trail conditions as they change daily, sometimes hourly. You should be in good physical condition for an overnight dog sledding trip. The dogs are strong; however, there are limits to their pulling ability. Therefore, we ask individuals who weigh over 215 lbs. to contact us prior to sending in their reservation form.
For canoeing trips sometimes there are portages around falls and we need to carry all of our gear and canoes around them. The better shape you are in will make these carries easier for you.
Tips are appropriate for your guides. If you feel you would like to recognize how hard they worked to provide a safe and reliable trip for you. A common amount is 5% – %10 of your trip cost. At Mahoosuc we split tips evenly among whoever is working on the trip unless people want certain amounts to go directly to certain guides. In this case they should give it to them individually.
I really want to express my appreciation for the way that you guide – of learning about Inuit and Cree and northern people’s lifestyles of canvas wall tents, of goodies cooked by a local lady and her daughter. You go beyond the “how to” and into the why and in a quiet way support that with your actions.
