In Garrett County, just below the Mason-Dixon line, you can a ride behind a team of huskies and even learn to mush this winter from two companies offering tours for the first time.The state's western mountains, with an average annual snowfall of nearly 100 inches, "are ideal for dog sledding," said Linda Herdering, who operates Husky Power Dog Sledding with her husband, Mike.
They and competitor Yellow Snow Dog Sled Adventures reflect the expansion of a sport rooted in the far north. Although commonly associated with Alaska and Canada, sled dogs are raised and trained in virtually every region of the United States, including Florida, where Siberian huskies sometimes pull wheeled carts for recreation in the cool, early morning hours, said Peggy Wright, of Seminole-based Siberian Husky Rescue of Florida.
Marcia Horne, owner of four huskies in Bristol, Va., said she has driven her dogs on snow just once, in January 2004, when two or three inches fell along the Virginia-Tennessee line.
"If we get snow, that's just icing on the cake," she said. "Otherwise, we're happy with the wheels."
Dave Steele, executive director of the International Sled Dog Racing Association in Merrifield, Minn., said media coverage of the Iditarod, an annual 1,100-mile race across Alaska scheduled to start this year on March 6, has boosted the sport's popularity. The number of races worldwide has more than tripled since 1995, and commercial tours and outfitters are among the sport's fastest-growing segments, he said.
"It's a good thing for us and for the racing community," Steele said. For many first-timers, "it lays to rest the absurd notion that the dogs have to be forced to do this. You only have to take one ride to know they love to run."