February 2024
Dog Sledding at Camp Tamok – Tromsø, Norway
Even though our trip to Tromso was short, I really wanted to squeeze in an overnight experience at Camp Tamok. This winter wonderland is located outside of Tromso and takes you into the Tamok Valley for an arctic wilderness experience. While there are many day trip options to visit Camp Tamok, something about the overnight option was very attractive, especially as it added another chance to see the Northern Lights.
On our second day at 830AM, it was time to suit up for our dog sledding experience. We had done this experience before in Quebec and had so much fun that we had to try it here in the Arctic Circle. What was even better is that there were only eight of us experiencing this instead of the masses that arrive on the buses for a day excursion so this was really as private of an experience as we could get. Our guide, Kupa, lives on the Camp with his Alaskan husky dogs during the winter season and returns to Poland during the warmer months. It was clear from the start how much he loves each of his dogs and knows them all individually. He races with them and they typically do races up to 200km which is insane! His dogs are all from the same blood line and he feels like it makes a big difference in performance not just in races but in personality as well. These dogs are professionals – they are well mannered, focused, and on the job. When it’s play time, they get to enjoy themselves and get lots of cuddles.
It was only us and the other couple going out with Kupa so it was an intimate experience. Because the dogs are experienced at long distance running, they reach a pace that is not changing. It was a warmer day out and the trail had many hills so we were instructed that whoever is driving to help the dogs by running and pushing the sled to get them up the hill. This ended up being quite a work out for Kevin. The trail was full of hills, twists, and turns that made it quite fun as a passenger and aerobic exercise for Kevin. The sled works by having one foot on each sled ski, then there is a mat that you can push down to slow the dogs down – especially ahead of downhills, and then a “e-brake” that digs into the snow to stop fully.
The dogs are so excited to get running that they bark, sqweel, and jump to try and get moving. Kevin would have the “e-brake” on with all his body weight and the dogs were still moving the sled. These dogs just love to run. When we returned to the camp, sledding past the Camp’s dogs – who were going ballistic as our sleds went by – and Kupa’s dogs completely ignored the other dogs in a way that was so impressive, they were completely unphased.
At the end, we got to spend time with the dogs and give them much deserved attention and affection. We got so lucky to have sledded with Kupa and his truly special pack. All in, the trail is several kilometers long and just over an hour of sledding.
When visiting Camp Tamok, I would highly recommend the dog sledding experience! If you are not visiting Camp Tamok for the overnight stay, I would recommend finding dog sledding that is closer to Tamok as three hours round trip of driving is a large investment of time on your vacation.
