You don’t need to be a dog lover to enjoy this tour, and my husband and I both enjoyed our visit to Seavey’s immensely. Along with the cart ride, seeing all the dogs, and holding the adorable puppies, we gained a true insiders account of what an ultimate challenge the Iditarod really is, and now understand why it is called the “Last Great Race.” And what better dog mushers’ camp to tour than the one that has won the Iditarod the last 5 years in a row! Dallas Seavey has won it 4 times out of 5, only to be beaten once by his dad Mitch!
What’s nice is Seavey’s offers 3 different tour options in Seward. One flies you out by helicopter to do authentic dog mushing on snow. Another is a wheeled cart ride on a wilderness trail, and the last combines the cart ride with a tour of Seward, Exit Glacier and a complimentary lunch. We didn’t want to spend a ton of money for the combo helicopter/snow sled ride, so the cart ride was perfect for us. After all, being from Buffalo, we have a pretty good idea of what snow looks like! The cart ride was an affordable option that still gave us a good idea about the dogsled interaction dynamics, an opportunity to meet the dogs, and gain lots of great information about the mushers, the equipment and all the hard work and training that goes into this race. Since we did not have transportation in Seward, Seavey’s complimentary pickup and drop off service was very convenient.
Conway Seavey was our driver, and he did a great job explaining info about the dogs and the race. You will notice by the pictures that these are Alaskan Huskies and don’t look much like the Siberian huskies we were expecting to see. They are “pedigreed mutts” so to speak. This breed is not an AKC recognized breed, and are purposely bred for their speed, stamina and endurance. We were told they are extremely tough and have very few of the inherent hereditary defects that purebreds have.
What a racket to hear 80 excited Alaskan Huskies just begging to be hooked up to a cart! These dogs live to run and it is clear they truly enjoy what they do. As we left for our cart ride, Conway said the other dogs were now sulking because they weren’t picked! They use the cart ride in summer to train the dogs. They actually had to stop our cart a couple times so the dogs wouldn’t overheat. These dogs perform best in the arctic cold. They also use the older retired race dogs to help train the younger ones. After the ride we were surprised that we were allowed to pet the sled dogs. They are very affectionate, happy dogs. It is obvious the Seavey’s take great pride in caring for these dogs and in presenting their camp to the public. And holding some of the puppies was simply delightful. Definitely a highlight!
The last part of the tour gave us insight on the Iditarod race itself, including the sleds, the race and the extraordinary requirements needed from the dogs and the mushers. Who would have known that the dogs are on a 15,000 calorie diet per day, or that a musher may only get 12 hours total sleep during the entire 8 to 9 days of the race? One thing for sure is the dogs wellbeing and safety is a priority. The dogs are now required to wear booties to protect their pads from ice and snow, and vets are stationed at required interval stops and will fly out any dog that is deemed unfit to continue. You start out with 16 dogs, but must have 6 to finish the race.
We saw another dog cart camp option that we passed on which was combined with the White Pass Train ride in Skagway. It was only a 15 minute ride, and looked very rushed trying to squeeze it in with the train/bus excursion. We are very happy we chose Seavey’s. Everyone was warm, personable and very knowledgeable. Compared to a museum tour or documentary, Seavey’s is a fun, hands on way to learn all about the Iditarod from the family that does it the best! Seavey’s is top notch, and a must do if you are in Seward.