Dog Sledding Into Ilulissat

After two full-days of dog sledding, the terrain grew more interesting as I approached Ilulissat. While this was truly a memory to cherish for the rest of my life, there is a darker, less talked about side to dog sledding: The Smell.

The dogs are trained to urinate and defecate without stopping. Well, they sort of stop. What happens is a dog will go off to the side a bit and use the few seconds it has before the line becomes taught to do some business before running to catch up. You can take a 15min break and the dogs will just sit, relax and chow on some snow and not do much. As soon as you get the pack moving again, it's like instantaneously they all have to take turns going to the bathroom.

So, get used to smelling a constant stream of doggie poop. And when the dogs aren't pooping, you can be sure to feel the sting in your nostrils of doggie farts. That's right. One right after the other, unabated. With 13 dogs, they just don't really let up on the stink.

Luckily, I'm not that sensitive to these unpleasant smells, but honestly I don't think I ever got quite used to it throughout the expedition. I hope this doesn't deter you from going dog sledding though - the experience is far greater than a never-ending barrage of foul scents.