Hitting the trail> Sangerville man offers adventures in dog sledding

The frost may cover your brows and the wind may sing in your ears, but if you’ve followed Ed Mathieu’s instructions, you’ll be warm while mushing though the snow on a sled pulled by a team of dogs.

Gaining recognition as a winter sport, dog-sled trips are becoming popular among sports enthusiasts.

“I think it’s something old, but something new in the area. It’s a great cabin fever reliever,” Mathieu said recently.

Bundled up against the cold and topped with a warm woolen blanket, passengers can marvel at the winter scenery without the constant roar of a snowmobile engine in the ears. Heavy panting by the dogs and an occasional yelp may cut the silence, but it’s still a tranquil ride.

After moving to Maine about 10 years ago, Mathieu, who is from Sangerville, obtained his Maine Guide license and began offering wilderness canoe trips.

“I had a feeling that people were looking for something different in the area,” he said. So he offered dog-sled trips, in addition to his guiding service.

Mathieu is currently making an Eskimo-type sled, similar to a toboggan with brakes, to use on certain trips in place of the handcrafted dog sled he purchased from a Houlton craftsman.

While most of the trips Mathieu offers are only hour-long rides, he does plan to offer full-day and overnight trips in the near future. He has more than 10 trips booked for this season already and two winter carnivals at which to participate.

Old woods roads, abandoned railroad tracks and snowmobile trails are used for the dog-sled trips. Mathieu said he shows respect and pulls over for snowmobiles, since the trails were made for them. While en route, he stops to fix steeping hot tea or hot chocolate, and a hot meal, such as chili, for his customers.

“It’s a peaceful feeling,” Mathieu said of the trips.

Not only is he fussy about his customer’s comfort, but he’s also constantly concerned about the care and upkeep of his dogs. When the snow gets too crusty or the weather is unbearably cold, each dog sports a cozy pair of booties. Their doghouses have beds of hay in the winter months and are cleaned twice a day. He even prepares them a stew made from bone scraps which is poured over dry dog food for an energy elixir.

Mathieu works with the dogs every other day on trails to keep them in shape. Each of the dogs have winter-related names, such as Blizzard, Tundra and Glacier, and each like nothing better than to run.

Working with dogs requires a lot of patience, according to Mathieu. Each dog has its own personality, he said. Sometimes Mathieu finds that the dogs don’t want to run.

“You can’t force them to run and you don’t hit them when they don’t do what you want them to; you just wait it out” he said.