1 – PLAY CLOTHES
Remember that scene in the Sound of Music where Maria makes play clothes for the Von Trapp kids out of curtains? Yeah, you’re gonna want those. Sled dogs are playful and rambunctious. You can expect lots of jumping, hugging and licking, so try to wear clothes that you don’t care too much about.
2 – AVOID “DANGLIES”
Young dogs (especially puppies) are going to be attracted to anything you have on you that dangles — long hair, scarves, necklaces, sweatshirt strings, camera straps, shoelaces… Try to limit how much you have hanging off of your body, or you may attract extra (unwanted) attention.
3 – LAYERS
Dress in layers (or at least bring extra layers with you) in case the weather changes while you’re here. Even in the middle of summer you may still consider wearing a long-sleeve shirt or long pants to protect your skin from mosquito bites, scratches from forest shrubbery, or doggie toenails.
4 – PROPER FOOTWEAR
Alaskans primarily use rubber boots and hiking shoes in the outdoors. Your footwear should be durable, comfortable, close-toed and ideally waterproof.
5 – BUGS BE-GONE
May, June and July are high-time for mosquitoes in Alaska, and gnats can hang on into August. We like insect repellent with DEET when bugs are at their worst. Mosquito headnets can also be nice — and cheap! They can be purchased at Fred Meyer or Wal-Mart.
These photos were crowd-sourced from our Facebook followers in October, 2018, and represent several years of summer/fall tours. Thanks for sharing everybody!