I'm back from Montana, where I spent the last two weeks visiting family. Just before New Year's we went dogsledding with Absaroka Dogsled Treks. It was an extraordinary amount of fun. Physically, it's surprisingly like riding a skateboard (with occasional moments of pushcart). We did the half-day expedition trek, about six miles out, then a picnic in the snow, and then back. Because of the hills, it was in parts probably more physically demanding at any given point than an actual race would usually be, although, of course, racing is vastly more physically demanding overall, in the sense that you keep going and going and going. (And while no activity during the trek is very difficult, there is enough that you can tire yourself out in a very short time if you don't pace yourself.)
The dogs are the best part, of course. Each one has his or her own very different personality and you end up friends with most of them. Unlike the movies, of course, you don't shout 'mush' at them all day; half the point is to make the trek fun for the dogs, since they will take care of you if you do, so the occasional encouragement, or reminder to keep going straight, or warning that you'll be stopping, is about all you do. For the rest, you just enjoy the scene and keep the sled from swinging too far to the right or left. It's not exactly cheap, but I recommend it highly, if you ever have a chance to do it.
The next few days will probably continue to be slow as I catch up with things that have piled up over the past couple of weeks.
