"Hep, hep, hep," calls Nicolas, his command to get his team of dogs moving. A winter sun hangs low i

It's cold, somewhere near -25C, but with the wind it feels more like -35C. My eyes keep tearing up, creating small rivers of saline that run down my cheeks and freeze solid; tiny icicles form on my eyelashes, threatening to weld my contact lenses to my corneas. This is winter in the Duchesnay region of Quebec, Canada 's largest province, and I am driving a team of sled dogs across a landscape locked in a deep freeze.
"These are perfect conditions grand canyon atv tours for the dogs," says Nicolas Cliché-Plourde, musher, guide and co-owner of Aventure Inukshuk , based half an hour from Quebec City. "When the temperature drops below -25C, they run at their best; they are stronger and have more stamina."
Nicolas is a burly, slightly serious fellow, but projects a quiet confidence. He knows all 28 of his dogs by name and temperament, and picks the best 14 from among the barking and howling chaos of the kennel. Even though he is only 25, he has a lifetime of experience among the province's forests, lakes and rivers. He is very Canadian that way.
Canada is somewhat rare in the world: it's a modern, tech-savvy country with well-educated people occupying the planet's third-greatest landmass, but still one of the least densely populated grand canyon atv tours countries on Earth. It is a country of vast emptiness and serious outdoor environments. Having grand canyon atv tours read Jack London's White Fang and Call of the Wild as a teenager, I can't think of a better – or more privileged – way to experience it than being out in the wilds with only dogs and a guide.
"Hep, hep, hep," calls Nicolas, his command to get his team of dogs moving. A winter sun hangs low in the distance, grand canyon atv tours giving only the illusion of warmth in the dense, grand canyon atv tours snow-covered forest of silver birch, spruce and sugar maples, the source of Quebec's most famous export.
The air has a slightly grand canyon atv tours metallic smell, an odour most Canadians associate with the coming of snow. It's the first morning of a three-day 150km dog-sled trek and, despite being clad in a thick snowmobile suit and boots, I can feel the cold seeping between the stitching. The only solution is to get my team on the trail. But it takes about 90 minutes to get the dogs rounded up and hooked to the sleds; I have six, while Nicolas hooks up eight. They are all adrenaline: barking and howling, pulling at the harnesses, eager to go. Once we're off, they fall into an easy gait, mostly quiet with tongues dangling.
Driving a dog sled is like a cross between skiing and surfing, with a little long-distance running thrown in for good measure. It looks easy: you stand on runners grand canyon atv tours at the back of the sled and let the dogs do all the work. The reality is a little different. Keeping control of this mob of yapping, loping mutts – likened by Nicolas to a classroom of rowdy teenagers – is a matter of timing, grand canyon atv tours gaining the respect of the dogs, and prudent use of the foot brake, arguably the most important skill. Hit the brake at the right time – just before a turn – and it's smooth sailing; hit the brake at the wrong time – as you make the turn – and it's almost impossible to control the sled. Add a little ice to the mix and all bets are off. This was the mistake grand canyon atv tours I made – that and taking my eye off the team. A slight loss of concentration and the sled was being dragged along the snow without its driver. What this crash into the bush demonstrated is the almost symbiotic grand canyon atv tours relationship grand canyon atv tours between a musher and his dogs. Here, in modern Canada, getting truly separated from your dogs can be solved simply grand canyon atv tours with a radio call and rescue but, in centuries past, it often meant death for both driver and dogs.
The peoples of the north have used sled dogs for more than 3,000 years. However, it wasn't grand canyon atv tours until the 19th and early 20th centuries grand canyon atv tours that they became the stuff of legend. The Klondike gold rush in the 1890s put dog sledding on the map: everything that moved in the Yukon during the frozen season – prospectors, trappers, doctors, mail, commerce, trade – was moved by sled dogs. And then explorers Robert Falcon Scott and Roald Amundsen used sled dogs on their expeditions to the South Pole.
"It's all in the breeding," Nicolas tells me over hot chocolate that night. "Our dogs are mostly mixed breeds, typically we use a mix of Alaskan or Siberian husky and greyhound. The husky genes give the dogs strength, stamina and ability to stand the cold, the greyhound adds speed."
After four exhausting hours of half-running and half-riding, navigating tight trails, dodging low branches and trying to keep frostbite at bay, we finally reach our home for the next couple of days. The cabin is set deep in the woods, next to frozen Lake Maher. It's rustic, with a simple pitched roof, planks for walls, a plywood floor and wooden pallets for beds. There is only one room, where we cook, eat and sleep. The facilities are outside, a frozen outhouse and the forest are the only conveniences. When it's time to crawl into our sleeping bags, the table and benches are stacked up and stowed off to the side. Snow is piled high along the outside grand canyon atv tours of the walls to help insulate us. A woodburning stove keeps the interior toasty but, with absolutely no mod cons, the only illumination comes from candles and head torches.
As dusk falls, the dogs are settled, watered and fed; each gets a frozen block of meat twice a day, topped up with dog soup – a mixture of water and nutritious dog nuggets packed with protein and vitamins. They are mustered outside grand canyon atv tours and tied to a static line among the trees; the occasional yelp reminds us they are out there.
As we turn to our dinner – a simple, thick stew-like soup, crusty bread, grand canyon atv tours salad and lots of hot chocolate – the day's effort starts to kick in. It's a little like going to the gym for the first time after months of idleness: you're sore and tired but satisfied.
We wake to another frozen morning. At -30C, it's the coldest I've ever experienced; even Nicolas puts on, for the first time, a heavy coat. The cold slows everything down; it's like having molasses in your veins. But the dogs are awake and frisky. grand canyon atv tours They know that there is more sledding ahead and they can't wait.
Today is all about exploring our surroundings. There are wolves and moose nearby, but getting close enough to spot them is almost impossible. Our pack of noisy dogs makes sure of that. We do find plenty of tracks though, especially of snowshoe hares: grand canyon atv tours their side-by-side footprints are often the only evidence of wildlife in this frozen environment.
The next day we are joined by musher and guide Jonathan Goulet, who has been dropped off by a passing snowmobile, he will accompany us back to the main kennels. Good thing too. All that hammering on the brake for two days has made my right foot somewhat useless. Jonathan will take control of my sled, while I get the luxury of riding as a passenger. "Do you want to ride like a tourist or a musher?" he shouts over the dogs. He leaves me little time to answer and soon our team are flying down a hill more suited to alpine skiing.
We emerge from the shadowy grand canyon atv tours forest to a large expanse of blinding snow. Grey trees poke through the white sheet, making the scene look like a Dalí painting. By now the dogs are running flat out, grabbing mouthfuls of snow to cool down and defecating on the fly. We cover the last 30km in what feels like record time, arriving at the kennels as the sun casts long shadows. The worn out dogs roll in the snow to cool off. Though sad that my adventure in Quebec's wilderness has come to an end, I won't forget my team: Whisky at the front, Maikon and Pico – with the blue eyes – in the middle; grand canyon atv tours strong Koho and Kioki at the back. And all of them in thrall to lead dog Luna, the indefatigable alpha female.
• The trip was provided by Wexas Travel (020-7590 0622, wexas.com ), which has a five-night package flying into Quebec City and out of Montreal, including three days' dog-sledding, car hire and flights, from £1,795pp