What if you tried cani-hiking?

Head for the heights of the Savoyard resort of Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise to take part in a walk with Greenland dogs.

“Hello everyone, I’m going to give you the safety instructions and I’m going to let you approach the dogs.” Thomas Espitalier is a musher. He raises his dogs on his Tanaka Camp farm, in Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise in Savoie. “We have Patoune, a male dog from Greenland, we can clearly see his physiology, large dog, pointed ears, large muzzle. The Husky is almost the same but finer, sharper and lower.”

In fine weather, Thomas organizes cani-randos, hikes where you are attached to a dog, thanks to a belt attached around the waist. “So the interest is to have walking assistance. On the same principle as the electric bike, we produce an effort to move forward, we have to walk anyway. We will be able to walk faster with less fatigue . And therefore be able to go a little further, than if we had only gone on foot. And then, it’s also the pleasure of contact with the animal.”

You must bring good hiking shoes and a water bottle. And remember the instructions: speak calmly to the dogs, do not shout and do not run alongside them.

And from the outset, we are surprised by the speed and fluidity with which we climb the first meters. Feeling of moving forward without effort. Throughout the walk which takes us along the forest trails of the Tarentaise, we apply the instructions with our furry companions: “So you have to say ‘up’ to start, ‘stop’ to stop.”

Under the eye of Tarot, the musher’s Saint Bernard dog who supervises the team! And for the descents, we have the impression that we are going to fly away if we trot at the same pace as the dog! Cardio is in full swing! “But you must not go too fast, otherwise the dog will start running and then you will slide down,” Thomas warned.

Then a refreshing break near a river, while the dogs drink water. The ride lasts more than two hours. Invigorating… It ends by cuddling the Greenland dogs.

IN PRACTICE

Sainte-Foy-Tarentaise tourist office