by A. Digger Stolz
(reprinted from Mushing magazine, July/August 2002)
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Rod and Martha Taylor of Uncommon Journeys
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Since 1998, four full seasons now, Rod and Martha Taylor have been busy providing custom-tailored dogsledding adventures for well-to-do clients from around the globe. Their wilderness guide company, Uncommon Journeys, Ltd., is strategically located in Whitehorse, in Canada's Yukon Territory.
Back in 1995, Taylor, formerly the CEO of a Toronto-based health care company, decided it was time to leave the commuting crowds behind, take off the business suit and try his hand at the challenging world of adventure tourism. His experience in big business is just one of the reasons for Uncommon Journeys' current success-other factors include a genuine adoration of his sled dogs and a low guide-to-client ratio (one to three at the highest). It took the Taylors some time to buy the land and develop the necessary infrastructure (yurts, cabins, kennels and guide routes), but three years later, Uncommon Journeys was open for business.
The 42-year-old Taylor doesn't have many regrets about his change of careers.
Instead of dealing with the stress of managing 500 employees, his handpicked staff is limited to Martha and, depending on the season, up to 10 other guides. On a recent weeklong trip, Rod's biggest worry was whether his clients would get to witness at least one good aurora light show.
If Martha and Rod Taylor are the brains behind Uncommon Journeys, their kennel of Alaska huskies (currently more than 50 dogs) is the lifeblood. The Taylors specially train their dogs so first-time mushers can gear down the sleds when covering rough terrain. If the going gets tough, Taylor advises clients to unclip one or more dogs from the harness. This allows them to proceed with more control. His dogs have been taught to heel at the side of guests' sleds, and are immediately available for reattachment on smoother ground. The dogs are socialized as pets, not just working dogs, and guests have the option of letting a dog or two into their cabin at night.
While most of Uncommon Journeys' kennel is born and bred in house, a few dogs are semiretired from world-class race teams. Hans Gatt, Iditarod racer, 2002 Yukon Quest champion, and four-time Wyoming Stage Stop race winner, placed Buma in Taylor's capable hands. Other notables include Dawson, son of Susan Butcher's famous four-time-lditarod-winning leader Granite, and Cee-Cee, a descendent of Victor, Ross Sauderson's champion sprint team leader.
As one might expect, supervising 50 dogs and a growing business takes up a lot of time. When he isn't out on guiding trips (he went on every one this season), Taylor particularly enjoys working and playing with the younger dogs in his kennel. The satisfaction of watching one of his youngsters learn a difficult concept is more than enough reward for his efforts.
Taylor maintains an unexpected enthusiasm for Uncommon Journeys' clients. He claims that one particular characteristic seems to be a constant among the clientele he guides-"they're all incredible dog lovers." He told of clients who, after going out into the bush for a week with a team of dogs, missed their plane home because they spent too long saying goodbye to each one. Another client, a woman from California, took pictures of each dog in the kennel and organized an intricate chart detailing the various family trees. Taylor laughed while admitting, "Many past clients send us fancy dog biscuits from specialty shops all over the world."
A. Digger Stolz lives and writes in Fairbanks, Alaska.