Today is arrival day! You are free to arrive into Duluth anytime today. It's a lovely city, right on the shores of Lake Superior, and an interesting place to spend some time if you can arrive early. Lodging tonight is included and our first formal get-together will be tomorrow. Suggestions of things to do and places to eat, along with the hotel name, will be included in the PreDeparture Document that you receive 4 months before the trip.

The trip begins at 9 AM when your AGC guides will pick you up at the Duluth hotel. We will drive up to Tofte, about two hours from Duluth, and share a welcome lunch at the Coho Cafe - a local gem! After checking into our condos, we'll stretch our legs with a snow shoe walk on nearby Oberg Mountain (weather permitting). Following a short climb to the top (only in Minnesota would this be considered a mountain) there is a relatively flat loop trail leading to 8 different overlooks, offering a perfect introduction to the area. We'll end our day with a hearty dinner and afterwards enjoy relaxing in a hot tub or sauna, or just sit in our comfortable living room in front of a cozy fire and gaze out the window at the vast frozen lake.

This morning we'll go for a cross country ski near Bluefin Bay. The trails are appropriate for a variety of skill levels, including those who have never been on skis before. Your guides will provide the instruction you need to learn and/or improve your skiing techniques. In the afternoon you may choose to relax or read at the condos, do some snowshoeing, or perhaps go out for another ski. And of course, there is a massage therapist available by appointment. Those wanting down time are welcome to relax at the resort and take advantage of its many amenities. B, L, D

Today is our dog sledding day! We get up early to meet our dogs and guides - sled dogs are some of the funniest, friendliest, quirkiest dogs around and they love to pull. After learning how to harness and hook them up, we're off for a full day of sledding. We'll drive the sleds across lakes and through the woods and learn how to assist the dogs by "pedaling" and “scootering”. We will experiment with shifting our weight on the runners to help the sled turn as well as jumping on and off the runners when we're going uphill. After an active morning we'll all need a break, so we'll stop to make a fire and have a hot lunch. With two women in every sled, you have the opportunity to switch between the very vigorous activity of driving the sled and a more relaxing time of sitting cozily bundled in the sled and watching the spectacular winter scenery go by. We guarantee that if you love dogs, you'll adore sled dogs! We’ll return to our condos in time to freshen up prior to our dinner out at Bluefin restaurant. B, L, D

We plan to ski at Pincushion Mountain, a great cross-country ski area with a variety of trails on the North Shore. Or, if more snowshoeing is what you desire, we will explore a scenic trail at George Washington Pines. While ‘playing in the snow’, we’ll enjoy a picnic lunch at a nearby warming hut before finishing our activity. Any remaining time for the day can be spent exploring the shops and galleries of Grand Marais or exploring more trails by ski or snowshoe. Grand Marais is a charming and friendly town and though some of the stores are closed in winter, it's still well worth a visit. We'll head back to condos at Bluefin for appetizers, conversation and our last shared dinner together. B, L, D

Today we'll hike along the gorge of a nearby frozen river giving us the chance to see the winter beauty of the river and experience the power and majesty of nature in this spectacular winter season. We will plan to share a final lunch and leave Tofte by 1:00 PM. We will be back at the Duluth airport not later than 3:30 PM. The Duluth Airport is quite small, and you can plan to fly out any time after 4:30 PM. B, L