When Dagny McKinley answered an ad for a dog sled guide in Steamboat Springs Colorado, she never expected to make over 100 new canine friends. In her book Wild Hearts: Dog Sledding The Rockies, she chronicles the past three years she’s spent lifting 50 pound blocks of meat, 150 pounds of kibble and water, clipping toenails and enduring mornings at -20 degrees to give people the dog sledding experience of a lifetime.
How do you describe your work? “My work is really inspiring and always something new every day.”
What three adjectives best describe you? “I would say, sensitive, adventurous and a little bit wild.”
Cats, dogs, birds … describe your pets? “Right now I just have one dog, Alma Rose and she’s a dog sledding dog. She’s high energy, loves to run, loves to jump over things.”
Favorite season? “I say spring. I love when everything starts to come back to life.”
Name a city you’d love to visit. Why? “Can I name a wild place instead? One of the places I’ve always wanted to go, is to see the blue morpho butterflies in the rain forest in Costa Rica.”
What’s the best thing about being single? “I think it’s for me, being able to keep my sense of self and the freedom to do what I want when I want to do it.”
Describe your ideal “Girls’ Night Out.” “It would have wine, definitely red wine and a lot of chocolate.”
In January McKinley tried to set a Guinness world record for the most hugs in 24-hours. She needed 5,001 hugs to set the record. copyright Kim Keith Photography, 2010
What’s the nicest thing a friend (or friends) have done for you? “Not giving up on me. I’ve had a couple of teachers who have become mentors and my family too and while they might not always support me in the beginning (laughs), they don’t give up on me.”
What do you do for “Dagny” time? “I hike a lot and take really, really hot baths. I love a good hot bath and I have a really big bathtub.”
What’s the best advice you ever received? “To let it go and that has to do with people that have been negative in my life or things that happened in the past. If you clench your fist and try to hold onto the water, it escapes but when you open your hand and spread your fingers, the water runs through. Let life happen.”
What quality do you admire most in a man? “I really admire guys who are passionate about something, whether work or a hobby and they make their goals happens.”
What quality do you admire most in a woman? “In women it’s their ability to be completely selfless at times, especially for women who have children. I have huge respect for that and being able to sacrifice yourself and be the best for your children.”
Who are your real life heroes? “Definitely my family, my grandmother was a very strong woman. She worked and supported her entire family because her husband had a disability. She had balls. My mother passed away when I was younger. Her love of life and the way she took care of us, and then my father, who raised and supported three kids on his own. Also John Muir, he spent a lot of time in Yosemite and helped build the National Parks.”
What is your guilty pleasure? “Chocolate. Sugar. Anything sugar related.”
What is your biggest fear? “Failing. I used to find a lot of comfort in it. Not trying was easier but now I feel like I have to keep pushing to succeed.”
If you could change one thing in your past, what would it be? “I think I would have probably pursued a writing career at a younger age and had more confidence in myself to pursue the things I really wanted to.”
Other than your own talents, what talent would you most like to have? “I’d really love to be able to sing and to dance, some coordination.”
What is your motto? Or what words do you live by? “There is a quote by Eleanor Roosevelt that says, `The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams’ and that is something I try to remind myself of every day.”
