Closing out 2012

We closed out 2012 the "Siberian Way" - hitting the trails for both a fast & deep skijoring outing!

"Happy New Year!" from Max & Zorro with their happy snow covered heads :-)

We did one of our favorite Indiana Creek mid distance routes today. This is the trail we described recently that almost always starts "packed & fast" and then gets increasingly narrow until we are finally breaking our own trail far back in Indiana Creek.

As planned, it started fast until we out skied the existing tracks and then found the trail untouched and all to ourselves to break trail in very deep snow. Even our tracks from 7 days ago were gone - completely covered by new snow and recent blowing snow. So, it was breaking trail for the 3 of us as it got deeper & deeper - so fun, as shown below:

Breaking trail in deep snow. You can kind of see where the trail is intended to go between the exposed
stumps. Notice the deep trough behind Zorro as he & Max set the path.

Retracing our fresh tracks high up in Indiana Creek. A very nice single track in the deep snow that
Max & Zorro plowed for themselves on the way up to use on their return route.

This route takes us through some very pretty sections of a "trail through the trees". Here's a fun video of us trotting along in the forest:

Trotting in the forest along a somewhat narrow trail through the trees.

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

As with yesterday, we did a somewhat "short route" today to get on & off the trails before the millions of people in town for the holiday weekend awoke to fill the trails. Stats for the day: 7.2 miles, 1000 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 21 MPH.