Despite still being too young to skijor, Rudy provided PLENTY of entertainment at all of the trailhead interactions on yesterday morning's skijor :)
"I'm still having trouble with this 'too young to go' concept. Explain that again. I think I am PLENTY big enough!" states perplexed Rudy who is more than convinced he is
big enough to run with the big boys :)
Despite many questions from Rudy at the start of the day's run, Zorro and I still left him (and Jack and Nancy) behind to do a quick 5.4 mile skijor before arriving back to pick up Jack...
Flying Z as we are 2nd or 3rd tracks on a freshly groomed speed track!
Done with a quick out/back with Zorro and time to pick up Jack for his turn to skijor:
"Hey little bro, ready to go?" says Zorro to Jack.
"You bet, hook me up!" declares Jack.
"Wait, wait, WHAT ABOUT ME!!! Didn't you come back for ME!?!?!?!?!" exclaims silly
Rudy trying to look as big as he can so he can run with the big boys.
As I split the gangline off Zorro to add Jack, Rudy made sure he was front and center to get my attention. Clearly the musher (me) was unaware that we had really come back for Rudy :)
"Just say it! JUST SAY IT! Say you came back for MEEEEEEE!!!!" demands silly Rudy.
"Really, this silly kid!" states happy Zorro.
Despite the question (and protests) from Rudy, we really did come back to hook up Jack and not Rudy. Zorro, Jack and I did a fun 0.4 mile skijor as we are slowly building growing Jack into more distance. If you remember years past, Max and Zorro were famous for their "hover husky" shots where they would appear to be levitating above the trail in unison. Well, we almost got our first hover husky of Zorro and Jack; but Jack was just a few toes away from a perfect shot:
Sprinting hover huskies as Jack is a couple of toes away from levitating with Zorro.
Time to call it a day and get our "end of run" pork treats:
"Serve 'em up!" declares happy Zorro.
"Don't forget about me!" states happy Jack ducking under my left arm to make sure he is in view.
"I'm still confused on this 'too young to go' thing; but I'll certainly accept the treats!" declares
silly Rudy.
Amazing how entertaining a 3 month old puppy can be when he is left behind and his only interactions are at the trailheads! Silly Rudy! Anyway, the big boys did a 5.8 mile skijor (5.4 with Zorro and then 0.4 with Zorro and Jack) with a top speed of 22 MPH and 700 feet of elevation climbed.
2017/2018 Season to Date: 42 days on the trails covering 301.8 miles with 27,100 feet of elevation climbed.
Yesterday morning was young Jack's longest skijor - 1/3 mile of sled dog fun!!! Go Jack, Go!
"Now this is FUN!!!!" declares happy Jack at our turnaround point of his 1/3 mile run.
"The kid is really coming along!" states fun Zorro happy to have a skijor partner again,
if only for short distances...
It was a beautiful morning to run the trails at Breckenridge Nordic Center yesterday. Before hooking up young Jack for his 1/3 mile, Zorro and I did a fast out & back on the trails for just under 5 miles. It was zoom, zoom Zorro to start the day:
Zorro catching air as he flies along the fast trails.
After a quick run with Zorro, we hooked up young Jack for his 1/3 mile skijor. Zorro is so good at changing his pace to allow Jack to keep up. While he could floor it and go much faster than Jack, he instead takes his speed down a notch to let Jack keep pace and gain confidence. Here is a great shot of "jogging Zorro" with "floored Jack" next to him. Love Jack's form - airborne sprint tuck with ears tucked in for aerodynamics! He really gets it :)
On to the video highlight of yesterday's outing. Come along for a fun 30 seconds skijoring with Zorro and Jack. Nice effort from Jack on just his second skijor longer than a 50 yard sprint and nice form from Zorro keeping the speed to a Jack Pace.
End of the day's run and time for "end of run" pork treats. Little 12 week old Rudy gets to join in for the treats too :)
"Fun day, fun day!" exclaims happy Zorro.
"My turn, my turn!" declares happy Jack.
"Yum, yum!!!!" says little Rudy getting one of his pork cuts.
1/3 a mile for Jack - whew, that's work! Sideline cheerleading for Rudy - phew, that's REAL work....
Young Jack and little Rudy zonked out in the back of the Jeep on the way home.
What a big outing :)
A fast & short solo run with Zorro followed up by a fun 1/3 mile run with Zorro and Jack: 5.2 miles traveled with 500 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.
2017/2018 Season to Date: 41 days on the trails covering 296.0 miles with 26,400 feet of elevation climbed.
All happy faces as Jack got to participate in his first "extended" skijor yesterday morning (extended being 1/4 mile for young Jack :)
"Wow, that was FUN!!!" exclaims ecstatic Jack at our turnaround during his 1/4 mile skijor.
"I see potential, finally, REAL potential!!!" declares approving Zorro.
Three great things to talk about from yesterday morning's skijor...
First, Zorro and I had a blast FLYING around the freshly groomed trails at Breckenridge Nordic Center. It was a short outing, so Zorro kept it 'pedal to the metal' just about all morning long:
Flying Zorro on perfect "groomie zoomie" conditions!
Come along for a short highlight of Zorro's Zoomie day. We topped 23 MPH somewhere in this fast stretch of trail. Go Zorro, Go!
Second highlight of the day - growing Jack!!!! He's been wearing a "Jr Sledding Harness" the past few months when we hooked him up for his downhill 50 yard dash to finish every outing. Our approach has been, "as soon as he fills the harness, then we'll let him go farther." Well, it had been 8 days since our last skijor and, to everyone's astonishment and glee, when we slipped the jr harness on Jack yesterday morning, he filled it out!!!! Just 8 days ago, he fit the neck band of the harness but the body was loose and unfilled. 8 days later and he's filling the harness. Woo Hoo! What did this mean, Jack got to do his first real skijor. He is still young, so we still have to keep it short. But, Jack, Zorro and I did a super fun 1/4 mile skijor together. Jack had a BLAST (as did Zorro and I).
Woo Hoo, "little Jack" is now "medium Jack" and look at that great form as he is in a
synchronized sprint tuck with Zorro as we lean into a right along the trail.
Third highlight? Well sit down for this one...
Why had it been 8 days since our last skijor when we had been going out at least once and usually twice a week this season? Well, welcome little Rudy to our pack!!! Rudy is 11 weeks old today and joined our pack last Friday. With a new puppy under foot, you can understand why we have not been out on the trails for a bit. But, yesterday was the day to show Rudy what it is "all about". He got to watch Zorro and I leave/return, then watch Zorro/Jack/I leave/return and then experience "end of run" pork treats at the trailhead. Oh boy did he have fun! Here is the "end of run" treats shot:
"Hand them over! I've been working hard!" exclaims happy Zorro.
"Me too, me too, I did a 1/4 mile today!!!" declares happy Jack.
"This looks fun and sure smells DELICIOUS!" says newbie Rudy.
For those who have not seen him from the front yet, here is a great shot of little Rudy learning to "come".
Weeee, here I come!!!
What a fun day: 23 MPH with Zorro, 1/4 mile with Zorro & Jack and "end of run treats" with big Zorro, medium Jack and little Rudy: 4.6 miles traveled with 400 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 23 MPH.
2017/2018 Season to Date: 40 days on the trails covering 290.8 miles with 25,900 feet of elevation climbed.
Out-stretched and flying Zorro with incredible snow cover as far as the eye can see.
The main trails at Rabbit Ears get groomed for snowmobiles and we were ecstatic to find ourselves to be first or second tracks on the freshly groomed trails all morning long! What a treat. Zorro was having a blast flying all over the place!
When you are going super fast, it seems Zorro barely has time to "touch the ground" and seems to take off as a flying hovercraft :)
Zorro catching some serious height as he goes airborne along the trail!
Today's short video clip showcases a mix of perfect trails. We start on a wide section of trail that winds through the trees until we come upon an open straightaway as Zorro seriously floors it as we top 23 MPH. Wheeee and Zoooom!
Nearing the end of the morning's run and time to hook up little Jack for his 50 yard dash. Two fun things to notice in this photo. First, the happy face on little Jack. He LOVES to join Zorro for the final end-of-run sprint! Second, note that the gangline is really taut (e.g., straight) from me to Zorro and Jack is technically off to the right. He is still too young for real pulling, so I keep the gangline taut to Zorro and Jack simply has a ball doing his short sprint to Zorro's side. I cannot wait until this little guy is big enough to put it all together!!!
"Wheeee, look at meeee!" exclaims happy Jack.
"Just try and keep up, I'll tow the human!" declares Zorro the pro.
Did I mention Zorro had a blast yesterday morning on the freshly groomed and perfect trails? See for yourself:
"Oh my, I am having FUN!!!!" expresses super happy Zorro as he looks back to me at
our turnaround point of the morning.
A fast & fun day on the fresh groomies atop Rabbit Ears Pass: 6.7 miles traveled with 600 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 23 MPH.
2017/2018 Season to Date: 39 days on the trails covering 286.2 miles with 25,500 feet of elevation climbed.
Beautiful bluebird morning to skijor the perfect terrain on Harrison Creek! Zoom!
Beautiful trail conditions, beautiful views of the rest of Colorado below us and
beautiful shot of sprinting & flying Zorro!
We typically save the Harrison Creek trail at Rabbit Ears Pass for early and late season (Oct/Nov and Apr/May) since it is the highest elevation trail at Rabbit Ears and has the best early/late season conditions. Even though it is only March, Zorro and I decided to do Harrison Creek anyway. It is a fun & fast trail, so why not take advantage of some perfect conditions right now?
Come along and watch today's short clip of Zorro FLYING along the Harrison Creek sprint track as we top 23 MPH skijoring. Wheeee!
Temperatures were just above freezing for our entire outing. You know what that means... The sled dog gets HOT :)
"Phew, must roll snow angels to cool off!" declares silly Zorro at our turnaround point of
the morning.
While Rabbit Ears Pass has many trails offering all kinds of skijor fun, Harrison Creek is probably our favorite. It was the first trail we ever skijored on the pass and it provided Max, Zorro and I years of endless fun. We brought a little bit of Max with us to celebrate our fond memories of this trail. At our turnaround point of the outing, I pulled out a sack of Max's ashes and let them go into the wind. Zorro seemed to sense or smell what was going on and was very interested. Look closely in the photo below and it looks like you are seeing snowflakes against Zorro's black coat. Not snowflakes, though, these speckles are Max's ashes floating about the pass as we released them onto one of his favorite trails. Enjoy the snow Max, glad we could drop you off for a visit!!!
"Ah, Max! Sure miss my best skijor buddy!" declares Zorro.
After skijoring about 7 miles, it was time to hook up little Jack for his 50 yard skijor dash to end the day's outing. As usual, we wore him out in just 50 yards :)
"Oh boy, must cool my jets! I'm on FIRE!" declares snow rolling Jack.
A fast & fun day at Rabbit Ears enjoying some fond memories of sharing this trail with Max: 7 miles traveled with 600 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 23 MPH.
2017/2018 Season to Date: 38 days on the trails covering 279.5 miles with 24,900 feet of elevation climbed.
