Double, Single, None

Today's terrain evolved from a "shoulder to shoulder" double track to a "single file & narrow" single track to trail breaking no tracks. 

"Hi! We just popped out of the deep backcountry and onto Boreas Pass Rd. What a wonderful,
trail breaking adventure!" declare happy Max & Zorro as I call out to them to wait while I
get ready for us to trot down Boreas Pass Rd.

We started on Baldy Mountain in a nice double track set by recent snowshoers.

Should to shoulder and up we go.

Of course, snowshoers do not go very far, so we quickly out-skied the snowshoe double track and found ourselves on a narrow single track from a recent cross country skier.

"I have a feeling my long legs are going to be needed today - take the lead little bro!" decides
Max as we are in a track too narrow to go shoulder-to-shoulder and lead dog Max lets Zorro
run lead.

Of course, cross country skiers do not go very far, so we quickly out-skied the single track and found ourselves breaking trail in 8-10 inches of untouched snow.

"Trail breaking, trail breaking - what a wonderful Siberian workout!"

Of course, the further up you go, the deeper it gets. Eventually it is too deep for short Zorro and we all hop in line behind long-legged, trail breaking Max.

"I knew my long legs were going to be needed! Good thing I rested behind Zorro on the
single track!" says Max in the lead as Zorro & I drop in line.

Our route today took us on a lesser used trail connecting Baldy Mountain to Boreas Mountain. The photos above demonstrate how "lesser used" this trail really is. It was about 1/8 in the double track, 1/8 in the single track and 3/4 breaking trail in no tracks. Once we eventually connected onto Boreas, it was a fun trot & sprint to the finish on this frequently used trail.

A rare "video from the front" as Nancy captured us on her iphone cruising to
the finish at the Boreas Pass Trailhead.
[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

And, sometimes you get a photo just too inspiring not to save... We just emerged from trail breaking in a thick forest to connect onto Boreas Pass at Bakers Tank - breath taking...

Still breaking trail as the trees parted and we emerged into the sunlight at Bakers Tank.
What a beautiful bluebird day!

Today's outing covered 8.2 miles with 800 feet of elevation climbed, a top speed of 17 MPH and the vast majority of the day spent breaking trail deep in the backcountry.