Breaking Trail

It was a day of "breaking trail" in 10-14 inches of fresh snow!

Side-by-side, breaking trail uphill in over 10 inches of powder. Siberian Power!

We have our share of "lesser known trails" that we tend to use on busy weekends. Since very few people know of these unpublished trails, the snow tends to collect in bunches in between uses. That always makes for an aerobic "trail breaking" day for all!

When we encounter extended stretches of 10+ inches of snow (as we had all day today), Max & Zorro will automatically switch into single file skijoring for the majority of the outing. In this configuration, they guy in front is doing most of the trail breaking work while the guy in back is getting a quick break. The two of them will alternate trail breaking lead all day and will occasionally break out into "side by side" (as in the photo above) to test the conditions. If it is still deep, they will quickly switch back into single file mode to smartly conserve & share the load to keep going. Very smart sled dogs!

I am off to the left a bit in this shot as we approach a left in the trail. From this angle, you can
see the 10+ inches of powder Max is powering through! Zorro is currently in recharge position
riding behind trail breaking Max until it is his turn to take lead again.

If we are doing an "out & back" route, then when we are in single file mode I always try to keep at least one ski out of Max & Zorro's single track. In doing so, I am helping setting a "double track" for them to use on the return leg of the outing. They are powering me through the snow after all, so the least I can do is use one ski to build a double track for my partners.

Coming back on our "out track". Max & Zorro were in single file mode on the out leg but you
can see I used one ski to build a double track for our return leg.

It was deep all day; but that does not mean we did not have a great time!

All happy faces in response to me asking, "Everyone having a good time?"

There is only one thing that can lead to a short (distance-wise) outing with Max & Zorro - extended trail breaking in 10+ inches of snow. You try jogging/hiking through snow as deep as your legs and see how fast you can go :-)  A fun trail breaking day covering 5.7 miles with 750 feet of elevation climbed.

2014/2015 Season to Date: 15 days on the trails covering 116.2 miles with 12900 feet of elevation climbed.