Sled Mistake

We took the dog sled out on Vail Pass this morning (instead of the skis).

It was a mistake, the skis would have been fine.

Oh well, still a fun time had by all!

Conversing with my attentive partners at our high point on Lime Creek. Such focus!

We were hoping for much more snow on the trails this morning. We first tried a trail close to home and aborted due to only 2-3 inches over rocks. We then headed to Vail Pass, convinced we would have enough snow to skijor on there. We drove up the front side of Shrine Pass and were again let down at the lack of snow (still only 2-3 inches over rocks). So, we put the skis away and took out the dog sled (the sled is just fine with 2-3 inches over rocks whereas skis are impossible). We hopped on the sled and started down the backside of Shrine Pass. Within a mile we all said, "Darn! There is enough snow to ski the backside!" But, Nancy had already driven off with the skis so there was no turning around. Well, no problemo, we took the opportunity to tour some parts of Vail Pass we have never visited before as we covered almost 9 miles on the sled. Come along for the fun...

Entering the backside of Shrine Pass and discovering there was enough snow to ski after all. Oh man, wish we had driven a little farther to discover this before abandoning the skis for the sled! The further we went on the backside of Shrine Pass, the deeper it got - probably up to about 7 inches of fresh snow in places!

Trotting along in tire tracks with what turned out to be enough snow in between the tracks to ski.

After the backside of Shrine Pass, we hooked a right onto Lime Creek. Look what we found - untouched snow (4-6 inches worth) as far as the eye could see! Wow, we really could have cut loose on the skis on this section of trail!

Laying fresh tracks with the morning's new snow on Lime Creek all to ourselves.

A nice jaunt up Lime Creek and then we turned around to trace our tracks back.

Return leg along Lime Creek jogging in our "out tracks".

After Lime Creek, it was time to explore Turkey Creek. This was a new trail for us to explore Vail Pass and it was perfect for the sled - almost all down or flat!

Zipping along Turkey Creek. Zorro and I (on the sled) riding in the tire track while Max
is having fun laying fresh tracks on the shoulder. Wheeee!

A "darn, should have used the skis instead of sled" day on Vail Pass but my pals and I found a way to make the best use of the sled and still pound out an 8.8 mile run!

Tally for the day: 8.8 miles covered with 350 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 16 MPH. A very flat outing (only 350 feet of elevation) by our usual standards - the perfect thing to do with the sled instead of the skis.

2015/2016 Season to Date: 4 days on the trails covering 31.6 miles with 3300 feet of elevation climbed.