April Freshies

Laying fresh tracks in 4-6 inches of new snow in April! Yay!

Nice shot of "sprint tucked Max" and "sprint stretched Zorro" as we bounce up & down
laying fresh tracks.

We did a lollipop route on Rabbit Ears Pass this morning meaning we were laying fresh tracks out (lollipop stick), then laying fresh tracks around a large loop (the lollipop) and finally running in our original tracks back (repeating the lollipop stick). As a result, we were laying fresh tracks in the day's new snow for about 2/3 of the outing. What an April treat!

Galloping along on the "out path" as you can see powder kicking up around Zorro whereas Max
is above the snow in his gallop.

It is hard to get an appreciation for the day's powder in the previous sprinting shots. So, here is a good view on a section of trail where we slowed to a gentle trot:

Untouched snow as far as you can see in front of us with Max & Zorro's 4-6 inch deep
footprints behind them.

Interesting observation from the first two photos versus the next photo. In the first two you might think Max & Zorro are out of sync as one is in a tuck while the other in a stretch. But, after watching them for years, I am convinced this is actually their "sync pattern" for complex terrain. They will often get in a perfectly alternating tuck vs stretch with one another when the terrain is complex. It is like they are balancing one another with the terrain. Yet, when the terrain gets smooth, they are typically back to synchronized sprints:

Synchronized sprinters as we are on smoother terrain running in the tracks we laid on the
out direction of the lollipop stick.

How nice was the fresh powder? Well...

"Nice enough to BURY my entire head!" shows silly snow rolling Max.
"Nice enough to lay fresh tracks forever!" says route planning Zorro.

An April treat laying fresh tracks almost all day long: 7.7 miles traveled with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 18 MPH.

2016/2017 Season to Date: 119 days on the trails covering 994.8 miles with 105,600 feet of elevation climbed.