Sun

Skijoring into the morning sun on French Gulch :)

Just a few toes shy of a "hover husky" shot as we skijor into the morning sun.

Today's skijor found us going out & back in French Gulch. It is still early November, so despite the great early season skijoring we have been having, it is still early season. As a result, we had the full range of early season conditions.

Far back in the gulch was WONDERFUL. There were set tracks on each side of the trail with shallow powder down the middle. I rode in the shallow powder and Jack & Rudy took turns being in a set track versus the middle powder while we let elder Zorro have a set track to himself.

Zorro & Jack in the set tracks as Rudy & I cruise along in the shallow middle powder.
Great conditions!

The lower part of the gulch was icy and sketchy! The upcoming week is forecast to be warm (above freezing and approaching 40F) and dry and the lower part of French Gulch is 1-2 warm days away from being un-skiable! Yikes!

Jack on ice (which will be water later today and mud in a few days).
Zorro on a mix of ice & snow.
Rudy and I on the last bit of snow left on the shoulder of the trail.
Ugly conditions!

The middle of the gulch was skiable but bumpy. Come along and watch as we have enough snow to go but I am bouncing around on the bumpy terrain. Not great conditions but still usable.

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

From ugly to usable to great - the full range of conditions on the outing. A quick pause to let the human catch his breath, everyone having a great time?

"You bet! It's toes on snow!' states the happy trio.

Finally, no day is complete without the turnaround antics from the children:

"You know you want to roll too! Come on, join us!" says goofy Jack to Zorro.
"You kids are strange!" responds Zorro.
"Ah!" adds Rudy burying himself in the snow.

A fun out & back in French Gulch this morning but the upcoming warm & dry week is going to put a real pause or slow down in our skijoring plans! 5.6 miles traveled with 500 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 19 MPH.

2019/2020 Season to Date: 14 days on the trails covering 84.7 miles with 8250 feet of elevation climbed.