24 Hours

Look at this wide angle shot of the endless spring crust atop Rabbit Ears Pass!!!

Flying Jack & Rudy with a solid spring crust as far as the eye can see!

Oh boy, what a different 24 hours can make! We skijored Rabbit Ears yesterday morning and the crust was not firm enough to support us and it was soft & sloppy conditions. The problem was the temperatures did not get below freezing Monday night and into yesterday morning. Well, flip that problem and the overnight temperatures from Tuesday into Wednesday were PERFECT. The early morning crust was superb and endless, as you see above. Jack, Rudy & I were able to abandon all set trails and cruise the crust for over 9 miles any direction we chose. Wow, what a difference 24 hours can make!!!

After that impressive wide angle shot above, how about an impressive closeup of the power kids?

Can't you just feel the POWER in the Rudy missile in this photo!
Look at those ears tucked in tight as he's transformed into a sleek missile!
Impressive hover from powerful Jack, too; but, oh my, doesn't
Rudy look like a powerful missile!

Ok, how about a video to showcase the impressive kids and great conditions? Come along as we are flying along the firm crust. Partway through and a "right" and another "right" from me until we line out again and floor it into the wide open straightaway. Perfect listening and impressive execution from the youngsters!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

A little more fun from the fantastic day. Here we are cruising by the Rabbit Ears Pass SNOTEL. SNOTELs are science stations spread throughout the areas of common snowpack in the United States. The devices report a myriad of measurements about the terrain around them for planning, forecasting and studying snow and, thus, upcoming water to be present throughout the country. The most interesting measurement to us is the "snow depth". As of this morning, this device reported a 65 inch snow depth at this location. Woo Hoo, over 5 feet of snowpack in late April!

"Hi SNOTEL - we like your 65 inch report!" says the fun kids
cruising on by.

At 65 inches we are assured good snow on Rabbit Ears through most, if not all, of May. Yay!

Fast & fun photos & videos above. But, I was with the Jack & Rudy clowns remember. Oh those kids during a quick pause in the outing:

Stop, Drop and ROLL!!!!!! demonstrates the goofy kids.

We spent most of the morning without elder Zorro as we were giving him most of the day off. After a little over 9 miles, we connected back to the trailhead to pick up the fun elder for a short out & back with the trio:

Whee, we've added super fun Z!
Another shot of the perfect crust this morning.

One more cool shot with Zorro in the group. I've mentioned many times how Zorro will always long jump snowmobile tracks going perpendicular to us. He will also long jump any & all exposed water (Zorro LOVES snow but hates water :)  The long jumps are simply something Zorro taught himself. Well, I have noticed this season that Jack has picked up the same behavior. Jack has started long jumping snowmobile tracks just like his older brother (we'll see what he does with water as we get further into May :)

So, here we go with Zorro & Jack in a synchronized long jump over a snowmobile track. One fun thing to note - Jack is actually slightly taller (and bigger) than Zorro but Zorro looks huge next to him in this photo. Why the "large Zorro" mirage? Well, it is the height of Zorro's long jump that makes him look so big. Not only is he a long jump expert, but he gets the most impressive height too!

Flying Zorro leaping high & over the snowmobile track.
Still learning Jack is simply long jumping, he hasn't mastered height yet :)
Rudy the Tank simply busting over the track ;)

What a beautiful morning for a fun run followed by delicious end of run treats:

"So much fun this morning!" says the happy, happy trio.

I'll say it one final time - WOW, what a difference 24 hours can make. A wonderful morning to skijor an endless & perfect crust atop Rabbit Ears Pass: 9.3 miles traveled with 800 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 23 MPH.

2019/2020 Season to Date: 160 days on the trails covering 1093.8 miles with 99,800 feet of elevation climbed.

Cat Tracks

Happy kids flashing me some smiles as we pause to plan our path atop Rabbit Ears Pass!

"Ready, willing and waiting for instructions!!!!" say happy Jack & Rudy!

It was an interesting skijor this morning. I thought we got out early enough to enjoy the endless spring crust around Walton Peak atop Rabbit Ears Pass. But, temperatures did not get below freezing over night and the crust was barely firm to too soft when we started the outing!

The plan was to do a short crust run with the threesome before dropping elder Zorro off with Nancy and then taking the kids out for more. But, as we started with Zorro, I could feel and see the crust softening QUICKLY! The following photo looks incredible, but this a rare shot from the short run with the threesome:

Looking perfect, right? Well, looks can be deceiving, the crust was actually
soft to too soft for most or our initial leg!

After seeing just how soft (and softening) the crust actually was, I had to devise a new plan for the morning. First, not wanting to ask elder Zorro to run in soft snow, we looped around to drop him off with Nancy. He was perfectly happy for his stint to be cut short with the soft conditions.

All smiles as we glide to a stop to let elder Zorro off
the team for the rest of the outing.

Then, with just Jack & Rudy, we abandoned what was the "main trail" around Walton Peak and followed somewhat recent snowmobile tracks into the trees for miles. Why do this? Well, the snowmobile had recently packed the snow a bit by running over it, so it was actually more solid than the crust. This was the perfect decision as Jack & Rudy could fit in the firm snowmobile track AND I got to do some "skijoring through the trees" training with the youngsters!

Winding through the trees as the snowmobile track is just firm
enough to hold Jack & Rudy!.

I had to stop a couple of times to pick a snowmobile track to follow. With more than one pause, you knew the following was going to happen at least once :)

"You stopped - we ROLL!!!!!" demonstrates the silly, snow rolling twins.
What goofy faces on both!

At one pause, I heard a text on my phone. I looked and it was Nancy reporting that a snowcat had just come by her & Zorro and headed out our way. So, we turned around and followed the snowmobile tracks back through the trees until running into the cat track. Once finding the fresh & wide snowcat track, it was young Jack & Rudy's first time experiencing skijoring in a cat track!

"We get it! Hop in the track and go, go, go!" says the smart kids.

With the warm conditions this morning, the snowcat track made for a somewhat packed albeit soft trail. Both Jack & Rudy had fun learning to run in soft cat tracks. Come along for a glimpse into the fun. Note the slush you can see flying off Jack & Rudy's feet (and into me). Fun albeit VERY soft cat tracks!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

What an interesting "learning day" for the kids. After a short stint with Zorro, Jack & Rudy got three interesting and valuable lessons today: (1) When to trot gently over soft crust (as going too fast would cause you to punch through); (2) How to follow solo snowmobile tracks through the trees; and (3) How to hop in and make use of a snowcat track! 6.9 miles traveled with 600 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 18 MPH.

2019/2020 Season to Date: 159 days on the trails covering 1084.5 miles with 99,000 feet of elevation climbed.

Endless Beauty

The happy, happy foursome arriving at the end of a beautiful late April skijor

(look closely, you can see my smile too :)

What a fun, fun day!!!

This morning's outing to us high up on Vail Pass. We knew there would be a firm "spring crust" high up on the pass early in the morning but were also treated to 1-2 inches of fresh snow the entire outing!

The wide open and endless terrain atop Vail Pass is quite striking this time of year. With a solid spring crust, you can wander any direction you want and experience endless open meadows for what seems like forever. How vast and endless do you wonder? Well, take a look for yourself:

Wide open and perfect spring crust as far as the eye can see!
Not another sole had been out before us as we had what seemed
like the entire pass of fresh snow atop a solid crust all to ourselves!

Our plan was to bring elder Zorro along for the entire outing this morning as he really loves the terrain at Vail Pass. With Zorro coming along the whole outing, this meant that it was actually a short outing for Jack & Rudy. Along the way, I paused twice to see if Zorro needed a break. Well, hmmm, who does it look like they needed break and who doesn't?

"Really? C'mon man, let's keep going!" says happy Zorro.
"Stop, drop & roll - need to cool the jets!' demonstrates the goofy kids.
Sure looks like the kids needed the break more than Zorro, huh?

With such vast terrain all to ourselves, we took a different path up & down the pass. A beautiful day to lay fresh tracks all morning long!

Whee - freshies behind the powder trio.

Come along for a short video clip showcasing the beautiful, wide open and endless terrain for us to lay fresh tracks all morning long!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

End of the morning run, who had fun?

"Me!" smiles happy Zorro.
"Me too!" declares happy Jack.
"Me, me, me!" adds cute little happy Rudy.

A beautiful morning to lay fresh tracks with Zorro all day long: 4.7 miles traveled with 600 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 20 MPH.

2019/2020 Season to Date: 158 days on the trails covering 1077.6 miles with 98,400 feet of elevation climbed.

Early Start

What a fun shot of the super happy & handsome sled dog trio!!!

"It doesn't get much better than this!" declares the happy trio standing
atop a PERFECT spring crust in late, late April!!!

With rising daily temperatures, we got up very early this morning to get out on the crust before it started to soften. I was hoping the short "5 hour dip below freezing" overnight was enough to solidify the crust. We got up early and got out just after sunrise as the temps were just starting to rise above freezing.

So, was 5 hours of crust building and getting out early enough? You bet!!!!! Woo Hoo!

Woo Hoo - the hover husky trio FLYING over a perfect spring crust!
Yes, all 12 feet are off the ground as you can see separation in the
shadow of Rudy's front right (the 1 foot closest to touching).

It was a beautiful morning to do 2 laps around one of our favorite "spring crust meadows" with Zorro. We then dropped elder Zorro of with Nancy and took the kids, Jack & Rudy, out for some more fast & fun exercise.

How much fun was elder Zorro having? Well, look at his face in the first photo and check out this incredible airborne move from the "almost 12 years old" Zorro below!

Flying Z!!!!
All his life, Zorro has long jumped frozen snowmobile tracks we encounter
on our outings. So impressive to see another long jump from the fun elder.
Cute paw print just before the snowmobile track from Zorro's takeoff
point :)

Come along for the video counterpart of the prior photo. Flying along the spring crust until we approach those snowmobile tracks crossing in front of us. I slow slightly so both Zorro and I can get over the tracks safely (I know the kids can traverse over anything :) Once over and it is GO again. The video ends as we about to transition through the trees into the next meadow but the snowmobile track is in the safe pass through the trees. I cannot put my skis in a frozen snowmobile track through narrow trees and live to tell about it, so the video concludes just as I am bringing us to a halt :)

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

After dropping elder Zorro with Nancy, the kids and I went out, up and over Prospect Hill before turning around and coming back the same way. At our turnaround point, I took a knee and was talking about how much fun we were having. Jack & Rudy agreed :)

"Yes, yes, yes - so much fun!" declares giddy Jack.
"Oh my, talk about fun! Here I come to tell you!" says cute Rudy. And, yes, he
is coming to give me a hug and let out a big appreciative WOO in my ear (he's
blocking the camera by the time that happened :)

Turned around to head back with the kids and pretty views, views, views!!!

Flying Jack & Rudy with a gorgeous view of Breckenridge Ski Resort
across the valley from us!

We had to get out early to enjoy the crust and could not stay out long before it softened. So, we turned a "short run" into a ridiculously FAST and fun run: 6.3 miles traveled with 600 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 23 MPH.

2019/2020 Season to Date: 157 days on the trails covering 1072.9 miles with 97,800 feet of elevation climbed.

Dead Gulch

Cautiously towing the human as we complete a short (and ugly) out & back in French Gulch!

Exposed puddle behind Zorro's right leg.
Exposed ground behind and right of Jack,
Dangerous skiing conditions in French Gulch!!!
Good partners towing me cautiously given the conditions!

We've had a good amount of snowfall the last few days. So, despite warm afternoons/evenings, I expected us to be able to get one last skijor in French Gulch for this season. The plan was to do a short out & back in the gulch with elder Zorro before doing the Sally Barber Mine Trail with the kids. Well, I was wrong. French Gulch is officially DEAD GULCH and is off our list of trails until next season.

Just "how" dead & ugly was the terrain in French Gulch? Well, look for yourselves at the following photo. The middle of the trail is completely dead. Veteran Zorro and "becoming a seasoned veteran" Jack have both figured out how/where to proceed cautiously. Youngest Rudy is baffled on how we can make any forward progress; but will hop behind his brothers' lead and give it a try :)

"Not pretty, but this way is the only way!" demonstrate veterans Zorro & Jack.
"Really? Well, ok, I'll come along but I don't see a way forward!" says youngest Rudy.

Now consider this. The photo above is NOT the section of French Gulch I expected to require cautious crossing. This was supposed to be the "good" part of the trail. Well, as you see, French Gulch is dead for the season.

Well, at least our plan was to give elder Zorro a short run this morning! After a VERY short "out, fail and back" in French Gulch, the kids and I skijored up to Sally Barber Mine. I paused at the mine to roll snow angels:

"Got it! Paused to roll snow angels!" demonstrates the goofball twins
in front of the historic mine.

No, really,  stopped to turn left at the mine but a "pause is a pause" to the stop, drop and roll kids. After getting the sillies upright, it was left and onto the fun albeit narrow Trail of Tears:

Gliding through the trees on a very narrow trail.
It takes a lot of trust in your partners and excellent trail skills from
them to skijor such a narrow trail!!!

After the fun & narrow out & back on the Trail of Tears, it was back to the mine to fly back down to meet Zorro and Nancy. I did not pause this time, so the kids knew what to do :)

Zoom: you go = we go.
You stop = we stop, drop & roll!

The trail may look very nice in the prior and next photos. Well, compared to French Gulch, the trail WAS very nice. But, Sally Barber is one of the most popular trails around Breckenridge, so it gets a lot of traffic, leading to a very uneven and bumpy surface under the snow.

Looks perfect, right?

Now come along for the reality of just how beat up the trail was under the shallow layer of fresh snow. In the video clip you sill see three things that you do not see much of in most of our videos: my skis, my waistband and the carabiner attaching me to the sled dogs. What does it mean to see so much of these three things? Well, it means the trail was very choppy & bumpy under the snow and I am using all my abilities to get in a tuck and work the skis to stay upright! Whew, what a workout on the human's legs!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

It is late April, so not surprising that we had a day atop deteriorating conditions; but still sad to bid French Gulch farewell for the 2019/2020 skijor season: 5.7 miles traveled with 500 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 19 MPH.

2019/2020 Season to Date: 156 days on the trails covering 1066.6 miles with 97,200 feet of elevation climbed.

Late April Powder

A Late April Powder Day! Everyone having a good time?

"Oh boy! You bet!!!!!" declares the super happy trio!

This morning was a real late April treat a we awoke to a couple of inches of new snow at home so we headed up to the trails on Peak 7 with anticipation of even more fresh snow a little higher up.

What did we find? Powder Day! We started the day with the threesome (Zorro, Jack & Rudy) and found ourselves laying fresh tracks in 4-6 inches of fresh powder.

Wheeee - late April freshies!!!
Great shot of the trio plowing through the morning's fresh snow!

With 4-6 inches of powder, we were at about 11-3/4 year old Zorro's limit of "trail breaking". I paused twice to give the fun elder a break. Did he need the break? Well, the initial pause was the first photo above - sure doesn't look like anybody needed a break. The second pause is below. Hmmm, I don't think Zorro needed my silly breaks :)

"He stopped! Drop & Roll!" demonstrates the goofball kids.
"Would you quit stopping!" declares 'ready to go' Zorro :)

After the first 1/3 of our planned outing, we looped back towards the trailhead to hand elder Zorro off with Nancy. He may not have looked like he needed any breaks, but we know his "almost 12 years old" limits :)

Look at powder plowing Zorro (and powder plowing Jack too).
Meanwhile, silly youngest and biggest Rudy is taking the shallower middle track. Silly kid!

After dropping off Zorro, the kids and I went out & up Peak 7, knowing the powder would get deeper and deeper. But, just how deep was a real aerobic treat!

Partway up Peak 7 and we are breaking trail in over 8 inches of fresh powder.

If you think the prior photo was impressive, how about the following as the kids are plowing through at least 10, maybe 12, inches of pow, pow, POWDER!!!

Late April Powder Power from Jack & Rudy. POW!!!

Sometimes it is really impressive to watch the power of the sled dogs in slow motion. Come along for a slowmo of Jack & Rudy busting and plowing through some impressive April powder! Slow POW :)

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Originally I was going to do an "upper elevation" loop with Jack & Rudy on Peak 7. But, once I saw how deep we got, I changed plans and directed them back the way we came. With such deep snow, you want to reuse your "out track" on the way back so you can open up the throttle!

Jack & Rudy at full throttle as they run back in the tracks we set on
the way out. Notice the slight blurring in the photo. This was the
last shot of the day before the camera got covered with actively falling snow!
Yay for Snow!

Fun April Treat - plowing through shallower powder with elder Zorro and then getting into deep trail breaking with young Jack & Rudy: 7.6 miles traveled with 800 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 19 MPH.

2019/2020 Season to Date: 155 days on the trails covering 1060.9 miles with 96,700 feet of elevation climbed.

Test and Go

We did our job today - we wore out the 2 year olds!!! :)

"Happy to help. I'll be eating snowcones while you 3 rest!" says snow chomping Zorro.
"Whew! What a GREAT time blowing my jets out!" says flat & happy Jack.
"No kidding, love getting my butt kicked!" adds happily relaxing Rudy.

We had a super fun skijor this morning that started with the kids, Jack & Rudy, taking me out for roughly 2/3rds of the outing before adding Zorro in the team for the final 1/3 of the run.

We went to what is my second favorite stretch of "vast spring crust" (whereas yesterday we were on my favorite spring crust terrain). These two patches are near each other but today's stretch gets a little different sun profile and it is not always as firm as yesterday's crust.

With the status of the crust in question, I went out with the kids first to test the terrain. We had to weave through the forest a bit before getting this stretch of vast crust. My plan was to test the crust with Jack & Rudy and either have success in which case we'd loop back to bring Zorro on the same terrain or to find the crust too punchy in which case we'd abandon the vast meadows and loop back a different direction to take Zorro on more stable terrain.

Well, check out the photo below. SUCCESS!!!! The crust was PERFECT as Jack, Rudy and I were flying atop an incredible firm & fun spring crust for vast distances! Woo Hoo!

Yep - it's certainly firm enough to hold sprinting sled dogs
and humans on skis! Woo Hoo the hover husky kids!

With crust success, we looped back around this vast meadow to reconnect with Nancy & Zorro at the edge of the forest. Once we had Zorro in team, it was more of the same - fast, fun and INCREDIBLE spring crust skijioring!

Drop in Zorro and more of the same - hover husking FLYING
along the perfect spring crust!

Today's video highlight is the fun "test & go" of the prior two photos. We start with the kids and I testing the crust with MUCH success. The video then transitions back to the same general area but we know have Zorro added in the team. Test with the kids and then GO with the trio! Also, you have to love the Jack & Rudy part of the clip as I am calling out "rights" and "lefts" with perfect listening and execution from the solo kids!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Done with the 2nd pass along the crust - what fun, right everyone?

"Oh, you bet - glad you came back to add me in!" says happy Zorro.
"Oh my - fun, Fun, FUN!" adds happy Jack.
"Whew, you blacks sure know how to wear out a red kid!' adds chilling Rudy.
Actually, Rudy is down because he just finished rolling a snow angel
to cool his jets :)

After two super fun runs over the endless crust, it was time to turn back into the forest to return to the trailhead to meet Nancy. One last patch of crust as we get the ski runs of Breckenridge Ski Resort in view across the valley as we are about to transition left into the forest:

"Nice view! Nice crust - we'll be back another day soon!" says the happy running trio.

A nice combination day to exercise the kids while testing the terrain and then adding elder Zorro in the team to revisit all of our successful experiments: 7.3 miles traveled with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.

2019/2020 Season to Date: 154 days on the trails covering 1053.3 miles with 95,900 feet of elevation climbed.

Long Jump

They are at it again, aren't they Zorro? :)

"Yes, and I want it on record that, despite being the veteran, I did NOT teach this!"
adds happy Zorro looking back to me while the kids do their usual
snow angel antics at our turnaround point.
"I introduced it to EVERY skijor and I taught it to Rudy!!!!" says comical, goofball Jack.
"Rolling, rolling, don't care whose idea it was! Rolling!" contributes snow rolling Rudy.

Surprisingly for April, we have not had a "spring crust" skijor in almost 2 weeks! That is usually unheard of for this time of year as the crust usually has the best conditions. Why no crust skijoring for almost 2 weeks? Well, it has snowed (a little to a lot) every day for almost 2 weeks straight! Yesterday was the first real let up from the recent snow and, as a result, the warm days/cold nights brought the crust back to life. We'll happily trade 2 weeks of crust for 2 weeks of fresh snow to add to our snowpack to propel us through May and into June!!!

Come along as we are back to skijoring the spring crust on this beautiful April morning. A few fun things to watch in the video. Note the frozen snowmobile track crossing perpendicular to us about 7 seconds into the clip. Zorro & Jack both want nothing to do with this frozen track and watch as they both execute a beautiful long jump over the track (Rudy does a mini long jump too, but he's not as averse to the frozen track as Zorro & Jack). Then, watch as the kids politely look back to see that I have crossed the track safely (veteran Zorro can feel I'm over the track, but the kids need to peek :)  Finally, look at the deep ski tracks we are running between and to the side of. Some poor people forgot to go out early enough to ski the crust and had to slog along breaking through. But, not us, we were smart enough to be up early this morning to get the perfect crust!!!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

In realtime, I thought I was going to get an incredible shot of a synchronized long jump from Zorro and Jack. But, once I check in slomo, it turns out they were just barely out of sync. Darn...

Here we have Jack in a beautiful long jump over the snowmobile track as Zorro is just beginning to start his long jump:

Flying Jack!!!

Then, milliseconds later, and Jack landing his long jump as Zorro is taking flight. A few milliseconds from a synchronized long jump...

Flying Zorro - go, Z, go!!!!!

After doing a crust skijor around and through the vast meadow you see above, it was time to drop off Zorro with Nancy while the kids and I went out for a bit more exercise.

"Done with my leg - that sure was fun!" says happy Zorro.
"Thanks for leading us big  bro Z, but us kids need a little more!' adds the happy
and ready to continue kids :)

The kids, Jack & Rudy, and I proceeded to go out & up Prospect Hill, then down the backside of Prospect Hill before turning around coming back up the backside and down the frontside.

There's not much to see (except fun white butts in front of me) on the initial up. But, once we got to the backside of Prospect Hill, the view and vast terrain is breathtaking:

Wide angle shot to showcase the vast and virtually untouched backside
of Prospect Hill!

Once we returned to the frontside of Prospect Hill, you get great views that were behind us on the way up. Such a pretty shot of the mountains and ski runs of Breckenridge Ski Resort across the valley from us:

Jack & Rudy hovering over the solid spring crust as we take in
the stunning views of the ski resort!

Done giving the kids a some extra exercise and back to enjoy the end of the outing with Zorro:

"Ready for 'end of run' treats!" says focused Zorro.
"Me too!" claims barely visible (but very focused) Jack.
"You can't miss me!" adds big dude Rudy :)

Back to the Spring Crust this morning as we did "meadow tours" with Zorro, Jack & Rudy and the Prospect Hill tours with Jack & Rudy: 6.9 miles traveled with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.

2019/2020 Season to Date: 153 days on the trails covering 1046.0 miles with 95,200 feet of elevation climbed.

Jack's Angels

Beautiful shot of the happy sled dog trio towing me to the end of a fun, fun skijor this morning!

It doesn't get much better than this on April 19th!!!!
Look at that happy, happy, happy power trio!

We did a 50/50 run this morning where Jack, Rudy and I did the first 50% and then Zorro joined in for the second 50% of the outing.

We got 2ish inches of fresh snow overnight and the kids and I found ourselves laying fresh tracks for our initial loop without Zorro:

Whee goes the power duo laying fresh tracks as I glide
along behind the strong team.

Now, on to the title of today's blog: Jack's Angels. Well, Jack, who has rolled at least 1 snow angel on every skijor of his young career, was on a snow rolling tear this morning! He rolled multiple snow angels at the trailhead before we got started.

We did a loop with a side tour "out & back" to add some distance before meeting up with Zorro. Well, here's the turnaround of the side tour "out & back" and there's Jack...

"Stop, drop and ROLL!" demonstrates goofball Jack.
"Yum, snowcones!" says head dunking and snow eating Rudy.

After completing our initial loop, we hooked elder Zorro in to the team to go some more. We started out on the loop we did with Jack & Rudy and then turned out of the loop about halfway through. After the turn, we found ourselves laying fresh tracks in the 2+ inches of fresh snow again:

The fresh tracks trio cruising along!
You can see the sides of the trail were quite bumpy whereas the set track down
the middle was smoother. So, of course, all three figured out how
to fit in the set track and open up the skijoring engine!

Along the way with Zorro and we did another side tour "out & back" for fun. Out & back? Yep, here's Jack :)

"Rub a dub dub!" showcases silly Jack.
"He's a GOOF!" says Zorro checking back with me.
"Hey, nice views!" notices Rudy (he's never noticed the
views from this trail before ;)

Come along for today's video highlight. You'll notice the camera, and thus, me bouncing around quite a bit. The trail was a bit choppy under the new snow from warm days and lots of foot traffic. But, the trail was perfectly smooth enough for Zorro, Jack & Rudy to go, go, go. So, I simply hung on for dear life as I bounced around behind them :)

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

We were racing Nancy from the point we picked up Zorro to another trailhead a bit away from where we started. We beat her to the trailhead parking lot, so turned around to go back up the trail a bit while waiting for her. Well, you guessed it, Jack rolled yet another snow angel at this turnaround too ("A turnaround is a turnaround!" was Jack's goofy logic). So, yes, Jack rolled snow angels at FOUR different points of today's outing. What a goof ;)

Finally, Nancy got out to meet us and it was "Hi mom, bye mom!" from the trio:

"Hi mom, bye mom, we have things to do!" says the trio running
past Nancy.

What things did we have to do? Well, get to our 'end of run' treats of course!!!

"Ready for our well earned hunks of pork!" says the focused & happy trio!

A fun "fresh tracks 50/50 day" starting with the kids and then ending with the whole trio: 7.2 miles traveled with 600 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 20 MPH.


2019/2020 Season to Date: 152 days on the trails covering 1039.1 miles with 94,500 feet of elevation climbed.