Rare but Nice

Another fun "shot from the front" as Jack & Rudy finish off this morning's fun skijor outing!

Whee! Happy kids towing me to the finish of a 10+ mile skijor.

We started the day tickling our toes in a light layer of fresh snow on backcountry trails:

Laying fresh tracks in the backcountry!

Then, as we often do, we dropped out of the backcountry and onto the groomed nordic trails at Gold Run Nordic Center. Jack & Rudy know what to do with a groomie zoomie trail:

Flying!!!

While we were not first tracks on the recently groomed trail, only a handful of other skiers had been out before us. That's close enough to "freshly groomed" to floor it and catch some air :)

The hover huskies floating over the trail again.

Now here is a nice but rare photo... Oncoming skiers HOLDING their loose dog so Jack, Rudy and I can fly on by! We have met this couple and their dog before. The people are in AWE of what I do (skijor behind fast Jack & Rudy), so they nicely hold their dog to the side of the trail for us to fly on by (I still shorten the gangline for safety, but only in case they lose hold of their dog). Think about it... If you saw a dog sled team (be it 2 dogs, 16 dogs or any number in between) approaching at 20+ MPH, would you (a) leave your fluffy loose in the middle of the trail; or (b) hold fluffy to the side and let the team run on by? You'd be amazed how rarely option (b) happens! 

The rare "option (b)"!

Now for the video clip going along with that "nice but rare" photo. Come along as we start out flying along the fast nordic trail. But, seconds in and I have spotted a loose dog ahead on the trail (it's hard to see at first in the shrunk down video, but I saw it). So, I start preparing the team to stop for a loose dog. Then, once I see who it is (and they have hold of their dog), I know we will be able to pass on by. I still shorten the gangline for safety in case they lose hold of their dog. Anyway, a nice couple holding their dog as Jack & Rudy would rather fly on by (as they do) and then we floor it again once past. Great partners who prefer running 20+ MPH over sniffing a random dog :)

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Finally celebrating another fun outing with my perfect partners!

"We LOVE zooming!" declares the happy kids.

A little backcountry and then a lot of groomie zoomies: 10.1 miles traveled with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 25 MPH.

2022/2023 Season to Date: 100 days on the trails covering 883.1 miles with 81,000 feet of elevation climbed.