Mush, Mush

Laying fresh tracks in a light layer of new snow on the Sallie Barber Mine Trail. Wheeee!

You can see Jack & Rudy's footprints in the fresh snow behind them.
This was a surprise treat!

A surprise treat? Well, yes. The forecast for today did not call for any new snow. In fact it was predicted to be a warm and blue sky day! But, we woke to a surprise little snowfall. It was coming down lightly for an hour or so. As a result, we went to skijor the Sallie Barber Mine Trail this morning. This trail is very popular and sees lots of traffic. As a result, it is often too packed and slick to skijor on clear days. But, with the surprise dusting of new snow this morning, it was off to Sallie Barber with the safety of the light layer of new snow. Yay!

We made three passes by the historic mine. The first pass had the normal antics from the comedians:

Stop, drop and ROLL snow angels in front of the historic 1800s mine.

With "snow angels completed" on pass #1, it was time to zoom on by the mine the next two times. Funny, but consistent, kids :)

"No need to stop this time! Zoom!" goes the speedy kids flying on by the mine.

Then we got to flirt with oncoming traffic as we zipped on by. This guy paused to watch the cool sled dogs and even called out, "Mush, mush!" as we came on by.

"Mush, mush? You got it!" responds Jack & Rudy cruising on by.

You don't need to tell Jack & Rudy "mush" more than once (or often at all :) for them to turn it on! Here we are moments after the "mush, mush" call catching air on a wide open straightaway. Wheeee!

Zoom!

The little smudge in the photo above? Well, that is a piece of snow that flew off Jack & Rudy's feet and into the camera. Come along for today's video highlight putting the last two photos together. First, we pass on by the oncoming skier. If your volume is up VERY high, you can just barely make out his "Mush, mush" comment. Then, Jack & Rudy whip me around a tight left in the trail (this is where the snow hits the camera) before a gentle right and then a pedal to the metal wide open straightaway. Wheeee! 

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

What a surprise treat to have unpredicted fresh snow for the Sallie Barber Mine Trail, right guys?

"Oh yes, we LOVE fresh snow and end of run treats!" says the focused pair.

Today's tally: 8 miles traveled with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 23 MPH.

2024/2025 Season to Date: 70 days on the trails covering 543.3 miles with 51,500 feet of elevation climbed.