BOOM

Laying fresh tracks in a light layer of new snow in the backcountry this morning! Whee!

Beautiful conditions, beautiful skijor partners!

After a few days off (my fault :), Jack & Rudy were ready to floor it this morning. They had the "pedal to the metal" pretty much all morning long!

Flying!!!

We found ourselves starting in the backcountry and then eventually dropping onto the trails at Gold Run Nordic Center. Along the way, we had two turnaround points of the outing. At the first turnaround, Jack & Rudy turned quickly and then had to wait for the slow human to cycle around on skis. That brings us to today's video highlight. Watch Jack is patiently sitting and Rudy patiently standing as they wait for my turnaround. But, then watch as soon as I say "Ok," (my release command for them to go) and the kids virtually shoot out of a cannon to launch me down the trail with them. Such power & speed in this fun video clip. BOOM!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

As I mentioned, we had two turnaround events during the outing. On the second turn, Jack & Rudy were back to "normal form" rolling snow angels while I turned around.

There we go, this is the usual turnaround event.
Stop, drop and roll while I turn around :)

Then, to our surprise & delight, we found ourselves being first tracks on the freshly groomed main trail at Gold Run Nordic Center. Jack & Rudy know what to do with a fresh groomie zoomie trail:

The hover huskies catching air on the groomie zoomie trail!

The final treat of the day was, of course, climbing a snow wall to receive end of run treats:

Such fun partners! Such happy kids!!!!

A nice zippy morning covering 6.1 miles with 500 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 23 MPH.

2025/2026 Season to Date: 31 days on the trails covering 194.9 miles with 21,400 feet of elevation climbed.

Fresh

It was a beautiful morning to enjoy a light layer of fresh snow all over the trails this morning!

Laying fresh tracks in the backcountry on a 1/2 inch or so of new snow!

Everywhere we went this morning was fresh, fresh, fresh snow fun!

Come along for today's video highlight as we are zipping along laying fresh tracks in the backcountry. Watch as Jack & Rudy really kick it into overdrive near the end of this clip. Zoom!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

After laying fresh tracks in the backcountry, it was time to inspect fresh moose tracks crossing the trail and leading into the forest!

"Sniff, sniff, these are VERY FRESH!" says moose inspector Jack.
"It went *that way*, we should too!" suggest Rudy lifting his head to 
scan for the moose itself.

After thoroughly inspecting the moose tracks and scanning the forest, it was back to fresh tracks. This time we were first on the new snow on the upper most trail at Gold Run Nordic Center:

Laying fresh tracks in about an inch or so of new snow at our high point.

After zipping around the upper loop at the nordic center, it was time to cool off in the fresh snow before connecting onto the main trail:

"Rub a dub dub, fresh snow makes for the best snow angels!" says the silly kids.

Then, to our surprise, we were still FIRST tracks on the main trail leading back to the trailhead. This is a rare treat on the popular trail!

So fun to be first on the new snow on this popular trail!

Even when we finally ran into another skier, the trail was still plenty wide for us to lay fresh tracks along one side while the skier took the other side. Wheeee!

"Zooming through! Made you smile!" says always entertaining Jack & Rudy.

Finally, there was fresh snow to sit atop to accept end of run treats:

Cooling our buns in the fresh snow awaiting end of run treats.

Fresh snow all day, YAY! What a wonderful outing: 8.4 miles traveled with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 23 MPH.

2025/2026 Season to Date: 29 days on the trails covering 184.0 miles with 20,600 feet of elevation climbed.

 

Fast Packed

The fun kids catching air along a stretch of trail before the morning sun has fully risen:

The photo is a bit dark as we are shaded from the morning sun by a large
mountain behind us; but the kids are "catching air in the dim light" :)

Our outing this morning took us to the wide trails at Gold Run Nordic Center. I was hoping they might have been groomed yesterday or today; but no such luck. As a result, the trails were pretty hard and fast packed! That's not really an issue (except to my sore knees :) but it does cause Jack & Rudy to drift a bit further apart than they will run on less slick trails;

Jack the cannonball and Rudy the missile taking full advantage of
the wide but very hard & fast packed trail.

As they hear my skis scraping and grinding behind them on such hard terrain, they tend to separate like this as you need to give the human some avenue of safety when he cannot stop quickly. Nice guys:

The smart kids separating again to give me a clear avenue down
the slick middle of the trail!

But, even though Jack & Rudy may run a little more separated and out of sync on such fast packed trails, the end result is still the same. Come along and see for yourselves - wheeee! Oh, and note the narrow & thin snow coverage at around 25 seconds into this clip. This section of trail is very sun exposed all day and, at this point, the trail gets very narrow and thin. I simply call out an "easy, easy" to my pals to slow a bit through the narrow patch and then call out "ok" once past it and the smart guys floor it again.

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Then, just to make sure I was paying attention, the comedians decided to roll separate snow angels today as well - running far apart lead to rolling snow angels far apart :)

"Rub a dub dub!" goes rolling Rudy at our turnaround point.
"I don't think I need to roll here." adds Jack.

But, don't worry, Jack was still Jack. The 8 year old has rolled at least one snow angel on EVERY skijor outing of his life (and usually many more than one). So, a few steps turning around from the prior photo and there is reliable snow rolling Jack:

"My turn! Aaaahhh!" goes always rolling Jack.
"Tasty snow too!" adds snowcone snacking Rudy.

Finally, back to the trailhead and who is ready for end of run treats?

"I see them! I see them! READY!" says Jack focused on the goody bag in my hand.
"Ready too, I'll wait patiently right here!" adds Rudy (patient & Rudy, hahaha).

Beautiful morning on hard & fast packed nordic trails: 7.2 miles traveled with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 20 MPH.

2025/2026 Season to Date: 28 days on the trails covering 175.6 miles with 19,900 feet of elevation climbed.

 

Repeat

Catching air in the backcountry! Wheeee!

Fun sled dogs, fun times, fun day! Whee!

After having our favorite network of trails FINALLY skijorable yesterday, we HAD to return today! It was a very similar outing to yesterday with one exception. Come along for the ride.

As usual, we started on unmaintained backcountry trails to tickle our toes in soft powder. Along the way, we pass by some of the remnants of the old, historic mining town of Preston. This town was once bigger than Breckenridge in the 1800 mining days but was abandoned in the early 1900s as is nothing more than a collection of old mining and mining town relics at this point.

Zipping by one of the old mining cabins once in the town of Preston.
There are tons of old cabins like this littered throughout the forest near
here as Preston was once such a large town.

After galloping through the Preston townsite, it was time to connect onto the groomed trails at Gold Run Nordic Center. Before doing that, though, Jack & Rudy had other plans to cool off first :)

Both fun kids wanted to hop off trail to roll in the soft & untouched powder.
Yesterday was 1 degree (F) when we started the outing, today was 10 (F). As
you see, 10 is "hot" and makes you want to get into deep & cold powder ro
roll and cool off!

Ok, the one difference between yesterday and today? Well, unbeknownst to me, I bumped the camera on my chest after the snow rolling break above. As a result, the camera was pointing at my feet the rest of the outing, so I have no further footage. Oh well, trust me, it was as nice & fun as yesterday all morning long.

Today's video highlight goes along with the first two photos (before I bumped the camera). Come along for today's fun skijor in the backcountry as we approach and enter the old townsite of Preston.

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Back to the trailhead and Nancy's camera was still pointing upright :)

The great kids on a snow wall to receive end of run treats. What a fun day!

An almost identical skijor as yesterday except for most of the video footage being lost: 8.4 miles traveled with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.

2025/2026 Season to Date: 25 days on the trails covering 159.2 miles with 18,500 feet of elevation climbed.

Finally

Nice "postcard shot" of Breckenridge Ski Resort across the valley from us with the morning clouds burning off to showcase the ski runs.

Fun & fast Jack & Rudy with a postcard shot in front of us.

Today was really exciting for me. We FINALLY got to skijor my favorite network of trails this morning. It has been a way below average snow season in Colorado so far and many of our usual trails still do not have enough snow to safely skijor. But, with some fresh snow the last few days (not a lot, but some is better than none), we were FINALLY able to get out on my favorite route. I believe this is one of Jack & Rudy's favorites too as I can see how they kick it up a notch in excitement and enthusiasm on this network.

We start in the backcountry doing some technical skijoring on unmaintained trails:

Zipping along in the backcountry. Whee!

We eventually drop onto the well maintained trails of Gold Run Nordic Center. We typically begin by doing the uppermost loop which is an aerobic ride on black diamond rated trails. There are various up/down dips interspersed along this route. It's such a cool feeling to be below Jack & Rudy in an "up dip" and see them higher than my waist (sometimes even chest high)!

I'm still down in the dip while the flying kids are up. So cool :)

Finally, we get out onto the gentler (blue rated) main trail to FLY to the finish. Today was PERFECT!

The hover huskies catching air! Notice anything special in this photo?
Yes, we are FIRST TRACKS on the freshly groomed nordic trail. Sweet!

Of course all this zooming around a types of terrain means you really need to "stop, drop and roll" to cool your jets at any & all pauses during the outing!

"Aaaahhh, stop, drop and roll!"
Powder Jack loves to step off trail into deeper snow to roll.
Rudy tends to just drop wherever he is at and roll :)

Such a fun and varied network of trails to enjoy. Today's video, though, has to showcase us zooming as first tracks on the fresh groomie zoomie. Come along for the fast & furious fun!!!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

So great to FINALLY get on our favorite network of trails, right guys?

"Oh, we had a BLAST!" says the happy kids atop a nice snow
wall to receive end of run treats.

What a marvelous day: 8.4 miles traveled with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.

2025/2026 Season to Date: 24 days on the trails covering 150.8 miles with 17,800 feet of elevation climbed.

Nordic Zooming

I love this cool shot of Jack & Rudy catching air amidst my shadow as we break through the shade of trees into a blast of sun. 

Whee, these kids are so fun!!!

It was a wonderful day on the upper elevation trails at Breckenridge Nordic Center this morning. The groomer had not been out since yesterday morning, but the conditions were still excellent this morning. When we got far from the trailhead, only a pair of skate skiers had been this far in the last 24 hours. Sweet!

A perfect groomed trail with existing marks of only 2 previous skate skiers.
Look at Jack & Rudy in a cool out-stretched sprint on the groomie zoomie.

Even when we were closer to the trailhead, the conditions were still pretty nice:

Zipping by the Hallelujah Warming Hut with still plenty of soft trail
for us to safely floor it!

At our furthest point of the outing, we zoom along a stretch which has been memorable for stunning view shots in years past. Well, this is our 4th or 5th skijor past this section this season. I'm now convinced the trees have just grown too much in the past year to get the stunning views we used to. Here's the best I got:

In years past, all the smaller trees to our right were much shorter and we'd
get a stunning view of the Rocky Mountains to our right. I guess those days
are over with the growing trees. Oh well, growing trees are a good thing :)

Since we didn't get the usual panoramic view shot in the prior photo, the kids decided to stop, drop and roll snow angels at another overlook to give us a view shot for the day. What polite kids :)

Stop, drop & roll with snow capped Rocky Mountain peaks in the foreground!

Now on to today's video highlight. Come along as we skijor to the completion of the day's outing. This final approach has three things to be aware of: 1) a few blind corners to zip around; 2) the possibility of loose dogs milling around as we are near a trailhead; and 3) the potential for slick and/or icy conditions as lots of traffic (ski, foot, snowshoe) has been on the trail. Well, today the conditions were good enough for me to feel comfortable letting Jack & Rudy go full throttle to the finish. Come along and watch fun. With no loose dogs appearing around any corner, this was about as perfect a finish we can get on this particular trail! Wheeee!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Fun, fun, fun, right guys?

"Oh, that was a blast! Zoom!" says the patient kids awaiting end of
run treats atop a little snow wall.

Today's milestone? Our top speed of the season! 9.3 miles traveled with 1000 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 24 MPH.

2025/2026 Season to Date: 23 days on the trails covering 142.4 miles with 17,100 feet of elevation climbed.

 

Dogstacle

Our first time on the narrow Trail of Tears single track this season! Whee!

There is finally enough snowpack for us to venture off the main trails and onto
the narrow, single track side trails. Fun!

As you see in the photo, Jack & Rudy have no problem squishing shoulder to shoulder to fit on single track trails. It's so fun to go winding through the forest on narrow trails like these with them!

In order to get to the narrow Trail of Tears, we have to initially climb to the historic Sallie Barber Mine. Well, as is almost always the case, the climb to the mine is celebrated by rolling snow angels to cool off :)

"Aaaahhh!" says the snow rolling sillies cooling off at the mine.

So, we skijored up to the mine, then went out & back on the Trail of Tears single track and then returned to the main trail to fly back to the trailhead. Wheeee!

The fun kids catching air on the fast & wide Sallie Barber Mine Trail.

This trail is very popular for people to ski with their dogs. Very few skijor, most just let Fluffy scurry about while they ski on their own - I know, what a silly concept, use the dog and skijor!!! :) Anyway, our loose dog encounters go one of two ways...

First (and most common), Fluffy is left to stand in the middle of the trail for us to deal with. Yes, the owners often try to call the loose dog out of the way - um, it RARELY listens. Oh well...

Nothing to do but slow down and interact with loose Fluffy in the middle of
the trail. Jack & Rudy would rather run on by, but I know from experience that
trying to run by a loose dog often gets the dog aggravated and lunging at you.
So, we slow, greet briefly and then go on by.

Second (and least common), an owner may decide to pull Fluffy to the side of the trail, hold it there and let us fly on by. This is Jack & Rudy's (and my) preferred interaction. None of us want to slow or stop for a boring dog:

Yay, the owner pulled Fluffy over and held it (the "hold" is often not done
successfully too). As you see, my pals have no use for Fluffy when you have
the option to keep running and fly on by instead!!!!!

But, back to the most common interaction - the loose dog obstacle in the middle of the trail: a dogstacle. Come along for today's dogstacle encounter. The clip starts with us flying along the beautiful wide trail. Then, we all see loose Fluffy in the middle of the trail. There's no option but to slow, greet briefly and then get on by. Watch how quickly Jack & Rudy discard Fluffy to return to fast, fun and pedal to the metal skijoring. Wheeee! Great partners!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Fun day, right guys?

"Oh we had a blast!" says the happy, happy kids awaiting end of run treats.

Finally enough snow to extend the Sallie Barber Trail with the adjoining Trail of Tears single track: 6.3 miles traveled with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.

2025/2026 Season to Date: 22 days on the trails covering 133.1 miles with 16,200 feet of elevation climbed.

New Year, Same Fun

It might be a new year, but it was the same awesome skijor fun with Jack & Rudy this 2026 New Year's Day!

Can you feel the power behind the strong sled dogs in this shot?
Love the snow poofs behind them coming off their feet. Wheeee!

After a couple of days off, Jack & Rudy were in a real power running groove this morning.

As you see in the first photo, we were zipping up the higher elevation trails at Breckenridge Nordic Center this morning.

After a predominantly up first leg, it was time to turn around. Yep, turnaround, roll around....

"Rub a dub dub!" goes the snow rolling sillies cooling their jets after a
fast gallop on the initial up leg before flooring it back down.

Then, as expected, it was pedal to the metal on the predominantly down return leg. Whee!

The fun kids catching air on a beautiful & wide groomed nordic trail.

As I said, the kids were in a real running groove this morning. Come along for today's video glimpse into the fun to see for yourselves:

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

New year, same fun on the trails. New year, same fun receiving end of run treats atop a snow wall:

The happy, happy kids patiently awaiting end of run treats!

What a great New Year's fun run: 6.2 miles traveled with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.

2025/2026 Season to Date: 21 days on the trails covering 126.8 miles with 15,500 feet of elevation climbed.