Enjoying some well-earned 'end of run' treats with my happy sled dogs!
"We sure earned them today!" says the happy & focused trio.
We went to the trails in Swan Valley this morning to run amongst the dog sled teams from Good Times Adventures. My pals love encountering the teams on the trails and playing chase, flirt and/or pass with the teams. Today was basically a "chase day" as we kept coming upon teams from behind but then would miss the chance to flirt or pass before they turned off on different trails. Oh well, it was a very fun chase day!
Here we come upon a team rounding a right corner in the trail in front of us. We were closing in on them but they turned off this trail and went a different direction than us just around the corner.
"We see you! Here we come!" says the sprinting trio.
You can see the musher as the black blob in the middle of the trail in
front of us. You can barely make out a few "sled dog blobs" too.
Further along and we were again gaining on a team on the trail in front of us. Once again, though, this team turned off the trail and went another direction before we actually caught them.
Look in front of us and you again can see the black blob which is the musher.
You can also see 3 smaller black blobs which are pairs of sled dogs
pulling the sled (the teams have 8 dogs but the two leaders are already
around the bend in the trail in this shot)
On we go again and another team appears that we are gaining on once again!
"Wait for us - here we come!" says my sprinting trio.
But, alas, no luck as this team also turned off our trail and went a different direction
before we could catch and/or pass them.
Finally, once again with today's theme of "chase and almost catch". Here's another team just in front of us as you can see the musher in bright blue and the 8 sled dogs in front of her.
"Here we come again - wheeee!" says my excited partners.
Today's video highlight goes along with the team in the prior photo. Come along as we spot this team in front of us and begin a game of "sled dog chase". But, this musher is clearly "riding the brake" as we are gaining much too fast on them. I know there is a fork in this trail ahead but we are gaining too fast to not catch them before the fork. So, I slow us down for about 10 seconds to give them a head start and then release my pals again. Off we go, gaining again, as Zorro decides to change lanes and take the left side of the team. Then, just as I planned, as we are getting real close to the team, we get to the fork in the trail and I take us right while the team continues forward. What a fun game of chase!
Getting some well-earned 'end of run' treats after a fast & fun day on the trails!
"You have our complete attention! Hand them out!" says the focused & happy trio.
We had a blast skijoring around the trails in Swan Valley with the dog sled teams from Good Times Adventures this morning. We saw and ran behind many teams but never got close enough for today's photos to really show the flirting fun. All the teams were very clear to Zorro, Jack, Rudy and I but they were just a tad too far away to come out clear in our snapshots. Oh well, we'll show the day's fun as best we can.
Here's a ridiculously camouflaged team just over the snowbank in front of us. If you draw a line from Rudy's back right hindquarter, the line would intersect one of the sled dogs with the dog sled a smidget behind that. Oh well, we saw & watched them closely!
"Too camouflaged for the camera but not for our eyes!" says the sled
dog watching trio.
Here we go again with an 8 dog team clear to us on the trail ahead but barely visible in the clip.
Draw a line up from Rudy's left cheek and that line would intersect the musher behind
his 8 dog team on the trail ahead. Again, we all saw them CLEARLY!!!
One more time and still too far for a good photo... Start in between Jack & Rudy and draw a line up the trail and it would intersect the musher and team in front of us.
Perfectly clear to me and my partners but just a bit too far to come
out clear in a shrunk down photo :(
Today's video clip is us having fun playing "dog sled chase". Watch closely for the following. The team ahead of us on the trail is visible for about the first 5 seconds (watch for the movement in front of us). Then, after a few curves in the trail, you can see the musher ahead of us about 22 seconds in before he disappears around another bend. Then at about 42 seconds in and the team appears ahead of us again for a short straightaway. Note that we are closer to the team at 42 seconds than at the start - we are gaining on them :) But, after about 15 seconds of gaining, the team turns off the trail onto one of the side trails. I know this side trail is too narrow to follow them and pass, so I gently slow us to a stop at the point where the team disappeared.
Ok, so the dog teams did not come out too clear in today's photos; but the silly signage did :)
"Got it - CAUTION, you better HANG ON back there!" that is the sled
dog interpretation of a CAUTION sign.
Once you are past the sign, it does not exist any more, right?
Maybe we went slow before the sign, maybe we didn't. But we are past
it now so FLOOR IT!
A fun day chasing and flirting with the dog sled teams on the trails but not the best footage. But, some great footage of unnecessary (and ignored) signage: 6.5 miles traveled with 500 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 21 MPH.
2019/2020 Season to Date: 72 days on the trails covering 497.0 miles with 46,900 feet of elevation climbed.
