Rudy Birthday

Rudy turned 4 years old today. Come along for his birthday skijor celebration!

"I'm the happiest 4 year old around!" declares happy, happy Rudy.
"I'm the silliest 4 year old around!' demonstrates snow rolling Jack
(who is also 4, but 5 months older than Rudy).

To celebrate Rudy's birthday, we went skijoring on the trails in Swan Valley that are also used by the dog sled teams from Good Times Adventures. Rudy (and Jack) love skijoring around the trails with all the other teams. It was quite a fun celebration for Rudy!

The first dog sled team we encountered was crossing the trail in front of us but quite a bit ahead of us. We paused to watch and let them pass.

"Hi guys!!!!" says focused Jack & Rudy.
You can see 2 of the sled dogs ahead and to the right and you can
barely make out the musher (wearing black) and sled in the upper
center of this shot.

Then, coming around a corner and we encountered another team crossing in front of us, but a little closer this time. 

"Hey dudes! Can we join?!?" asks Jack & Rudy watching the team cross.
There are 8 dogs on this team although 4 are already behind the snow wall
to our left. Love the sled dog in the back who is looking directly at us as
he goes on by.

Finally, we got to execute one perfect pass on by a team coming at us on the same trail. I could tell by the behavior (i.e., panic) of the musher that this musher and/or team was not used to passing. So, I shortened the gangline on Jack & Rudy to a very short line before instructing them to pass on by. Unfortunately my arms & hands were blocking the GoPro on my chest as I shortened the line until the camera could see the two wheel dogs and sled of the team we passed perfectly.

"Hello friends! Passing through!" demonstrates perfect Jack & Rudy.

What fun, what fun :) But, ready for a little more fun? We always do a few laps around the trails before going to flirt with the dog sled teams. I like to have Jack & Rudy's initial burst out of their system before seeking out teams to flirt with. Today's warmup laps included topping 24 MPH on a super nice section of trail. Come along for the fast fun!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

What a birthday bash!

"Glad the kid had fun!" says mentor Zorro.
"Love celebrating Rudy's birthday!" exclaims Jack (his birthday is
in July, so never as fun as Rudy's :)
"All this for me? Gosh, I'm flattered!" adds cute Rudy.

A great celebration of Rudy: 8.1 miles traveled with 600 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 24 MPH.

2021/2022 Season to Date: 47 days on the trails covering 369.7 miles with 35,200 feet of elevation climbed.

Entertaining

Paused to watch a dog sled team cross perpendicular on the trail in front of us!

"Hey friends! Wait for us!!!" says focused Jack & Rudy.
Look up from Jack's left ear and that is the musher and sled.
In front of the sled, the "8 little dots" are the sled dogs :)

It was a very entertaining day for Jack & Rudy skijoring Swan Valley this morning. We got to do both of their favorite activities: moosing and sled dog flirting!

We started the morning doing some warmup laps on the Middle Fork Trail. Partway along the trail and we found fresh smelling moose tracks going up trail. Jack & Rudy kicked it into overdrive to search for the moose. But, all we found was the moose's "exit point" where it eventually left the trail and went back into the forest. Did it hear us coming and leave the trail just ahead of us? I think so given how intense Jack & Rudy seemed at the freshness of the tracks. Big, long-legged moose sure leave deep troughs when they exit the trail!

Jack submerged in the "moose track trough" as he checks for freshness.
Rudy has himself propped up on the edge of the trough as he is
studying the trough of tracks leading into the forest.
This trough of tracks was apparently VERY fresh!

We never saw any moose; but it was still very entertaining for Jack & Rudy to sniff & follow the tracks and study the deep trough leading off trail :)

Once done moosing in Middle Fork, it was time to go flirt with the dog sled teams from Good Times Adventures. Here is a fun shot of Jack & Rudy flying up one trail while an 8 dog team and musher are going the same direction up a trail parallel to ours. Here we come, wheeee!

Jack & Rudy flooring it as we are gaining ground on the
8 dog team. Love to play "sled dog chase" :)

A little further along and we spotted another team visible but far ahead of us on the trail. Ok, a target to chase!

Flying along Jack & Rudy as you can make out the sled+musher
directly down the middle of the photo. A few of the "sled dog
dots" are also visible in front of the sled+musher.

Today's video contains the prior shot. Come along as we are having fun gaining on the dog sled team far ahead of us on the trail until we have to go right whereas the team went straight. If you look really close, you can make out the team far ahead during parts of the video clip (maybe try watching in full screen mode). Once we turn right, we stop to yield to a bunch of snowmobiles coming along the trail. Well, stopped means you roll snow angels, right Jack? Right! Funny kid!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Moosing and sled dog flirting: what an entertaining day! Let's tell Zorro all about it:

"Unless you brought me some 'moose meat', let's get on with
the 'end of run' pork treats!" suggests focused Zorro.
"So much fun this morning!" adds satisfied Jack & Rudy.

Beautiful morning for a 10.1 mile skijor with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.

2020/2021 Season to Date: 114 days on the trails covering 933.6 miles with 79450 feet of elevation climbed.

Favs

 Paused on a side trail to watch a dog sled team come along the main trail!

"Hi friends! Wait for us!!!" declares watching but ready to go
Jack & Rudy.

We got to do Jack & Rudy's two favorite activities this morning: moosing and running with dog sled teams. What a fun morning outing at Swan Valley!

We started by doing a warmup lap out & back on the Middle Fork Trail. Partway along the way, we all noticed some moose tracks entering the trail from the forest. Seconds later and Jack & Rudy kicked it into overdrive as we spotted the moose. Look closely and that is a moose in the center of the trail in front of us!

"Moose ahead!!! Go, go, go!" demonstrates powerful Jack & Rudy.
Look closely and you can make out the long legs of the moose
on the brown blob in the center of the trail.

Need help seeing her? Well, here is a zoom to the moose in the prior photo. Sure it's a bit blurry from zooming into a video frame; but you can definitely make out the long moose legs now in the zoom!

There she blows :)

Luckily the moose exited the trail just around the bend in the trail. Jack & Rudy launched me around the bend (while snowplowing and ready to drop my body into an anchor at any second) to discover the moose had exited the trail in deep snow into the forest. The "exit point" did not go unnoticed!

"Yes, Jack, the moose exited right here and went into the trees."
"No, Jack, we are NOT doing the same!!!"

After the fun moosing on the warmup lap, it was time to drop onto the dog sled trails used by Good Times Adventures. We got to watch some teams from side trails as you saw in the first photo above. Then, we got to get behind some teams on the trails and play "dog sled chase" - such a fun game!

Flying along as you see a musher and 8 dog team
just ahead of us on the trail.

Different trail and similar results: a musher and 6 dog team to catch in front of us!

Here we come! Wheeee!

Today's video clip did not come out quite as good as I had hoped. Come along as Jack & Rudy are sprinting along with a team a bit far ahead of us on the trail. We were closing the gap on the team the entire clip, but it does not come out a clear as it was in person! If you look closely as the clip ends, I am directing Jack & Rudy to go right while there is a dog sled team paused ahead and to the left of this fork in the trail. Fun, fun time!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Back to the trailhead to tell elder Zorro all about the day:

"Did you bring me any moose meat?" asks curious Zorro.
"We tried, we tried!" asserts happy Jack & Rudy.

Moosing and playing with dog sled teams, a perfect outing! 10.1 miles traveled with 800 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 23 MPH.

2020/2021 Season to Date: 101 days on the trails covering 824.4 miles with 71,900 feet of elevation climbed.

Hi Friends

Happy faces all around on this morning's skijor outing:

"Yes, yes, having so much fun!" declares happy Jack & Rudy.

Notice the fresh tracks behind Jack & Rudy in the prior photo and the trail of untouched snow in front of us! We were first on the South Fork Trail in Swan Valley this morning and laid fresh tracks up one side of the trail and then fresh tracks again down the other side of the trail.

The following photo outs silly Rudy. I often the mention the attention span of a Rudy (or lack thereof) or Rudy in "la la land". Well, in the following photo the tracks to our left are our "out tracks" on this trail. Notice anything? Well, look closely and the ski tracks are going straight as well as one set of dog tracks along with the skis. But, the dog tracks closest to us are wavering. The ski tracks are mine of course and the straight line dog tracks are Jack's. Jack is our uphill motor and always goes straight line up with me. The wavering tracks? Well, that's Rudy in a moment Rudy la-la-land. He seriously has these comical moments of "la la, let Jack do the uphill work" as we cruise along the trail. They never last long, but just the occasional moment of seeing Rudy being, well, Rudy :)

Rudy "la la tracks" to our left while we have now focused Rudy
burning up fresh tracks with Jack in the live action.

Today's video highlight? Well, laying fresh tracks on South Fork in Swan Valley. Wheeee!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

After doing an "out & back" warmup lap on South Fork, it was time to dip onto the trails shared with the dog sled teams from Good Times Adventures. Quick explanation on what is in the photo. The dog sled tours run with 8 dogs and a sled with a group of guests and one guide. One or two people at a time are on the sled with the 8 dogs. The rest of the group is in the "guest sled" you see in front of Jack which is being towed by the guide on a snowmobile. This way groups of more than 2 can go on a tour and take turns being on the dog sled. Back to the photo - notice how perfect mellow Jack & Rudy are as they are stopped to let this team cruise on by. I love how both people in the front of the guest sled are more interested in cool Jack & Rudy and the crazy guys on skis than their tour group :)

"Hi friends! Nice to flirt with you!" declares perfect Jack & Rudy.

A little further along and we encountered another team stopped on the trail. As we approached, the guide in front waved us on, letting us know it was ok for us to continue to pass on by. I was ready for a signature perfect pass by Jack & Rudy but the swing dogs had other ideas. Notice the guide is with the two lead dogs of the team but the dogs right behind the leaders (the swing dogs) are coming towards us. As a result, I had to instruct Jack & Rudy to move far left. So, while we all passed just fine, it was not picture perfect as we swung far left into the deep snow to get by. Oh well, still fun!

"Here we come on by!" says flirting Jack & Rudy.

Back to the trailhead to join Zorro and celebrate the day's fun outing:

We ALL had a great time today!

A nice fresh tracks warmup lap on South Fork and then some great encounters with dog teams on the trails: 9.6 miles traveled with 700 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH

2020/2021 Season to Date: 83 days on the trails covering 669.6 miles with 58,500 feet of elevation climbed.

Flirting

 Such a fun skijor outing this morning, right guys?

"You bet! Fun, fun, fun!" exclaims the happy pair at on of our turnaround
points of the morning.

We had a great time skijoring in Swan Valley this morning. We did an "out & back" on the Middle Fork Trail and then a short "out & back" on the South Fork Trail. Come along and watch the fun coming back on South Fork. Despite how nice the trail looks, it was a bit choppy and icy under the morning's new snow. As a result, you'll see Jack glancing back to check on me a few times after the ski makes a "not so pretty" sound scraping a piece of ice. Thanks for checking Jack!!!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Once done skijoring Middle Fork and South Fork, it was time to drop into the dog sled trails shared with Good Times Adventures. Jack and Rudy love seeing and flirting with the dog teams.

Here we are paused to watch a team going along a trail parallel to ours:

"Hey friends! Over here!!!" says Jack & Rudy.
You can see the musher & sled clearly in this photo. The tops of
the sled dogs are just barely visible in front of the sled.

Further along and we were transitioning from a side trail to the main trail. As we came over a rise where the trails meet, we encountered a team approaching along the main trail. We stopped to yield to this team and let them go on by. Rudy is the "classic sled dog" in this exchange. No matter how much your sled dog loves you, he's willing to drop you in a second to join a moving team if you are stopped :)

"Woo! Take me with! Take me with!" declares Rudy who is suddenly
willing to drop Jack & I to join the moving team. Classic Rudy and
classic "sled dog" :)

Cruising along later and now we are on the main trail as a team approaches from the side trail. Rules of the road: yield to teams on the main trail:

"Hi friends! Passing through, thanks for waiting!" says Jack & Rudy.
You can see the two lead dogs of the paused team watching us and
willing to drop their team to join us instead. Classic :)

Let's go tell Zorro about the fun day, he'll enjoy hearing about our adventures!

"Kids! Glad you came back!!!" says happy Zorro greeting at the
trailhead parking lot.

Fun morning skijoring around Swan Valley and then flirting with dog sled teams: 10.6 miles traveled with 800 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.

2020/2021 Season to Date: 72 days on the trails covering 577.3 miles with 50,700 feet of elevation climbed.

Fly and Flirt

 Jack & Rudy showing their usual disregard for "trail signs" :)

"Hey, we can't read! Go, go, go!" demonstrates the fast running duo.

We had a fabulous morning skijoring the trails in Swan Valley. We started the day doing an 8 mile loop towards and then away from Georgia Pass. The south direction of the loop was a wide and well-used trial. But once we turned to come back north, we were on a much lesser used trail that winds through the forest:

Winding through the trees on a trail roughly one snowmobile wide.
Laying fresh tracks in about a 1/2 to 1 inch of fresh snow too!

Come along and watch some fun video footage of the romp through the forest. Gliding behind Jack and Rudy as we cruise through the forest. Wheeee!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

After the 8 mile warmup lap, it was time to reconnect onto the "dog sled" trails used by Good Times Adventures back closer to the trailhead. I paused to listen for teams to decide which direction to go. Well, I stopped:

"You stopped, we ROLL!" demonstrates the goofy kids.
Love the look on Jack's face :)

I did pickup what I thought was the sound of teams in the area, so off we went to flirt with the teams on the trail. Here is a nice shot of us paused for a team coming towards us before veering off on a trail to our right:

"Hi friends! Bye friends!" says onlooking Jack & Rudy.
They LOVE running into teams on the trail to flirt with :)

A great day with a fast 8 mile warmup lap and then 2+ miles of "seek & flirt" with the dog sled teams. We need to tell Zorro all about it:

Happy trio at attention for the 'end of run' party!

10.3 miles traveled with 1000 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.

2020/2021 Season to Date: 64 days on the trails covering 512.3 miles with 45,300 feet of elevation climbed.

Huh

 Huh?

"What did that sign say?" asks Jack zooming on by.
"Huh, what sign?" adds Rudy.

What?

"What? Another one? What does it mean?" asks Jack.
"I'm only three, I can't even read!" adds Rudy :) 

We had a beautiful morning on the fast & fun snowmobile trails at Swan Valley. Come along for a glimpse into the great outing. It was fast & fun all day long!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

In addition to great trails, we also like skijoring Swan Valley as we get to see and run with the dog sled teams from Good Times Adventures. I take Jack & Rudy for a 7+ mile skijor first (their warmup lap) before we enter the trails where the dog sled teams are typically found. On the way to the dog sled trails and look what we encountered - a 2 wheel drive passenger car STUCK in the trail. Oh jeez, this person had to pass a minimum of three "No Vehicles: Nov through May" signs to get to this point! On top of that, how did he get this low end car so far up the trail (we are over a mile from the trailhead at this point).

"Uh, dude, no cars allowed! You can't read signs either?" asks Jack & Rudy
slowing to trot by the 'shouldn't be here' vehicle.

We did not realize at the time of the prior photo that all dog sled teams were being held back at the trailhead until a snowcat could come up the trail and pull this car out. So, Jack, Rudy and I did some laps around the "dog sled trails" wondering "Where is everyone?" Eventually we gave up and came back to meet up with Zorro. Once with Zorro, the car came down the trail behind the snowcat and then all the dog sled teams started out for the morning. So, no flirting and running with the teams on the trails, only a glimpse of them at the start:

Zorro, Jack & Rudy watching a dog sled team head out for the morning.

Oh well, at least we got to see two teams start. Back to the important part of the day: end of run treats!

Such happy faces on Jack & Rudy.
Such focus from Zorro!

A great day on the trails although a stupid car interrupted our chance to flirt and run with dog sled teams: 9.6 miles traveled with 800 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.

2020/2021 Season to Date: 60 days on the trails covering 474.4 miles with 42,000 feet of elevation climbed.

Crust

Another beautiful morning for a skijor with my handsome & happy pals :)

"We are having a GREAT time!" expresses the happy trio at a turnaround
point this morning.

The highlight of today's skijor? Well, the Spring Crust is set!!!! Every season, at some point in March or April, the spring crust will develop over our solid snowpack. Once we get to a stretch of warm days followed by cold nights, the crust over the snowpack solidifies such that it can support our weight every morning without punching through. You never know when the crust is going to solidify; but we have been in a warm spell recently with the warm days/cold nights needed to solidify the crust. It is so fun once the crust is solid as we can abandon set trails and skijor any direction we want for miles and miles!

What a perfect crust as we are making our own path across a
vast meadow. Just 1 week ago, we would have been punching through
the snow and could not skijor these meadows.
Love the fun footprints on the crust behind the three
(especially behind Zorro :)

Come along and watch as here we go for our first "crust skijor" of the 2019/2020 season. Note the snowmobile track on the crust as the video starts. We were originally on the set trail far off to our right when I noticed the snowmobile tracks on the crust in this vast meadow. Well, if the crust can hold a snowmobile, it can most certainly hold us. Wheeee!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

We were out in Swan Valley this morning when we discovered this wonderful crust. Our plan was to do a warmup lap out the Middle Fork Trail before coming back to the main trail. Well, it ended up being a super fun warmup lap on the endless meadows of crust near Middle Fork and then we dropped back onto the main trails to flirt and run with the dog sled teams from Good Times Adventures.

Unfortunately, the "dog sled trails" were not too busy today. But, we did get to stop and flirt with 2 teams we encountered on trails nearby us.

Look real closely. The wheel dogs of the team are just to the left of Jack's tail
and the musher/sled is just to the right of Jack's head.

A little further along and we stopped to watch a team go up a trail parallel to us.

You have to look real hard on this one.
The wheel dogs are to the right of Jack's head just before the tree branch.
The musher is wearing white but look for him to the left (and almost touching)
Zorro's head.

As I said, only a couple of flirt opportunities in Swan Valley today, but still a fun time had by all:

"Whee, any and ALL skijoring is FUN skijoring!" declares the happy trio
as we end the day's run.

A fun day as we traded "flirting with dog sled teams" for "skijoring the crust over endless meadows": 6.1 miles traveled with 500 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 20 MPH.

2019/2020 Season to Date: 121 days on the trails covering 821.0 miles with 74,900 feet of elevation climbed.

Z Lead

Everyone having a good time this morning?

"You bet!!!!" exclaim super happy Zorro & Jack.
"Yes, but why are we stopped!" asks Rudy.

Today's outing was one of our favorite "weekend routes" as we go to the trails in Swan Valley to run with dog sled teams and avoid the overcrowded amateur trails in town. It is so refreshing to run with the professionals instead of dealing with tons of tourist crowds :)

As always, today was a smashing success as we got to flirt and run along with the dog sled teams from Good Times Adventures. Here is a fun shot of us paused to let a team cross the trail perpendicular to us.

6 dogs of the 8 dog team in front of us and the musher on the sled
to the right of Jack's head.

Doesn't Jack look so well-mannered in the prior photo as he is sitting to watch the team go by. Well, fast forward to a different trail and we are stopped again to let a team cross in front of us. This time Jack does a complete 180 from above and he is a bucking bronco lunging forward trying to get me to release us to join and follow the team :)

Oh Jack, you are one strong bucking bronco! He was able to slide me
forward about 5 feet before I used all my strength, skis and poles to
keep us still!

After a few perpendicular passings as you see in the two prior photos, we finally got on the same trail as a team in front of us. Time to play "fly & follow" with the team in front. Wheeee!

My fast running partners as you see the musher and 8 sled dogs going
around a right bend in the trail ahead of us.

Today's video goes with the prior photo. Come along and watch closely as you can make out the team in front as they go around bends in the trail. Then watch closely at about 30-35 seconds in the video and you'll see the team exit the main trail onto a side trail to the right. Zorro clearly saw this too as he proceeds to back out of the middle of the team to move himself to the right to try and make sure we go the same way, which we do once we get to the same side trail. Everyone follow Zorro, he knows where to go :)

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Such a fun outing leads to well-earned 'end of run' treats!

"Dish them out! We had a blast today!" says the focused & happy trio.

A wonderful way to avoid weekend crowds by joining the dog sled teams in Swan Valley: 6.1 miles traveled with 500 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 21 MPH.

2019/2020 Season to Date: 114 days on the trails covering 771.1 miles with 70,600 feet of elevation climbed.

Extra

Smiles all around during a quick pause on the trail this morning!

"Having a GREAT time!" declares the happy trio.

We went to the trails at Swan Valley this morning and did our usual pattern on these trails. That is, we do a quick out & back on one of the side trails before coming back to the main trail for the real highlights of the outing.

Flying by a silly SLOW sign during our warmup lap :)

"Hey, we are PAST the sign, so it doesn't apply anymore, right?" says the speedy trio.

The highlight of these trails is, of course, running & flirting with the dog sled teams from Good Times Adventures on the main trails. Good Times' contract with the forest service allows them to run sled dog tours through March. So, you can view this year's February 29 as an extra day to run & play with the dog sled teams on the Swan Valley trails!!!

Here we are at a trail intersection as we pause to let an 8 dog team go perpendicular in front of us:

"Hi friends!" says my flirtatious trio.
If you look closely, you can see at least 3 of the team dogs giving flirting
glances back :)

Rudy cracks me up in the following photo. We are at a Y in the trail stopped on one branch of the Y while an oncoming team takes the other branch of the Y. Rudy started out next to Zorro watching the oncoming team. Then, as the team proceeded up the other side of the Y, Rudy backed up, lined himself with the team and tried to get us going parallel with them. It was as if Rudy was saying, "If I line us up with the team, maybe dad will let us go along with them!" Funny Rudy!

"Hi more friends!" says Zorro & Jack watching the team go up the other side of the Y.
You see the two wheel dogs and the dog sled in this photo.
"Lined up to go with you!" adds silly Rudy :)

Watching the teams pass by trail intersections is fun; but the most fun is running with them! Here we are following a team ahead of us on the trail. It helps that the musher is wearing a bright yellow coat. Look in front of the bright yellow to see the dark blobs of the sled dogs in front of the musher.

"Here we come!" says the sprinting trio.

Today's video highlight goes along with the prior photo. We start out FLYING along the fast trail knowing that a dog sled team is far ahead of us. Eventually we come to a bend in the trail and I see the team stopped around the bend so I bring us to a stop too. We always wait and see if the musher group in front is going to wave us "on by" or not (typically, they do and we get to execute perfect passes). But, today the group did not wave us on. So, I cut out the section of video with us paused until the team restarts again and we proceed to fly & follow them on the trail. Wheeee!

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

An extra day of "sled dog flirting" this leap year, so we made the most of it! 6 miles traveled with 500 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 21 MPH.

2019/2020 Season to Date: 109 days on the trails covering 738.6 miles with 67,900 feet of elevation climbed.