Freshies, Moosies and Huskies

Wheeee - what a fun day on the trails today!!!

"Having a GREAT time!" say the happy pair when we paused at a turnaround point
on the trails today.

It was a skijoring trifecta for Max & Zorro today: laying fresh tracks, scenting (and sighting) moose and running with dog sled teams. Max & Zorro's three favorite skijor activities! Come along for the fun...

We started the day laying fresh tracks along the Middle Fork Trail in 1-2 inches of soft powder.

We love the freshies!

Max & Zorro have an incredible "moose radar" that goes off when they sense moose in the area. When I notice the "moose-dar" firing, I start singing Henry the Eighth as loud as I can as we glide along the trails. The reason being is that the moose should hear me before seeing us and they will generally stay off the trail if they hear humans around. So, for today's video highlight, here you all go - turn up the volume and listen to me belting out Henry the Eighth as we fly along the trails. Note that the GoPro is in a waterproof (and sound dampening) case, so the fact that you can hear me means I am singing at the top of my lungs to ward off the moose in the area :-)

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

We were on the trails used by Good Times Adventures for dog sled tours, so running with the occasional sled team completed our trifecta of fun for the day:

Zoom - chasing a team! The blob in front of us on the trail is an 8 dog team (and musher) from
Good Times. Max & Zorro love to play chase & catch with the sled teams.

A closeup of one of the teams going by. We were on a side trail that was not very wide when
we encountered this team coming at us. We always move off the trails and let the tours
go by when it is too narrow to pass safely.

Freshies, Moosies and Huskies - what a trifecta covering 11 miles with 1000 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.

2014/2015 Season to Date: 52 days on the trails covering 434.5 miles with 46,950 feet of elevation climbed.

Views Day

We climbed a lot of steep terrain today to get some incredible view shots!

Pausing at our high point of the day to take in the awe-inspiring views.
The mountain range in the foreground is the "10 mile range" that defines Summit County.
Peaks 1 through 8 (of 10) are captured in this shot. Even Max & Zorro paused to look :)

The day went as follows: "climb, climb, climb - flat" then "climb, climb, climb - flat" and then "down, down, down - flat" & "down, down, down". Each flat point gave us a chance to take in the day's views before ascending (or descending) into the forest again....

Laying fresh tracks in the intermediate "up direction" flat point. Clear blue skies all around us as
we glide through this meadow before starting the next ascent in the forest.

Still laying fresh tracks in the intermediate flat point of our down direction (we took
different routes on our up & down legs of the outing).  In this pretty shot you get a view
of Breckenridge Ski Resort in the center and Peaks 5 through 10 of the "10 mile range".

One of the highlights of this day is a 1.5 mile groomed "zoom loop" where we can open up the throttle before cutting back into the forest to continue climbing:

Always one of my favorite views: out-stretched, airborne, sprinting Max & Zorro - zoom!

A day defined by climbing elevations to uncover spectacular views: 7.8 miles with 1200 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 23 MPH.

2014/2015 Season to Date: 51 days on the trails covering 423.5 miles with 45,950 feet of elevation climbed.

Fast Day

It was a fast day on packed trails up, down & around Sally Barber Mine and French Gulch...

Zoom, zoom, zooooming along we go!

Every once in a while it is fun to make an extended video (longer than one minute) to really show how fun it is to glide behind Max & Zorro for miles & miles. Today's video highlight is one such extended video of endless skijoring fun:

[watch on youtube if no video loads below]

Great day for a fun run, just ask Max & Zorro:

"Having a GREAT day!" say the happy pair circling around to look at me at our turnaround
point in French Gulch.

As has been the theme for this entire 2014/2015 season, trips out & back in French Gulch always come some sort of "moose fun" (from tracks to smells to actual sightings). Today was a moose tracks day as a moose had recently strolled down the trail and post-holed along the way:

The holes behind Max are "moose post holes" as the recent moose was heavy enough to poke
through the lightly packed trail whereas Max, Zorro and I could glide along without breaking
through. Notice the ears & heads at full attention as we survey our surroundings for the moose!

Eventually the post holes left the ski track and went off into the woods...
"Sniff, sniff - pretty fresh, I think we should follow!" suggests moose seeking Max.
"I'm looking, I'm looking - where are the moose?" asks intense Zorro trying to locate
the moose in the trees.

A fast day on packed trails with a little "moose seeking" tossed in for fun: 10.2 miles with 1000 feet of elevation climbed and a top speed of 22 MPH.

2014/2015 Season to Date: 50 days on the trails covering 415.7 miles with 44,750 feet of elevation climbed.