Ice trails with a little fluff on top--December 28th

The storm we had on Sunday and Monday left freezing rain, so the ski trail, which was minimal to start with, was left a sheet of ice, with grass and sticks now frozen into place. I have wisely stayed off of this hazardous surface. Noko could not even walk on it without slipping, and he has 20 sharp claws for help.

However, this morning I woke up to see a trace amount of snow on top of the ice, so I decided to risk it and take Noko out for a little ski jor. We started out on our classic track, which was preserved in ice with a little snow in the grooves to soften the ski. Noko obviously did not like walking on this surface. I don't know if he was nervous about falling again or if the ice bites into his paws, but he stepped along pretty slowly. Better workout for me.

We saw a couple other dogs out, and usually he will pick it up when he sees them, but he didn't increase his speed by much. Soon after we crossed the bike path the second time near the oxbow, he just stopped and turned around to head home. OK, that was pretty clear communication, and my ankles ached from trying to stay upright in the icy conditions, so we turned around. By the time we got back to our turn off, though, he was feeling a bit more energetic, so we continued on to the dog park. He ran alongside a 17-year-old dog in the dog park, whose owner had just had knee surgery. I sure hope the owner can make it back home without slipping and re-injuring his knee!

After that little jaunt, we turned back for home, Noko enjoying seeing kids sledding down the dike. It was sunny and 25 degrees above zero. I felt it was nice to be outside, even though the icy conditions were treacherous and barely doable with the skiff of new snow on top. I was grateful to get back home without falling. My knees and ankles certainly got a workout from trying to keep my balance. I sincerely hope we get more snow soon. The rest of the state has plenty--why do you deprive us here in Fargo, Mother Nature? Not very Fargo of you!

Christmas Day Ski with the whole family in Fargo

We didn't travel to Aunt Belinda and Uncle Doug's farmstead in Minnesota for Christmas as planned this year because a big storm is forecast. Freezing rain is expected, which means no travel, so after breakfast, I proposed that we all go for a ski along the river before the rain starts. The temperature was still under freezing, so I waxed up the skis with purple wax. Noko was very excited to go with us. Alex and I took skate skis and I hitched up to Noko. The trail that had been rolled last week was quite degraded. There was dirt and grass showing through,  and what little snow we had was rock hard, so I took Noko on it. He couldn't possibly make the trail any worse (usually we go on the classic trail we make for ourselves and leave the groomed trails for the public). He LOVED it. He loved being on the hard trail, he loved being with the whole family, and he just ran and ran and ran as hard as he could. We had a great time. Here are a few pictures.

Fresh Snow and Sunshine!

December 17, 2016

If I ever need my dog to stick by my side, all I have to ask is, "Do you want to go skijoring with me?" He will follow me everywhere--downstairs to get my ski boots, upstairs to get my hat and gloves, to the bathroom for one more pit stop before heading outside. When I get his harness off the hook by the door, he always stands in the exact same spot by the door and bows down his head, so I can slip the harness over it. He then lifts his right paw, so I can thread his leg through the harness and repeats this on the left side. When he sees me put on the skijoring belt, he knows departure is imminent, so he begins coming down the stairs. I check the time--9:40am. It is a few degrees below zero and there is a slight wind--the online forecast says ten miles per hour.

But once we step outside, all I notice is the glorious sunshine and fresh snow from last night's clouds. It is lovely! I cannot wait to break a new trail.

Fresh snow and sunshine--hurray!

My muscles are sore from skate skiing yesterday, so I am happy to amble along at a leisurely pace using classic technique. We saw only one other dog (with his two people) the whole time we were out. Noko, who, up until this time, had not been pulling at all, now suddenly pulled the line taught and showed what a mighty pulling dog he is. I appreciated his energy and helped us along with some vigorous double-poling.

Something new I'm doing with our trail this year: I've found a place where we can go up the dike for a bit to get some uphill skiing into our routine. I have also made the trail curvy, to get more kilometers out of our route.

We are both terribly out of shape, and whenever we go fast, we have to take a short break to catch our breaths, but that is okay. If we do this everyday, we'll be feeling stronger soon.

Returning home on our new trail