January 6 and the skiing is GREAT!

This week I have been busy skiing in a skijor trail after we received a significant snowfall the evening of January 1st. It was perfect timing, as we had just returned from a visit to my aunt and uncle's farmstead near Evansville, MN, and the next morning we awoke to several inches of new snow. I spend the morning first skiing in a ski jor trail, then snowshoeing a trail on either side of the ski track for the dog to run on (and also to offer an option to walkers, who seem to like to walk in my newly made ski trails). The next day was windy--Enrico and I went out together to re-set the tracks. I did this again the next day and yesterday, and the trail is in very good shape again. Unfortunately, when Fargo Parks plowed the bike path, they threw up a lot of dirt, grass and sticks onto the trail. I skied that in too. I've been out for 1.5-2 hours each day perfecting our little trail. I got a blister yesterday, so I will take it a bit easier today.

Today, I want to share a poem celebrating new snow. It was written by my father, Clare Duklet. He was a mechanical engineer, and in his spare time, he used to sit with one of those green engineering pads on his lap and write poetry--even though he had no training in how to do so. He just wrote about what mattered to him. He wrote this poem when we were living in Salt Lake City, and I can remember days at Alta with fresh powder, and the wonderful feeling of carving turns in the deep, fluffy stuff.

Think Powder                                                                        

Perfect crystals

whiter than milk.

Highland water

dryer than talc.

Winter’s cover,

fluffing the trees.

Seasonal change

night air freeze.

Down with the sun,

shorten the day.

Drop the snow,

nature’s way.

Dance in the deep,

turning around.

Churn up powder,

without a sound.

November 8, 1977

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

Thursday, December 8--First ski of Winter 2016-2017

It was a very warm fall--I continued eating out of my garden until Thanksgiving, which was wonderful, but I wondered when we would ever get enough snow for skiing. Finally, on December 7th, the rain turned to snow, and we got a dusting of snow. The grass was still poking through, but I decided to get out my rock skis anyway and go for a little skijor with my dog. Another reason to get out early was that I wanted some footage for my video submission to Alt for Norge. I was pretty impressed that I was able to film myself with my iphone. The quality is not the greatest, but this gives a tiny glimpse into my first ski of the season. Noko was VERY happy to be out skijoring again, even though we only went for about 25 minutes. 

Second Saturday Ski was Ski-joring with Noko

I woke up from a nap, and it was utterly quiet in the house. No one was there except Noko, our one-year-old Black Lab/Australian Shepherd/Pointer/St. Bernard mutt. I had not taken him skiing all week, and my husband was getting tired of doing it. With one hour of daylight left, I decided it was time for us to get outside together. He didn't want to get the harness on at first, so I rewarded him with a little treat. We headed out on our own special trail that I've been maintaining this winter, first with snowshoes, and then with regular outings. Parts of it were snowblown, so we broke trail a bit on the way out. Noko was happy to be outside. I'm sure all the smells he enjoys so much were more pungent in today's warmer temperatures. This caused lots of stops and pauses on the way out. On the way back, Noko stretched out and ran hard. It was all I could do to stay on our narrow trail. I now thanked that yoga teacher who makes us do a million chair poses because that was the stance I took as I tried not to catch a tip in the deeper snow. We were flying!

It is a good day that begins, and ends, with a ski.