Moonlight Ski on Friday the 13th

I love to ski in the moonlight, but I am not a night person, so I miss out on it because I get sleepy in the evening. However, because we have had a couple of cold, blustery days in which my only exercise has been walking to the dog park with Noko, I was determined to catch the wave of rising temperatures this evening, and the nearly full moon (The Farmer's Almanac states the "full wolf moon" was on January 12th). I took a short nap after work and then took Noko to the dog park, so I would be ready.

After our family had dinner, Enrico and Alessandro played a flag game while they digested their food, and I talked with Max in the living room while he was playing a video game. About 8:45pm, Enrico and I got ready. The temperature was +1, and though we were happy to finally see a temperature in the plus range, it still felt pretty cold. The wind had dropped off a bit, as we hoped it would, but was still about 10 miles per hour.

My internal temperature drops in the evening, so I decided to dress a bit more warmly than I do for a day ski--thin thermal top, fleece vest, and fleece sweater; long underwear and biking pants on the bottom. I surprised Enrico with warm ski boots, that I had put on the heating register after dinner. Nice! When I went to the door, I saw that Enrico had FOUR layers on! He suggested that I add a wind jacket at least, so I did. Since Fargo finally has decent snow cover, we decided to use our new Toko classic skis that we got from Finn Sisu in the cities last winter.

We walked to the end of our block and climbed over the dike, leaving the street lights behind. The moon was pretty high in the ski by then (about 9pm), and we glided down the dike, creating new tracks in the deep snow. I wondered if we would be breaking trail the whole time, since between the new snow and the blowing snow, our previous tracks might be covered. However, as we crossed the skate trail, I thought I saw something . . . could it be? . . . Yes! Fargo Parks had groomed the classic trail!

Although visibility was great, the set tracks made the skiing by moonlight even better because we could ski by feel as well as by sight. We skied at a leisurely pace, since we were so well dressed, and within ten minutes, we were toasty warm. Our kick wax was sufficient, though we didn't have the best glide. Nevertheless, we kicked and glided, kicked and glided, finding a pace and rhythm that we could share, skiing side-by-side, not talking, just looking at the moon and stars and the shadows of the trees on the snow. 

The snow was still cold, despite the warming air temperature, so although it wasn't squeaky cold, it was still firm enough to be a bit noisy. Enrico and I talked about how to describe the sound, kind of a waaa-waaa of the skis and a yow-yow of the poles. Enrico talked about a blind man he frequently sees on campus and how he was worried about him navigating the ice on campus walkways. We wondered if he could feel with his cane when the surface was more slippery. I postulated yes, as I believed I could predict the snow conditions from the vibrations going up my pole. When we came to areas of the trail that the snow had blown over, I could feel the difference in the snow through the vibrations in my hand even if I could not see the kind of snow. I took a few photos with my iphone, but they don't show how very light it is in the moonlight. In this one, however, you can see our shadows on the trail:

We skied to the I-94 bridge and up the little hill there to Lindenwood Park parking lot, then we turned around and headed back. About halfway back, I began to feel tired, and I began yawning. A couple of times, we saw creatures run across the trail. One was a rabbit, the other longer--maybe a river otter? We did not see any other people in the river corridor that night. It was romantic--a kind of "date night" that I prefer, so on our next stop, I stepped over to Enrico's track and kissed him. He said my long hair was all white and frosty, and his beard was all frosty too. And yet, we were very warm inside.

We got back at quarter to eleven. Our children were already in bed, tired out from a week of final exams and swim practice. Now we were tired too, but in a good way and full of visions of moonlight.

Sunday Skijor with a bit of hound energy

Being a swim captain parent put a kink in my ski routine, as we had back-to-back home meets to host on Friday-Saturday, with the Saturday one being the day-long Manley Invite. I longingly looked at the clear blue sky and enticing white snow while schlepping concessions items to and from South and Davies, but was too tired to go for a night ski. Enrico went out and said it was good. The moon is waxing, and between the extra light and the set trails, he said it was good going.

On Sunday, I was eager to get out, but there was a strong wind, so I decided to wait until late afternoon when it was forecast to abate. It did, so around 4pm, I put Noko in the harness, and we headed out. He tried to be a wimp because of the cold, refusing to go after just a few hundred yards, so we turned around and went in the other direction, toward the dog park. He heard some dogs there and picked up his pace. When we got there, we found a hound dog in the park who was ready to run. I skied on the trail next to the dog park with Noko, while this dog acted like a rabbit for Noko, leading him to run hard back and forth along the dog park. It was a fun time for all.

After Noko was warmed up, we continue back south, and we got a bit further this time. We only went for about 45-50 minutes total, but it was great to get outside, and we both got pretty heated up from the effort.

NDSU's winter break is over tomorrow, so it will be harder to do the long ski outings I've done over break, but since we live so close to the trails, I should still be able to go for quick skis on a regular basis, especially as we get more light in the mornings.

I'm glad we have some real winter weather. I just love winter--getting outside in the snow is good for my soul. 

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.

Classic and Skate Skiing at Soaring Eagle Trails Near Park Rapid, MN on Christmas Eve

We reluctantly checked out of our hotel in Bemidji on December 24th, but we had one more ski outing planned on our way back home to Fargo. We decided to try out a third new trail system--the Soaring Eagle Trails just north of Park Rapids. They are easy to miss, but an obvious favorite of local skiers, as there were several cars in the parking lot. We met a woman in the warming hut from South Dakota who had just finished her ski. She said that she had crashed on a couple of the steep hills--one of them had a caution sign. We appreciated the warning. After sitting in the car for an hour, we were a bit stiff, so we decided to warm up by doing a loop of classical skiing on the namesake trail:

We didn't take any of the side loops of this 3.5 kilometer trail, saving them for the next loop. Instead, we just enjoyed the set tracks after a couple of days of skiing on unset trails. It was a pleasure to be able to focus on the double poling, knowing our skis would stay in the tracks. There were some fun ups and downs and twists and turns, but nothing too hard. When we arrived back at the warming hut, we decided to switch to our skate gear. I put on my stiffer skate boots and switched to skate skis and longer poles. Enrico did the same.

Enrico skate skiing on Eagle's Run

This time around the Eagle trail, we took Lily's Loop, which had a couple of very steep hills, both up and down, though they were not too long. That was invigorating. After Lily's loop, we were back on the Eagle trail for a little while before turning onto the Lake Loop. That was a fun trail that descended down to the lake. There was some debris on the trail down there and a bit of dirt kicked up by the groomer, but it wasn't too bad. Skate skiing back up from lake level was a bit challenging for us, as we are quite out of shape, but conditions were warm (about 19 degrees above zero) and fast, so we had fun. When I saw this unique tree, I had to stop and take a little rest:

Something we really enjoyed about these trails were all the twists and turns. It is so fun to go down a hill, rapidly step turning in one direction and then have to rapidly change and start step-turning in the opposite direction. I love little things like that because it makes it feel as if the skate skiing is a kind of dance. 

It was Enrico's first time skate skiing this winter, which is always painful. I, on the other hand, felt so much better than my first time skate skiing last week. It is always amazing to me how quickly one can get in shape by cross-country skiing. No matter how tired out you get, it is low impact, so your muscles are usually ready for another ski the next day. When you go out every day, you feel so much better so quickly. This was a fun outing. We took advantage of the warming hut to change into dry clothes when we were done (we worked up quite a sweat skate skiing!). We also drank some chamomile tea that was still warm in my thermal cup--a real treat. 

I would definitely recommend a stop at these nifty little trails when passing through Park Rapids. After our ski, we headed straight back to Fargo, where we picked up our meal to go from India Palace and then had Christmas Eve dinner at home with our boys. They had done an outstanding job of cleaning up the house and baking Christmas cookies while we were gone.

We were gone about 50 hours, but it felt much longer--a real break after finishing my final grading for the semester. I'm grateful to my husband for organizing this mini ski vacation. We got to try out three different trail systems in Minnesota in a short amount of time. I feel so much more relaxed than when we left, thanks to the exercise, fresh air, sunshine, delicious food, and good company!

Morning ski in Bemidji State Park on Dec. 23rd

Day two of the mini vacation Enrico planned for us started with a morning ski at Bemidji State Park. First, we fueled up on pecan-wild rice pancakes and an Italian egg, spinach and bacon panini, compliments of our hotel. When we saw that the high temperature for the day was forecast to be 35 degrees above zero, we thought we should ski in the morning, so we would be able to avoid the klister zone of waxing.

After renewing our Minnesota State Parks pass at the ranger's office, we parked in the lot by the lakeside and started out on the trail along the river. It was about 20 degrees, with a slight wind off the lake, and gloriously sunny. Enrico's pose in the photo below says it all.

 The trail was rolled, but not set with tracks, which was okay. We had some super views of Lake Bemidji, including some interesting ice formations (below).

 Once the trail turned inland, we enjoyed looking at all the beautiful trees in the park. Lots of birch and white spruce. I especially loved seeing all the birch trees--they remind me of Alaska. These are the same trails we've hiked on in the summer, and it was fun to see how it looks different in the winter. The scenery goes by much faster on skis--it didn't take long before we arrived at the road crossing to the north logging trails.

It felt great to soak in the midwinter sunshine--like a pure shot of positive energy that infuses your whole body and soul. It is such a joyful feeling! I just love being outdoors in winter, especially on a warm day like today. It was also really nice to have the solitude. We did not see a single other person for almost two hours. Just a few crows and a woodpecker, and some squirrels. There were lots of deer tracks crossing the trail, but we didn't see any deer.

The only down side to the trail was that on the north section, some skier was out either before the rolled section was set, or during a time when the temperature was above 32 degrees, because he or she skied deep tracks into the rolled bed. These tracks (which were all over the place), then froze overnight, and they were a bit annoying to maneuver around (especially on downhills, where we had to be careful not to get a ski caught in a rut and fall). We managed this without too much difficulty, though, and this was just a minor annoyance. However, it was nice to get to a section that this skier had not been on. Actually, we got a bit lost at one point.

Enrico looking at the map to try to figure out where to go. You can see the ruts from yesterday's skier on the rolled bed. 

We made a left turn before we should have and ended up on a pristine section of rolled trail that made a straight line to the north. The grade was gently sloping, so we decided to do some skate skiing. There was just a very slight softness and give to the rolled bed, making the skating feel silky, almost sensual, and the gentle grade made our technique look better than it really is. I got into "the zone" for a few minutes, where the gliding and weightshifting of skate skiing felt nearly effortless and it was almost as if I were just flying over the snow.

When we got to the end of that section, we had to admit we were lost, and  backtracked until we found the cutoff trail over to the Bog loop. We wanted to do that loop, even though we knew that all the things that make it delightful during the summer--ladyslippers, pools of water, Labrador Tea--are now decayed or frozen. It was fun to ski on the boardwalk, though a bit challenging to maneuver around the corners. What really surprised me when 

I descended from the uplands to the bog, is the smell that hit my nostrils as soon as we got to the bottom. There is a section of the University of Alaska Trails that smells exactly the same--like my grandmother's basement in McVille, North Dakota--a musty smell that triggers something deep in my memories, an emotion associated with family,  home, old things, canned goods, and a bit of uneasiness, like a fear of darkness or spiders. But a familiar smell, so also it makes me feel attached to the place. 

The part of the UAF trails where you can smell this is when you are skiing north on the back side of West Ridge, descending the trail, and the forest changes from birches to black spruce. On a little section of this trail, when I was about 15, I was trying to find a route from my family's home on campus to this trail, and I came to some larger spruce trees where I saw a hole in the ground. I looked in, and there was a little cave. I crawled in--it was small and cozy. The next time I skied by, I brought a candle. I used to sit in that cave sometimes, just for a little while (it was cold after all), but I could be alone and be underground, and that felt safe and comforting. That is another reason I like that musty smell of certain woods. 

At the end of the bog trail there is a small lake and some benches, so we took a selfie and rested for a couple of minutes before heading back. It was a bit of uphill from the bog to the road crossing, and we didn't have as much energy by then, so it was a relief to cross the road, and then get onto the downhill trails back to the lakeshore and the parking lot. It was a good ski, and good timing before the day got too warm. We felt like we had had a good workout, and a healthy dose of Nature. 

Once we got back to our hotel--the Doubletree on the south shore of Lake Bemidji, we got into the hot tub, then the sauna, then the steam room, then the pool, and repeated that cycle a few times, until we were thoroughly warmed up and relaxed. After a nap, it was time to hit the town for some last minute Christmas shopping before heading to the dinner. Enrico had made reservations at Tutto Bene, a fabulous Italian restaurant. We started with a bruschetta with wild funghi and martinis made with pomegranate juice and prosecco. Molto buono!

I had a lobster gnocchi and Enrico had orecchi with deer sausage. We had a warm beet salad as well. At the end of this feast, we had an espresso--no room for dessert!

As we drove home to our hotel, we got to see Paul Bunyan and Babe the big blue ox surrounded by Christmas lights, a festive and iconic sight to end our evening.