Last Ski of the Winter

After a few days up at Turtle Mountain, I wanted to see what the trails were like along the river here in Fargo, so I went out for a ski early this morning while it was still cold. Yes, there was still crust skiing, but some of it looked like this, which--although skiable--was not sparking much joy:

Crossing the bike paths was, quite frankly, tedious (taking off skis and putting them back on) and treacherous (a smooth sheet of ice had frozen over the bike path). Also, as the snow melted, more sticks, dog poop, and debris had come to the surface, which meant skiing with greater awareness--no zoning out today! Nevertheless, I still managed to catch my left ski on something, causing a sudden face plant--not so fun on the hard, icy surface. 

Despite such annoyances, there was still some fun skiing to be had in the hour I was out. For example, the area between the water treatment plant and Ponte Park had some crust skiing with no obstacles, and I was able to do a few charges up the dike to get my heart rate up into the 160s and 70s. Going down is not so fun on the icy crust though! 

I had to go over to Lindenwood to the spot where I have taken a series of photos as the river began to thaw. Unfortunately, the spot where I usually stand was already underwater, so I didn't get to complete my series, but I did get to see some Canadian Geese enjoying the open water:

I enjoyed the fresh air and seeing the changes to the landscape I've spent so much time in these last few months, but I also felt very sad to see the ski season ending. I always feel such a profound sadness in spring. Others think I'm weird, so I really appreciated seeing the film about Sami artist Maj Doris at the Fargo Film Festival last week, because she expressed that same kind of sadness that comes with spring. For her, it meant saying good-bye to her reindeer, who migrate to their summer pasture up in the mountains. 

"Phargo Phil" did not see his shadow

St Patrick's Day Ski

I might still be a bit delirious from my cold, but I decided to have a bit of fun out skiing today. My Uncle Doug had given me these outrageously large and colorful shorts as a Christmas present, so I decided to wear them for spring skiing on Saint Patrick's Day, along with a lot of other loud, tropical-looking items of clothing. My patent for the Norwegian Ski Bikini, which I am calling the BiSkiNi is pending. On April 1st, I will announce my new company of the same name. Let me know if you want to buy stocks.

Spring Skate Skiing

There is a bit of a thrill in being the first to lay down skate tracks on a newly groomed skate trail, and that put a zing in my step this morning. There had been fog earlier, which left crystals on the branches. All the glittering on the trees in the strong spring sun made for a dazzling skate ski this morning.

Spring Skiing, Spring Fever

I was back out skiing after five days of being sick with a spring cold. Yesterday's "historic blizzard" left a layer of frozen rain and snow on the tracks that had been set by Fargo Parks right before the storm. The high winds blew a lot of branches on the trail, which I did my best to clean up as I skied. It was 23 degrees, which meant crust skiing! I slid over the frozen surface of the snow without sinking in the deep snow on my way down to the river.

The only creature to use the trails since the storm left his footprints in the track.

Once there, I looked around to see the results of the storm and to look for signs of spring. It felt good to be outside again--I was getting cabin fever from being inside so much. Weakened from being sick, I skied pretty slowly and stopped to cough and blow my nose a lot.

The river is thawing and also rising from the warmer water to the south. 

For awhile, a reddish little squirrel raced next to me through the willows growing along the bank before veering off toward the river. On my way back, I heard the gobbles of several turkeys from the Minnesota side of the river. In looking for where the sound was coming from, a movement in the sky caught my eye--a bald eagle! I wonder if the turkeys were vocalizing at him?

Even though there is a lot of snow, the angle of the sun is high and there are many signs that spring is almost here. I'm glad to be up and about to witness them.

Buds are already forming on the tree branches. 

3 Loops of Skating

We had a snowstorm starting up on Saturday, March 9th, so I went out shortly after sunrise for a skate ski. It was fast, the snow was not too piled up, and I felt pretty good, so I did three loops of the skate trail. I was out for just under two hours, average heart rate 152, high of 168. By the time I finished, I was beginning to catch my tips in the snow because of the accumulation  (or I was just tired). 

Fresh Tracks & "Feels Like" Ten Above

Thank you, Fargo Parks! I was greeted with freshly set classic tracks on Saturday morning, and had a great ski between home and Lindenwood Park. Today, I did the same loop, plus up to the dog park. Conditions were excellent--I was "in the zone" virtually the whole time. The sun is higher in the sky, providing plenty of warmth despite the "dangerous wind chill" warning for North Dakota today. I have to disagree with the "feels like" temperature, which was -32 when I headed out. I believe it "feels like" +10.  That is the joy of spring skiing!