Training Log Archive: Swampfox

Skied in the early afternoon--mild, sunny, some wind, but all the emphasis fell on the mildness and sun. Lots of people out today, and the trails were pretty chopped up as they had still been somewhat soft from the last storm. Ran later on.

C • Cross-country skiing and Yowsa! 8

Skied up top late in the day and well into the early evening. The groomer was just finishing up as I arrived, and only a few people were out, so it was mostly untouched fresh trail the whole time. Quite pleasant evening conditions.

Still no sign of grooming at Happy Jack--quite odd, and counting the storm day on Tuesday when the roads were all closed anyway, that's 3 days in a row. It makes me wonder what might have happened, and I have no guesses.

At any rate, I ran from home in the late afternoon and a bit into the evening. Crisp and cold, in the single digits with enough of a breeze that running with the wind was by far the more comfortable direction. Admired the stars, especially the fiery red eye of Taurus.

Superb Yowsa!, finishing off what had been abandoned in the evening yesterday. No wind, and the snow had transformed overnight, becoming compact and making it easy to remove. Now the forecast is switching back to a drier stretch of weather, and if the groomers can make it up and out (should the interstate re-open), the Happy Jack trails should be in top form!

Skiing in the afternoon was not quite what I had expected. There was about a foot of new snow--very good. Some others had made it up by the time I got up top--also good. But no sign or trace of any grooming or groomer. Odd, and not good. 12" of new plus skate skis is an altogether different sort of activity. And with that much new snow, running on the bike trails wasn't a realistic option either. So I made an amusing effort at some classic skiing with what I had. Still fun.

Tomorrow!

For better or for worse, I passed on skiing today. Probably for the better, given that the interstate was closed all day long (as were most other major roads, minor roads, and even the majority of intermittent cow trails in Wyoming), due to high winds and apparently endless quantities of newly arriving snow.

Instead, I concentrated on Yowsa! So great was the required amount of Yowsa! that I only performed half of what was necessary, and will do the rest in the morning. Plus, new snow was blowing in about as rapidly as I was removing the old, but at least I was outside doing something vaguely aerobic.

With all the new snow and windy conditions expected tomorrow, we will see if the roads reopen or not. There will be more Yowsa! either way, guaranteed!

C • Sure seems like you are try... 19

Pretty good daylight conditions, and the trails really shined after the sun set. Judging from all the ghost(ly) lights, more people were skiing after dark than before. More or less no wind for the second straight evening, which is unsettling, and it makes the crows nervous as they don't know which way to fly. Somehow I coped with the absence of any wind--it definitely helps to be experienced and disciplined when conditions are difficult like this.

Yesterday the snow was fast, and today someone had sprinkled slow dust on the snow so the snow was....slow. Of course it was slow--I just explained slow dust had been sprinkled! Or maybe it was just colder, and maybe some new sharp pointed crystals precipitated out of the fog banks that formed overnight. No big deal to me--the sun was out, it was beautiful, and I was skiing.

Of course, while I was skiing, I was on guard as always (on the weekends) for possible trail ambushes by the notorious racer X8A7. But I never caught sight of the elusive skier from Greeley, CO (which some people call Cowtown instead, but you will never catch me doing such an unhorsey thing.)

Followed by some apres' sunset running on snow trails. Fantastic night skies tonight!

C • Slow dust 3