Transition to the Loipe

This section of trail is only snowmobile-packed.
The rest of it is in much better shape, but likely
will not hold up long without a bit more snow and
warmer temps on the horizon.  Like my new
"Buff headwear"?  It was awesome!  I'm a fan.

I got about a half-dozen nice mountain bike rides in this Fall before the snow started flying!  In the last month, I have transitioned from running to biking to skate skiing.  It feels so good to be back out gliding along on the loipe up at Round Valley!

Indeed, a lot of people thought similarly today~ it was the most "crowded" I've seen my favorite trails in a long time.  The last few weeks I saw just a handful of people in the period of a couple of hours.  Now, today, I saw nearly two dozen people (and their dogs!) enjoying the groomed track.

Due to the thin snow conditions, the track is a bit narrow and a bit rutted in places.  But that didn't stop a couple of guys from feeling like it was their own personal race track.  Kind of funny~ as I was easily moseying up the big long hill I could hear a guy grunting and working behind me to catch up and attempt to pass.  The dogs stayed well out of his way and I wasn't worried about them tripping, when suddenly he struck my pole with his pole which threw his balance off just enough that he did a half-spin and landed, spread-eagle on his face in the snow.

It's true ~ three out of three dogs agree,
Round Valley rocks.  Any time, any season.

It was all I could do to contain my laughter.  "Yeah, nice form show-off," is what I was thinking to myself.  In reality, I said, "Oh, I'm sorry.  I think you hit my pole with yours," and then half-heartedly I added, "Are you ok?" And he replied that he was.  I knew he was alright and that only his pride was injured.

I kept skating up the hill and when I heard him coming the second time, I slowed down and rounded up the dogs so that he would have plenty of room to grunt his way past us without falling.

It was a gorgeous day up on the trails today, and I am so grateful for a change in activities!  It was a long summer of running.  I've logged nearly 1500 miles this year so far (just running miles) and my muscles are happy to do something just a little bit different.  I chose the correct wax today too, which made gliding that much easier and more enjoyable.  I can't wait to hit the loipe again!  But I think I will skip it this weekend.  With nice weather on the way (40s in Park City) there's bound to be even more people out taking advantage.  The dogs and I will have to hit one of our secret places this weekend to avoid the crowds!