Skiing with Josey at Lubrecht Forest

One of our favorite winter activities is cross-country skiing with our dogs, and we recently took Josey on her first real outing.

Only a handful of official cross-country ski trails in the area allow dogs, and one of our favorites is the University of Montana's Lubrecht Experimental Forest, east of Missoula. Set in the Garnet Mountains, Lubrecht has a variety of trails that are maintained by the Missoula Nordic Ski Club, allowing you to piece together routes of most any length.



As is our habit, we set out shortly after waking up and arrived at the trailhead when only a few cars are parked in the lot. Combining the C and D trails gave us a loop of about 6 miles and got us back to the car as the parking lot is filling up. This beginner and intermediate circuit travels counterclockwise through the forest starting to the northeast, with some short climbs, smooth downhill glides and occasional sunny clearings.



Josey started out all over the place - not understanding that she should pace herself, as Belle has learned - but eventually settled in alongside us as she lost energy. Back at the car, we had our fill of frosty forest air and a couple of tired dogs.

See more pictures from Lubrecht here.

Distance: Loop about 6 miles.

Trailhead: From Missoula, the Lubrecht Experimental forest is 5 miles east on Interstate 90 to Bonner, then 26 miles east on Highway 200.

Cross-country season is here

We recently brought our cross-country skis up from the basement and over the weekend went on our first real outing of the season. With partly cloudy skies in town we made the short drive up the Blackfoot Valley to the Lubrecht Experimental Forest.

We arrived to only two other cars in the lot and set out on firm, groomed snow. We chose the 6.4-mile "D" loop, one of five marked trails that can be combined for a distance of your liking.



The counterclockwise loop begins in rolling forestland - a nice mix of up, down and around. At a couple of spots along the way, logs were still piled up from a recent tree-thinning operation in the battle against pine bark beetles.

On the north side of the loop, after the grooming ends but before the trail briefly crosses onto Paws Up Ranch property, the trees open. Here, the forest offered a beautiful sunny view of the surrounding Garnet Range.



Down through the forest again and off of Paws up Property - be sure to close any gates you open - the trail climbs up through a narrow gully called the Luge. Due to the shade of the forest, heavy frost was clinging to moss hanging from branches. This season, there are also a few downed trees to duck under and navigate around.

Out of the gully, the grooming begins again where the loop reconnects with shorter trails. We glided down past Jones Pond and a shelter before returning to a full parking lot. The entire circuit, we saw only one other party until nearing the cars.



See photos from Lubrecht here.

Distance: 6.4-mile loop. (Variety of loops available, from 1 mile to 8.3 miles.)

Trailhead: From Missoula, drive 5 miles east on Interstate 90 to Bonner, then 26 miles east on Highway 200 to the University of Montana's Lubrecht Experimental Forest facilities.

Back to Lubrecht

We made our second trip of the winter up to the Lubrecht Experimental Forest cross-country ski trails near Greenough over the weekend. And after weeks of being stuck at home with a cone on to protect stitches in her ear, Belle got to come along, too. (Another dog bit her back in January.)

Looking for a bit more of a challenge, I suggested we take part of the difficult loop, which the brochure says is steeper and requires "advanced braking and turning techniques." I got what I asked for.

After a quick ski out from the lower loops, we began to climb, putting down the first tracks in a fresh dusting of snow and gaining a total of about 900 feet. There was a payoff though: We encountered no other skiers for much of the day, and the view from the high section of trail included the Blackfoot Valley below and the whitecapped Swan Range in the distance (and we had a couple of tired dogs later that night).

Of course, what goes up, must come down - fast. Despite our not-so-advanced techniques, we descended to the lower loops and made it back to the car in one piece.

See more photos here.

Distance: About 7.25-mile loop. (Variety of loops available, from 1 mile to 8.3 miles.)

Trailhead: From Missoula, drive 5 miles east on Interstate 90 to Bonner, then 26 miles east on Highway 200 to the University of Montana's Lubrecht Experimental Forest facilities.

In the news

Here's a story I wrote for the paper about our last ski outing. Too bad that's not all I do at work.

First foray of '09

Today, we went on our first adventure of the new year - cross-country skiing in the Lubrecht Experimental Forest near Greenough, east of Missoula.

After an icy drive up the Blackfoot River corridor, we set out on a dog-friendly trail under sunny skies. At the end of the day, we had covered 6.4 miles and racked up one high-speed face-plant (Jen) and one back flop as a result of showing off (me).

As usual, there are plenty of photos and a video (below). And even though I was behind the camera, I managed to get some footage of myself - look for red skis me, shadow me and me me.

Distance: 6.4-mile loop. (Variety of loops available, from 1 mile to 8.3 miles.)

Trailhead: From Missoula, drive 5 miles east on Interstate 90 to Bonner, then 26 miles east on Highway 200 to the University of Montana's Lubrecht Experimental Forest facilities.