21 January 2007

The Moulton Journal: An Extra Blue Day

Saturday morning with new snow and a temperature in the high teens, it was a perfect "extra blue" wax day. Well, "Nobody's perfect--not even the perfect stranger" (Pretenders), but it was close.

For me, a good (perfect?) wax day is when I can climb the steepest hill on Yankee Boy without herring-boning, and yet the "pancake" of snow in the wax pocket under my boot slips off immediately when I go into a kick-and-glide or skate. Yesterday was it. Oh yeah, it also has to be an "ego snow" day (per Rick Appleman), when you can turn just by thinking about it.

Saw Paul Sawyer on his way up/my way down, he was making a run with the snowmachine to pack the trails prior to grooming them. I promised to call & stop by to interview him about the history of The Moulton. I suspect they were the first cross country ski trails in Montana laid out expressly for that purpose. I'll need to talk with John-Mike Downey and Rick Appleman, too.

Yeah, I know: it's micro-history and who cares? But The Moulton trails are so primo and so beloved by those who know them that the pioneers deserve a little credit in the form of "card catalog immortality," yes?

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