Some might say the Moonraker Trails in Golden are sooo 2005 but I’ve always liked me a bit of retro and, honestly, I can’t even call those gems-of-trails old school.  So, without further ado, here are my top 5 reasons to run in the moon(rakers).

当冬天来敲门的时候，唯一明智的选择就是前往落基山脉，在那里，探险就在每一条滑雪道的转弯处等着您。这里的雪是含糖的粉末，冰是蓝色的，山是美丽的、高大的，就在您的眼前。戈尔登周边地区是完美的冬季游乐场，您可以在这里攀冰一天，第二天在大越野山线上滑雪，然后在滑雪胜地度过愉快的一天。

Golden is a very dog-friendly town so it’s a little surprising that taking your dog for ski is not easy.  This is mostly because our primary cross country ski area, Dawn Mountain, only has a 250 m long trail that is dog-friendly.

I accidently rescued a puppy (named Moberly) in June and have been trying to figure out the best place to ski with him, as skiing is my favourite form of winter exercise.

Gazing out the windows of the Bluebird Café in Golden BC always seems to inspire an adventure regardless of the season. The ski runs craved into the mountainside of Kicking Horse Mountain Resort stare back at me, and next to them lay the untouched goods of the seemly endless Dogtooth Mountain Range. Both bekcon me to ski them, but today the backcountry wins.

With the first powder turns of the year made this week, I can’t help to wonder if the bike season in Golden is truly over.  Only in the last few days has the transition from fall to winter started to happen.  While the snowpack in the alpine has started to provide some excellent skiing, the trails in the valley remained in great shape.  Spring and Fall are my two favourite seasons around here when I can ski, bike, and kayak all in the same day.

The Now and the Future

Golden is sandwiched between two impressive mountain ranges, so there’s no doubt that amazing Alpine trail running is a “thing...” and only getting better.

The current alpine running options are primarily focused in the Purcell Mountains, to the west of Golden and based from Kicking Horse Mountain Resort.  The resort does not currently permit “uphill traffic” during summer operations on the resort trails for safety reasons (downhill mountain bikers and a grizzly bear refuge) so you can access the alpine with a quick gondola ride.

Trail running just got even better!

While there are literally hundreds of kilometers of every possible trail running option in Golden, we also have a secret weapon... six national parks located within an hour of our little mountain mecca: Banff, Jasper, Kootenay, Yoho, Glacier and Mt. Revelstoke.

This last week, I shifted gears back to Enduro racing, with the BC Enduro Series coming back to Golden.   A week of heavy rain made for challenging conditions to get out and pre ride the stages.   An epic day of racing was planned with the classic alpine ride from T4 down LSD to Canyon Creek.  Unfortunately, the rain never let up, and the alternative racecourse had to be used to preserve the sensitive trails on the original route.    Despite the change in plans, it was still a great day of racing up at the Kicking Hors

At the end of my first Single Track 6, two years ago, I swore that I would train differently for the next time.  I would start earlier, spend more time on the road bike, do more winter spinning, eat less bacon, drink less beer.   But, of course life gets in the way and bacon remains irresistible.  Ski season this year didn’t end for me until the end of May, so I find myself cramming in the training once again.

I don’t know about you, but when that sun is shining I know there’s only one place I’d like to be, at a patio somewhere. So I’m going to share all the patios from around town for all hours of the day, but hopefully I beat you there!