Original lyrics by Eric Troyer.

Dan Johnson (far left) wears the SCUM yellow hat designed by Frank Soos, that Eric mentions in his lyrics. Now most days, the SCUM are unable to find where they last placed theirs.

I’ll be back—-skiing with one pole in the not-so-distant future.

If temperatures drop, FWW will be ready to make snow with two sets of snow guns aimed at their alpine hill.

A flashback of just 16 winters:

Because many of the SCUM are parents (and now grandparents), we are frequent volunteers, especially for events focusing on kids. So shortly before Christmas 2008, we were asked whether one of our skiers would be willing to dress up as Santa Claus and arrive with a sack full of candy canes to distribute to Junior Nordics skiers after their Candy Cane event. Not willing to let just one SCUM get all the adoration from the next generation of NCAA and Olympic crosscountry skiers, Bill Husby, one of the SCUM who also serves as a trail groomer at Birch Hill, volunteered the SCUM to deliver Santa pulled by eight (or more) tiny reindeer on skis.

SCUM are deemed “uncoachable” for a reason. Everyone wanted to be a “reindeer”, and no one wanted to be Santa until Dermot Cole was strong armed into donning the beard and red suit.

Frank Soos and Tobben Spurkland owned “antlers” of a sort, so they were voted to be our lead reindeer even though I felt that Frank’s antlers were moose like as he was. An additional problem was that our most nattily dressed reindeer were hardly tiny. Frank and Tobben both measured in at 6’5” but they would be in front to guide us. The rest of the SCUM were left with red holiday colored duct tape and whatever antlers they could find in the Birch Hill Recreation Area. Thus, two varieties of tiny reindeer were created with birch and spruce bough antlers, respectively. Hey, what we lack in speed and technique, we make up with adaptability.

Having to orchestrate multiple skis while tied together with a nylon climbing rope would be challenging enough without adding ski poles. So, we determined that Santa would be pulled by reindeer skiing without poles. Seeing as the trail from behind the main ski building, where we had assembled, to the stadium area was flat, even SCUM should be able to negotiate this modest distance. Think again. Eight giggling skiers pulling one resistant Santa wasn’t exactly what the coordinator of the Candy Cane Race had envisioned.

One little guy who couldn’t have been older than 4 or 5, looked at us and then protested, “Those aren’t REAL reindeer!” Even the SCUM needing hearing aids clearly heard the disenchanted Junior Nordic skier and were devastated. We snuck away, leaving Santa with his bag of candy canes.

We weren’t invited back again.

Some SCUM successfully finished their Equinox Marathon (half) challenge:

as did a couple of my FXC Masters teammates. Here, Norma is smiling in spite of her tumble on the trails in front of Robert (who then finished before her).

My Equinox Marathon Day was spent checking the online results of my friends and training buddies while keeping my surgical foot above my hips

because 4 days before the Equinox Marathon, I tripped on one of only two steps at my house. I momentarily landed on the top of my right foot, fracturing my fifth metatarsal. I had foot surgery 15 hours before the Equinox Marathon.

I’m non weight bearing for 6 weeks so the SCUM came to my rescue today to help remove leaves from my house’s gutters:

Supposedly, out-of-shape Bernardo did most of the climbing. The rationale was that he was the lightest of the SCUM so would be the easiest to catch if he fell:

Robert used his prize leaf scoops to fill Joanna’s garden cart with birch leaves:

and then hauling the leaves over to the composting area:

Robert, Bernardo, and Joanna made quick work of the leaves in my yard today. Hopefully we’ll get another sunny (or at least dry day) after the predicted snow and rain on Sunday and Monday. Only about half of the trees in my neighborhood have lost their leaves in spite of several days of hard frost conditions.

It’s tough not being able to weight bear on one foot. However, my friends have definitely helped me with activities of daily living in Fairbanks.

Last winter, we were skiing on rolled trails by 6 October. However, today Norma and I ski- walked the White Bear as steady rain changed to snow.

Norma was fully dermotized with three layers on her head and insulated Alaska mitts for her hands.

We took off at a moderately fast pace to warm up, knowing by the top of Hilltop we could readjust our clothing:

However, it didn’t take long for the rain to change to snow:

As we began Heart Rate Hill, we were startled by a serious looking dog carrying a moose femur in his mouth. He didn’t growl at us, but it was VERY apparent that he was NOT going to share his treasure. We didn’t get his photo, but the dog’s muzzle and the large bone that he was carrying was certainly the biggest surprise of the day.

The snow began sticking in earnest as we crested Heart Rate Hill and rang the bell for doing the ascent without stopping:

That photo would be my last as battery of my new phone wasn’t as warm as I was. However, we actually were getting a little glide in places on the downhill trail. Our cars left in the Birch Hill lot were looking a little wintrier than when we had left. The snow was sticking in the stadium and the temperature had dropped to 31 deg F.

We will still be doing trail clearing work at Birch Hill on Tuesday, 11 October starting at 11 a.m. Please let us know if you’ll be able to join us: contact@sonotkkaazoot.org

Today, on the Blackhawk Loop, the SCUM groundhogs determined that we’ll have at least 6 more weeks of winter.

Look at the shadows that Bill and Mike saw today:

Don’t be discouraged by the temperatures on the Birch Hill web thermometer. The sun makes the trails feel much warmer now. You can ski under natural lights from about 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. now.

Shalane writes:

While Shalane’s course may not have been imaginative, her time will definitely be one of the fastest.

Jerome Jackson had so much virtual fun on Saturday that he thought the deep snow on the trails was powder and was unable to report his final time.

Based upon the information given him, Eric Troyer calculated Jerome’s time for the virtual 40 km Sonot to be 4:52. Jerome skied the White Bear three times before his binding broke. Jerome then tried to emulate Bill Husby (who had started on his virtual quest at the same time as Jerome and Carl Hemming) and double poled the last 10 km.

Congratulations, Jerome. Your 6-week taper worked!