arm
Well-known member
what we did on our Winter vacation ...
we'd hoped to do something fun over presidents day weekend, but settled for a five-day 42+ mile ski traverse through Baxter State Park, starting in T6-R8 Matagamon, heading to Abol Bridge in T2-R10
Chinook was supposed to join the trip, but figured it wasn't cool to skip school, so she bailed
... bright side, Shizzmac got to join us
we were very happy to be heading north for our first real trip this Winter ... with a lack of snow elsewhere in New England, northern Maine had a decent snow base, and Baxter reported excellent conditions for a ski traverse
lyrics from a Spirit Family Reunion tune filled my speakers on the drive north ...
> Leave your troubles at the Gate*
> The other side is sweeter
> with the freedom from the weight
(*they were most likely singing about Matagamon Gate?)
Brett, GO, Jen, MEB, MtnPa, Shizzy, SueBiscuit and i met in Millinocket friday afternoon, then drove to Abol Bridge, where two trucks were waiting to shuttle us with gear to Matagamon Wilderness Campground, where we stayed in cabins
DrDasy (short for Dr. Dasypodidae, derived from Latin for armadillo) had car issues and could not reach our smart-ass phones or apple-berries ... pro's and con's of a remote area like BSP ... unplugging from the unreal world provides great escape, but lack of communication when things go awry .. the price we pay to escape watching people check in to "social network" sites to find out what kind of bagels their friends are eating
.
we grabbed breakfast sandwiches at Matagamon saturday morning, then skied 12 miles towards South Branch Pond, not knowing whether we'd see DrDasy ... BSP Tote Road was very skiable, providing a fun start to our journey
Shizzy volunteered to sweep, hauling a sled full of moe. cd's and inflatable mattresses shaped like farm animals ... he was rewarded for his generosity of offering to sweep when a rogue snowmobiler snagged his pulk and dragged it to South Branch Road
we settled in to South Branch bunkhouse in T5-R9, our home for the next two nights ... hung xmas lights in each bunkhouse, cooking delicious homemade group meals each night
a short while later, we heard Shizzy's voice over one of the baby monitors that he brought, since we could not dig up walkie-talkie's on short notice
.
saturday morning brought bluebird skies with light winds ... we'd wondered if hiking seldom-visited Travelers in Winter would be dangerous, but decided it'd be more dangerous if we didn't hike them, since we'd risk running out of beer hanging out in the bunkhouse all day
BSP hung a sign letting us know that we weren't allowed to ride bicycles in frozen ponds, so we decided to hike instead ...
some of our team decided to hike South Branch Mountain ... we considered short hikes but a few on our team were tricked into going for a Travelers Loop
we Traveled across South Branch Pond, then bushwhacked to the trail heading up Peak of the Ridges ... a group had broken trail recently, avoiding icy ledges on the steep ridge, and we followed their tracks until we reached Peak of the Ridges
on our way up we got a good look at Pinnacle Ridge, which the Maine Mountain Guide touted as the "most spectacular route up the Traveler" (written before they opened the rest of the Traveler Loop) ... hope to climb that ridge someday ...
distant tree's shadows throughout Pogy Notch looked like paint brush strokes across snowbanks ... contrast between blue-bird skies and snow on the pines spread smiles on our faces
amazing views all day, as we Traveled across Little Knife Edge, through meadows and snow-covered talus fields, over Traveler's summit cone, alternating across open ridges and through scenic forests full of cedar, red pine, dwarf birch groves ... the variety of eye candy along Travelers Loop makes this one of our favorite hikes in the northeast
returned to the bunkhouse, happy to find that DrDasy had made it in to South Branch during the day, after dealing with car issues
.
presidents day was one of those days that feels great to be alive ... unbelievably enjoyable xc skiing 9.5 miles to Russell Pond in T4-R9, across frozen South Branch Ponds, along ski trails packed down by BSP Rangers snowmobiles, across frozen Pogy Pond, with views of Katahdin, Travelers and remote Baxter peaks
spared the team the misfortune of being within earshot as i sang along to cool tunes while skiing across frozen ponds ... a rare sense of freedom
we reached Russell Pond bunkhouse (aka the Halfway House, ~ 22 miles into our 42+ mile ski trek) and settled in for another fun night ... each night we'd walk out on frozen ponds to check out millions of stars for a break from bunkhouse revelry
Shizzy brought the Funk to Russell Pond, after fulfilling our moe. quota
.
we expected tuesday to be a tougher section to ski, so most of us snowshoed 7.5 miles to Roaring Brook in T3-R9 ... BSP Rangers don't ride snowmobiles here, so ski trails were softer, weaving through forest hillage ... most stream crossings were frozen over, but a few of us punched through the alternate crossing near Wassataquoik Stream lean-to's ...
this trail section did a number on the sleds ... Brett "Chief Crazy Sled" pulled stunts that would have Tacoma Narrows Bridge engineers declaring "why didn't we think of that?" ... DrDasy had to mcgyver his sled frame back together to break on through to the other side, yeah ... pvc frames aren't built to withstand a healthy pounding ...
the final stretch across frozen Sandy Stream Pond was a welcome change from dragging pulks through culverts along Tracy Horse Trail ... clear enough views to spot where armadillo's had made their way up Katahdin's Basin headwalls ... most of us wore beads to celebrate Mardi Gras
most of the trails we skied and snowshoed through the Park were broken ... we didn't see any need to fix 'em ...
one final fun bunkhouse night, trying to finish off our remaining group meals ... spotted a pine marten eyeing our goodies ...
i slept outside, as i had all week, and listening to Roaring Brook all night lent the best night's sleep all week ... shhh peaceful ...
.
we broke camp early, hoping to ski 12+ miles out to Abol Bridge before forecast rain arrived mid-morning ... most of us were out before noon ...
on past BSP Winter trips, we've had grim weather while we were in the Park, and great weather for the ride home ... maybe the Weather Gods figured we'd paid our dues on past trips, granting us perfect weather while we skied through the Park this time ...
we grabbed lunch at the AT Cafe in Millinocket, then shuttled DrDasy back to Matagamon, as the rest of the team headed home
saw a Bald Eagle flying as we were shuttling DrDasy back to Matagamon
BSP trips are the crown jewels of every Winter ... making Baxter Winter trips happen is worth every ounce of effort, and then some ... someday we'll look back at the "good ole days" and remember Baxter as some of our best outdoor adventures
Baxter State Park is a beautiful place to play in Winter, especially when you're lucky enough to be there with great friends ... hope to head back soon !
posted a few pics ... view "full size" for better pics ...
http://community.webshots.com/user/armhike
.
we'd hoped to do something fun over presidents day weekend, but settled for a five-day 42+ mile ski traverse through Baxter State Park, starting in T6-R8 Matagamon, heading to Abol Bridge in T2-R10
Chinook was supposed to join the trip, but figured it wasn't cool to skip school, so she bailed
... bright side, Shizzmac got to join us we were very happy to be heading north for our first real trip this Winter ... with a lack of snow elsewhere in New England, northern Maine had a decent snow base, and Baxter reported excellent conditions for a ski traverse
lyrics from a Spirit Family Reunion tune filled my speakers on the drive north ...
> Leave your troubles at the Gate*
> The other side is sweeter
> with the freedom from the weight
(*they were most likely singing about Matagamon Gate?)
Brett, GO, Jen, MEB, MtnPa, Shizzy, SueBiscuit and i met in Millinocket friday afternoon, then drove to Abol Bridge, where two trucks were waiting to shuttle us with gear to Matagamon Wilderness Campground, where we stayed in cabins
DrDasy (short for Dr. Dasypodidae, derived from Latin for armadillo) had car issues and could not reach our smart-ass phones or apple-berries ... pro's and con's of a remote area like BSP ... unplugging from the unreal world provides great escape, but lack of communication when things go awry .. the price we pay to escape watching people check in to "social network" sites to find out what kind of bagels their friends are eating
.
we grabbed breakfast sandwiches at Matagamon saturday morning, then skied 12 miles towards South Branch Pond, not knowing whether we'd see DrDasy ... BSP Tote Road was very skiable, providing a fun start to our journey
Shizzy volunteered to sweep, hauling a sled full of moe. cd's and inflatable mattresses shaped like farm animals ... he was rewarded for his generosity of offering to sweep when a rogue snowmobiler snagged his pulk and dragged it to South Branch Road
we settled in to South Branch bunkhouse in T5-R9, our home for the next two nights ... hung xmas lights in each bunkhouse, cooking delicious homemade group meals each night
a short while later, we heard Shizzy's voice over one of the baby monitors that he brought, since we could not dig up walkie-talkie's on short notice
.
saturday morning brought bluebird skies with light winds ... we'd wondered if hiking seldom-visited Travelers in Winter would be dangerous, but decided it'd be more dangerous if we didn't hike them, since we'd risk running out of beer hanging out in the bunkhouse all day
BSP hung a sign letting us know that we weren't allowed to ride bicycles in frozen ponds, so we decided to hike instead ...
some of our team decided to hike South Branch Mountain ... we considered short hikes but a few on our team were tricked into going for a Travelers Loop
we Traveled across South Branch Pond, then bushwhacked to the trail heading up Peak of the Ridges ... a group had broken trail recently, avoiding icy ledges on the steep ridge, and we followed their tracks until we reached Peak of the Ridges
on our way up we got a good look at Pinnacle Ridge, which the Maine Mountain Guide touted as the "most spectacular route up the Traveler" (written before they opened the rest of the Traveler Loop) ... hope to climb that ridge someday ...
distant tree's shadows throughout Pogy Notch looked like paint brush strokes across snowbanks ... contrast between blue-bird skies and snow on the pines spread smiles on our faces
amazing views all day, as we Traveled across Little Knife Edge, through meadows and snow-covered talus fields, over Traveler's summit cone, alternating across open ridges and through scenic forests full of cedar, red pine, dwarf birch groves ... the variety of eye candy along Travelers Loop makes this one of our favorite hikes in the northeast
returned to the bunkhouse, happy to find that DrDasy had made it in to South Branch during the day, after dealing with car issues
.
presidents day was one of those days that feels great to be alive ... unbelievably enjoyable xc skiing 9.5 miles to Russell Pond in T4-R9, across frozen South Branch Ponds, along ski trails packed down by BSP Rangers snowmobiles, across frozen Pogy Pond, with views of Katahdin, Travelers and remote Baxter peaks
spared the team the misfortune of being within earshot as i sang along to cool tunes while skiing across frozen ponds ... a rare sense of freedom
we reached Russell Pond bunkhouse (aka the Halfway House, ~ 22 miles into our 42+ mile ski trek) and settled in for another fun night ... each night we'd walk out on frozen ponds to check out millions of stars for a break from bunkhouse revelry
Shizzy brought the Funk to Russell Pond, after fulfilling our moe. quota
.
we expected tuesday to be a tougher section to ski, so most of us snowshoed 7.5 miles to Roaring Brook in T3-R9 ... BSP Rangers don't ride snowmobiles here, so ski trails were softer, weaving through forest hillage ... most stream crossings were frozen over, but a few of us punched through the alternate crossing near Wassataquoik Stream lean-to's ...
this trail section did a number on the sleds ... Brett "Chief Crazy Sled" pulled stunts that would have Tacoma Narrows Bridge engineers declaring "why didn't we think of that?" ... DrDasy had to mcgyver his sled frame back together to break on through to the other side, yeah ... pvc frames aren't built to withstand a healthy pounding ...
the final stretch across frozen Sandy Stream Pond was a welcome change from dragging pulks through culverts along Tracy Horse Trail ... clear enough views to spot where armadillo's had made their way up Katahdin's Basin headwalls ... most of us wore beads to celebrate Mardi Gras
most of the trails we skied and snowshoed through the Park were broken ... we didn't see any need to fix 'em ...
one final fun bunkhouse night, trying to finish off our remaining group meals ... spotted a pine marten eyeing our goodies ...
i slept outside, as i had all week, and listening to Roaring Brook all night lent the best night's sleep all week ... shhh peaceful ...
.
we broke camp early, hoping to ski 12+ miles out to Abol Bridge before forecast rain arrived mid-morning ... most of us were out before noon ...
on past BSP Winter trips, we've had grim weather while we were in the Park, and great weather for the ride home ... maybe the Weather Gods figured we'd paid our dues on past trips, granting us perfect weather while we skied through the Park this time ...
we grabbed lunch at the AT Cafe in Millinocket, then shuttled DrDasy back to Matagamon, as the rest of the team headed home
saw a Bald Eagle flying as we were shuttling DrDasy back to Matagamon
BSP trips are the crown jewels of every Winter ... making Baxter Winter trips happen is worth every ounce of effort, and then some ... someday we'll look back at the "good ole days" and remember Baxter as some of our best outdoor adventures
Baxter State Park is a beautiful place to play in Winter, especially when you're lucky enough to be there with great friends ... hope to head back soon !
posted a few pics ... view "full size" for better pics ...
http://community.webshots.com/user/armhike
.
