eight of us (ed, len, mark, dave, georg, sam, arm and go) headed into bsp on a cold but fairly nice day. six of us skied and two snowshoed the road as we pulled our sleds five miles into nesowadnehunk field. we set up camp with four of the group in the bunkhouse and four in tents. it was -20 that night.
the next morning we headed out early for north brother. the tote road was packed for skiing down to slide dam. the marston trail had a foot of powdery snow to be broken out as we began up the mountain. after the pond the snow got deeper and we were breaking trail with two or more feet of powder. in some of the more open spots it was waist deep and the going was slow even with eight people taking turns in the front. arm got the trailbreaker of the day award for his outstanding work on the steep section just below the treeline. once we got above the treeline it was extremely cold and windy. we made it to the top and decided not to try the trip over to fort. the snow was deep, the temps were very cold, it was late in the day, and we were happy with our efforts just to get up north brother. we got back to camp just before dark. after dinner and card games we talked about a rest day and went to bed. it was -25 that night.
the next day we got up late and were lazy for part of the morning. we decided to ski up to nesowadnehunk lake. it was a cold, but blue sky day and the skiing was fun. the view of the brothers and double top were great from the lake.
we got back to camp and ate too much food, played too many games of cards and backgammon, and enjoyed the warm bunkhouse. around 11:00 that night we got an unexpected visit from none other than buzz caverly, park director, and his wife. sadly it was not good news. a family member of one of our group was having a medical emergency, and buzz was there to relay the information and provide a snowmobile ride out to the trailhead. they had come out in -30 degree weather at 11:00 at night to help someone out. that is dedication! God bless them. on their way in they had gotten one of their snowmobile stuck in some deep snow and had radioed for another ranger to meet up with them at our camp. buzz asked us to pack the short snowmobile trail out to the williams pond road with our snowshoes, which we did, and then he and our teammate took off for the trailhead, while his wife waited in the cabin for his return. after about an hour buzz was back and ranger bob harris showed up. buzz asked if two of us could go with them to try to retrieve the burried snowmobile. so dave and i geared up as best we could and off we went. the machine was about 20 minutes away and the ride there was very, very cold. we freed up the stuck sled and started back. without buzz sitting in front of me blocking the wind, the ride back was unreal cold.
we made it back and buzz, his wife and the other ranger took off.
it was 1:30 in the morning and the group decided to bail on the next day's hike and instead all head out a day early.
only two of us stayed out in the tent that night but the night sky was beautiful. there were countless stars and we saw the northern lights as we looked north. it was -30 that night.
the next morning we each packed up our own gear and took a little of our teammates gear and headed out. by that time, around 9:00, it had warmed up to -20. the ski out was pretty quick but got a little cold and windy in a few exposed sections.
we were all back safely at the trucks by noon time and we headed for lunch in millinocket.
great group and a fun trip (except for the bad family news).
the next morning we headed out early for north brother. the tote road was packed for skiing down to slide dam. the marston trail had a foot of powdery snow to be broken out as we began up the mountain. after the pond the snow got deeper and we were breaking trail with two or more feet of powder. in some of the more open spots it was waist deep and the going was slow even with eight people taking turns in the front. arm got the trailbreaker of the day award for his outstanding work on the steep section just below the treeline. once we got above the treeline it was extremely cold and windy. we made it to the top and decided not to try the trip over to fort. the snow was deep, the temps were very cold, it was late in the day, and we were happy with our efforts just to get up north brother. we got back to camp just before dark. after dinner and card games we talked about a rest day and went to bed. it was -25 that night.
the next day we got up late and were lazy for part of the morning. we decided to ski up to nesowadnehunk lake. it was a cold, but blue sky day and the skiing was fun. the view of the brothers and double top were great from the lake.
we got back to camp and ate too much food, played too many games of cards and backgammon, and enjoyed the warm bunkhouse. around 11:00 that night we got an unexpected visit from none other than buzz caverly, park director, and his wife. sadly it was not good news. a family member of one of our group was having a medical emergency, and buzz was there to relay the information and provide a snowmobile ride out to the trailhead. they had come out in -30 degree weather at 11:00 at night to help someone out. that is dedication! God bless them. on their way in they had gotten one of their snowmobile stuck in some deep snow and had radioed for another ranger to meet up with them at our camp. buzz asked us to pack the short snowmobile trail out to the williams pond road with our snowshoes, which we did, and then he and our teammate took off for the trailhead, while his wife waited in the cabin for his return. after about an hour buzz was back and ranger bob harris showed up. buzz asked if two of us could go with them to try to retrieve the burried snowmobile. so dave and i geared up as best we could and off we went. the machine was about 20 minutes away and the ride there was very, very cold. we freed up the stuck sled and started back. without buzz sitting in front of me blocking the wind, the ride back was unreal cold.
we made it back and buzz, his wife and the other ranger took off.
it was 1:30 in the morning and the group decided to bail on the next day's hike and instead all head out a day early.
only two of us stayed out in the tent that night but the night sky was beautiful. there were countless stars and we saw the northern lights as we looked north. it was -30 that night.
the next morning we each packed up our own gear and took a little of our teammates gear and headed out. by that time, around 9:00, it had warmed up to -20. the ski out was pretty quick but got a little cold and windy in a few exposed sections.
we were all back safely at the trucks by noon time and we headed for lunch in millinocket.
great group and a fun trip (except for the bad family news).
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