Winter Gathering 8.5 a success!

[Mr. X]

Shame on me!

 

[DougPaul]

The view from here:

First, thanks to GO and VO for hosting the gathering--great people, great location, and great facilities. And thanks too to Spencer and Joanna for organizing the gathering.

I arrived Thurs evening, and fortified by one of Shizzmac's burgers, set up my tent in what seemed to be a fairly protected spot with a view (only brought useless snow-pegs, should have brought ground pegs...) and hit the sack.

On Friday, I joined Pat, Audrey, MichaelJ, and King Tut for a bit of skiing at Sugarloaf. Conditions were a bit crusty and scratchy early and late, but softened mid-day (temps were ~40F) to give some good skiing. Only did a small amount of involuntary glisading (back?, side?, whichever)... (And MichaelJ exaggerates--I only Tele-ed the easy stuff.) Most (all?) of us went out for dinner and we finished up with a bonfire in the meadow. Hit the sack and around 1 or 2 am the patter of the rains began.

It rained most of Sat. Forecast: 1.5--2.5 inches of rain, flood warnings etc followed by big winds, a big temp drop, and some snow late that night. (A classic NE winter cold front.) The hardmen/hardwomen headed off to hike in the rain while us softies went out for breakfast and returned for a day of socializing followed by the potluck dinner. Hit the sack and shortly thereafter, the wind started howling and some pretty strong gusts hit my tent in its "protected" spot. Good thing I was in it--it would have blown away.

Sunday morning saw the rescue of many tents (including mine) as they were blown around the field. I finally anchored mine with my ice axe jammed into the frozen soil. Should have brought 5 more axes instead of those snow pegs... We got semi-organized and headed over to CVR for a mellow, but chilly (~4F) and breezy XC ski. There were about 10 people, in 3 or 4 groups--Mad Townie and I formed a sweep group of 2. Conditions were 3 or 4 inches of fresh powder over a somewhat bumpy icy base. Had a gentle ascent for a few miles followed by a quick and easy run back to the cars. Went back to GO's place and accepted Spencer's invitation to ski some of GO's trails--he has a nice little network of trails in the woods behind his place. Shizzmac fired up his grill again (with some help from "assistant operators" SherpaKroto and others) and made sure that no one went hungry. (Effort above and beyond the call of duty--it was mighty chilly out there running the grill.) An evening of pleasant socializing and music followed... The wind had abated a bit, but it was still a chilly night.

Monday morning was the time to pack up, thaw the frozen tent poles, etc. Just after breakfast, Gris started to head out to try XC skiing. (He is an exlperienced DHer.) After starting to give him a few verbal pointers, I figured that it would be easer and better to just give him a lesson. (Besides, I was happy to have an excuse to get in another ski before I left...) He was a quick learner of this kick-and-glide and up-hill skiing stuff and we did a nice tour which, IMO, was rather challenging for a first timer. I'd say we have another XC skiier...

All-in-all, it was a nice gathering with good company and some nice places to play. And thanks again to our hosts GO and VO, organizers Spencer and Joanna, helpers/troublemakers/feeders SherpaKroto and Shizzmac, and assorted hangers-on (and anyone that I have left out).

That is my story and I'll stick to it only if it suits me.

Furthermore, I deny any memory of anything that Pete did...

Doug

 

[coldfeet]

Finally made it home, 425 miles and 10 hours later...boring drive...

What i learned at the gatering..

GO and VO are awesome for allowing this to go on...big thx...GO also grew up in the same neighborhood as i did...

Thx Spencer and Jo for helping out...

Let's see, no particular order..
...Don't turn south and drive 23 miles the wrong way at 10pm, nobody can help u.
... GO led me up Sugarloaf on Friday, beautiful views, 40 degrees
... beers are expenssive at Bullwinkle's
... Next time Audrey and Pat invite me on a short hike in the rain, take everything..it was a 7 mile 5 hour hike...but very impressive with the blowdowns..got soaked
... I experienced spindrift on Sunday night...lot's in the tent
... My toes and nose gets real cold when it's 0 degrees and the wind is blowing..
... I stink at uno and trouble..
... U can buy lobsters at the rest stop where burger king and sabbros pizza is on the turnpike..is costly
... windshield wiper fluid thaws at 25 degrees, tough driving on route 4
... I want to get cross country ski's...looks like fun
... Everything gets soaked in the rain,,,use the pack cover...
... The wind makes a lot of noise when trying to sleep..
... Pete Hickey plays a mean guitar (also mad townie)
... SherpaK is quick with the lyrics
... GO has incredible views from his property

Glad i went and didn't cxl to work on my catskill list peaks...
will try to figure out webshots...
Thx for the invite....very nice people...Maine is beautiful....want to go back again during the summer...

 

[Pete_Hickey]

Finally made it home, 425 miles and 10 hours later...boring drive...

Glad you made it home OK. Been wondering how it went.

What i learned at the gatering..
....GO also grew up in the same neighborhood as i did...

Now I remember! Oh yeah... That was freaky. It turned out that GO went to the same High School as I!

Thx Spencer and Jo for helping out...

Oh yeah.. I forgot to Publicly thank those two. I had gone skiing with GO, (no VO), Jo, and spencer on the windy day (whichever one that was)

Let's see, no particular order..

... The wind makes a lot of noise when trying to sleep..

You think that wind made noise? You should have slept near <forget>!!!!! Talk about wind making noise!

 

[John S]

It was a great time with old and new friends. Where else but a Gathering could a rainy day be such a fun day?

I’m either lucky or finally getting the hang of camping in winter – my tent shook, shuddered and even lifted a few times but didn’t blow away this year. There was, however, a lot of that ‘white stuff’ inside on Sunday morning.

All the fun you skiers had has got me thinking about broadening my winter options. Thanks everyone, like I really need to buy more gear!

GO and VO, it was a pleasure to meet you. There’s always something special about a trip to Maine and this time it was your generous hospitality. Thanks so much for the weekend.

 

[spencer]

What is all this talk about snow in the tent. Joanna and I didn't have any problems

Another hearty thanks to GO and VO for their hospitality!

I think the weekend was a great success. Sure, there weren't that many people there (maybe this was the smallest x.x Gathering) but those that did come got to enjoy the 14 inches of fresh powder, dancing girls, filet mignon, and free beer.

that's my story and I'm sticking to it (Doug beat me to it...)

spencer

 

[Pete_Hickey]

..... dancing girls, ....

Hey! We agreed not to mention that on the net.... Can you edit your post and take it out? If not, they won't be back again next year.

 

[Tom Rankin]

You think that wind made noise? You should have slept near <forget>!!!!! Talk about wind making noise!

I thought Neil didn't go!

 

[Puck]

Sounds like a great time...as expected. I am sorry I had to change my plans. hope to run into some of you guys on the trails.

 

[MichaelJ]

You think that wind made noise? You should have slept near <forget>!!!!! Talk about wind making noise!

This is what happens when three different people bring chili to a pot luck...

 

[yam]

dang i wish i'd taken some pics from the weekend!!
what a great time...and it was terrific to meet so many vftters!

thanks GO and VO for your hospitality. what a beautiful spread of land you own!! (jealous)



(sorry i am not a person big on words) but thanks all for the wonderful time!

 

[king tut]

I enjoyed my short stay w/ the group this weekend. I did a few runs on the mountain on friday w/ DougPaul, Michael J, Audrey, and Pat. I enjoyed watching the telemark skiing, someday i'll have to give it a try. The dinner on friday night was real good at The Rack, i told Prino I would have a beer for him, it turned out to be a couple of long trail double bags. I think that's what made dinner better. It was fun seeing some faces in real life for the first time, up until now i didn't know if all these people really existed. i was a bit disappointed when I met pete hickey and he told me that he had not ridden his bike from Canada to Maine. No axe either.

Then the rains came, all day Saturday, and i lost touch w/ the campers. I wanted to meet back up and do something on Sunday, but i was unable to contact any of the cell numbers that i had. Bummer.

So sunday morning i headed over to the narrow gauge trail that parallels the carabassett river and i had a great nordic ski along the river and then up to Huston Brook Falls. I was the first person that day that braved the weather and i got a nice reward of 3 inches of powder that i made fresh tracks in all morning. The trail was beautiful that day, and mostly out of the wind. It was about 13 degrees when i started and then when i got back to the house it had dropped down to 6 degrees. Definitely chilly. The ski was about 16 km.

Monday morning, I did the exact same trip w/ my parents and a few of their friends. We waited a little in the morning to go out, and we started a little after 10, when it had warmed up to a balmy 1 degree outside. It was an even cooler trip this time, as the river was starting to freeze back over and had some cool ice formations, and the little waterfall we went to was really cool. It's a nice little fall that is hidden in the maine woods. In the summer, i go up there to dive in the pool of water from the 20-25 foot cliffs.

Well that's it, i put some pics on shutterbook, if anyone's interested.
One little edit. I saw a furry little critter that i took some pics off on sunday. I was wondering if it was the fabled Sugarloaf Yellow nosed vole or some kinda mouse or what? It had a rather long tail. Any critter experts out there?

 

[Abster]

Are there any other pictures from this weekend?! (I didn't take any with my old-fashion film camera.)

 

[Gris]

Here are just a very few. Only the frozen apples one came out well.

I am still (sniff, sniff) waiting (sniff) for a compliment on my homemade hot jam... Y'ALL SURE ATE IT FAST ENOUGH!!!

 

[Sugarloafer]

King Tut,
That's a great spot and this is my daughters' favorite off-season activity at the Loaf !!! I love pictures of the Sugarloaf area and you've got some great ones.

It's a nice little fall that is hidden in the maine woods. In the summer, i go up there to dive in the pool of water from the 20-25 foot cliffs.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

Here are just a very few.

Seems like very few pictures were taken. Maybe because nobody wanted to take our their camera in such weather. I know that my excuse was that I lost my camera the first morning, and didn't find it until I was packing to go home.

I am still (sniff, sniff) waiting (sniff) for a compliment on my homemade hot jam...

No compliment, but I would like the recipe.

What kind of peppers were they? Where can I get the seeds???? And don'T give me none of that 'only grows in Florida garbage..."

 

[coldfeet]

Hope this works....click on the winter gathering part

http://community.webshots.com/user/davidcoldfeet

gotta copy and paste it..sorry...i'm learning


Gris my wife said thx for the peppers....

 

[Suebiscuit]

Hey GO and VO for your amazing hospitality!! Above and beyond the call of duty. Quite deluxe to have a warm place to dry the very very wet clothes.

Great to meet many new people - had the pleasure of hiking with the illustrious Pete Hickey (who can hike without his glasses, which I later discovered was quite impressive because on the ride home, still without specs, he saw several UFO's that Frodo and I missed... ) as well as some already-known rain-lovin' fools.

And thanks to Spencer and Joanna (J were you there? Did I meet you? Did I <forget>?) for their efforts. Those were some mighty fine port-o-pottys, neither of which were used for the bobsled event. Next year.

 

[prino]

The dinner on friday night was real good at The Rack, i told Prino I would have a beer for him, it turned out to be a couple of long trail double bags. I think that's what made dinner better.


One little edit. I saw a furry little critter that i took some pics off on sunday. I was wondering if it was the fabled Sugarloaf Yellow nosed vole or some kinda mouse or what? It had a rather long tail. Any critter experts out there?

"Long Trail Double Bags" Now that's an interesting title for a beer! Who brews 'em?... Tasty I'll bet. I'll try to be there for the next one.

As for the Yellow Nosed vole... I think you were a little mixed up with the description.....in your picture it reads "he's got a long tail"
Actually if you look closely, you will see that it's not his tail but his(yes it is a male) Probiscus.
Because my friend, you have taken a picture of the extremely rare, infamous Carabassett Yellow Rumped Unicorn Winter Bat.
You were lucky to get a shot of it, as they move extremely fast. Travelling backwards using those little bent claws at either side of the "beak".
I'm sure someone else will recognize the little blighter and give us some more interesting facts!

Nice Pics by the way.

 

[Pete_Hickey]

Sue! That was YOU on the hike on Saturday? I didn't have my glasses, and couldn't see, you know.... Well then, it was a pleasure hiking with you.

David: Great pictures. I especially love all of those of that little guy. I bet the kids will too.