3/29/14 Snowmobile Trails

Rained most of yesterday so was afraid the trails would be mushy. But the trail behind the house was in pretty good shape so we took that. Still quite a bit of snow in spite of the rain. Stepping off the trail put me in about a foot of snow.

Kelley was not able to explore as she has because the crust no longer supported her either and walking off the trail was a struggle.

An old trail sign

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A couple of years ago, near where the map indicates 'Glenburn Connection' , we had explored near some abandoned buildings and found the other end of the memorial trail we could not find two days ago. The trails in that area have changed but we saw the buildings across a large field. Unfortunately no snowmobiles had gone in that direction and the snow was to deep to slog through so we gave up on that. 

We did take a trail that was the trail across Pushaw Rd. we had found two days ago and that would link us with the Glenburn trails but that was the confusing area and we will try that again another day.

It had been much warmer and a pleasant day- on the way back there were places on the trail where I broke through so some definite melting. A nice 3 hour hike 

3/28/14 Along the Kenduskeag

Thirty five degrees but gloomy gray with snow, freezing rain , and then plain rain forecast for today. I was concerned for Kelley after yesterday's ordeal and decided on easy and short, so it was an hour and a quarter walk along the Kenduskeag Stream. Kelley, however, seemed fine- no lameness and she was anxious to get in the car and be off.

Still lots of snow on the trail

Parts of the stream are starting to lose their ice and other parts are still ice covered.

A dead tree with either a dead or dormant vine encircling it.

Kelley at her ease

In spite of the gloomy weather - we had light snow and the rain came later- it was a pleasant little outing and enough for today. Tomorrow is supposed to be nicer and then several days of snow, sleet, freezing rain, and rain. 

3/27/14 Glenburn Misadventure

Sunny but 20 degrees and a bit windy. Wanted to explore the area of the end of the #2 trail we had passed up last time. Decided to give us more time by parking off Lancaster Brook Rd. where it looked like the snowmobiles had packed an area we could park on. I pulled off the road and almost immediately got stuck. Tried some sand I had in the trunk but it didn't work. Within just a few minutes a truck stopped on the road and then a car going in the opposite direction. Two women got out of each vehicle and came over. to help. They all got in front and pushed us right out. Yeah! Thank you ladies. We drove back to the store we usually park at and began from there.

The trails were still in very good condition and the woods still pretty.

We turned off on the memorial trail

and took it to what we thought was the fork leading off to the area we wanted to check out. . This quickly became a little used and rough trail

and then ended in a circle

Back to the main trail and continued on that, thinking we would at least find the other trail we didn't find the other day ( # 7) and complete that loop . The trail turned and followed some power lines and after awhile we were next to a neighborhood and lost.  We stopped a mailman but he was new on the route and not familiar with the area. He had a smart phone with GPS but apparently wasn't very familiar with that either and again couldn't point us in the right direction.

The smart thing would have been to just retrace our steps and return the way we had come but we decided to work out another way back, hopefully finding the #5 trail -- at no intersection or other place on these trail are there any signs or marks identifying the trails. After much wandering ( I'll spare you the details)  we found ourselves at Pushaw Rd. crossed it and found  the trail we had originally thought hooked up with the trails we do from home. It did! but would take us in the wrong direction. Back into the woods and we made a circle and ended up back where we had been. A little used side trail led us to a store and more directions that did not work out. We then walked beside the road to another business and a man who knew the trails- his uncle was the one the memorial trail was named after. He also told us the reason we had lost our way in the area we were exploring was that our map was old and that trail no longer existed.  I was worried about Kelley by this point and the easiest route would be to walk the road to the #5 trail, which we did and from that point we were no longer lost. Both of us had lost our enthusiasm for this hike and when we hit Hudson Rd. , walked it back to the store to save some distance.

This may have been our longest hike yet - 6  1/4 hours

3/26/14 Snowmobile Trail

Gray skies , 20 degrees , and some wind but only a few flakes of snow. We decided to get in a short walk before the big storm and just got on the easement behind the house that leads to a snowmobile trail and walked that.  Nice footing of hard snow without ice. Kelley slowed us down with all her exploring of various scents- she was able to wander all over the place because the crust supported her well. She is also unfazed by the wind and cold. We walked to Church Rd. and turned around- much nicer returning with the wind at our back rather than in our face. Only a little over an hour but the girl got some exercise.

I even took a couple of pictures

And Kelley waited patiently as I did.

It's now 7:30 and we have yet to get more than a few flakes of snow and I don't think the wind has been as strong as predicted. Supposed to be sunny tomorrow and if we don't get the snow, it should be a nice day for a hike.

3/25/14 Glenburn Trails

This is the forecast for tomorrow so we wanted to get in a good one today.

Wednesday Snow. Blowing snow. Snow may be heavy at times. Visibility one quarter mile or less at times. Snow accumulation of 4 to 6 inches. Windy with highs in the upper 20s. North winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 35 mph...increasing to 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph in the afternoon. Chance of snow near 100 percent.

Wednesday Night Blowing snow in the evening. Mostly cloudy with snow showers in the evening...then mostly clear after midnight. Visibility one quarter mile or less at times in the evening. Additional light snow accumulation. Windy with lows around 12. North winds 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph...becoming northwest 10 to 15 mph with gusts up to 40 mph after midnight. Chance of snow 90 percent.

Mix of sun and clouds, about 20 degrees , and a little wind. We decided to try the trail that had given us problems last time we hiked it because some logging had obscured the trail and we ended up way off track.

The trails were in great shape- well packed with good footing and no ice. These trees have, however suffered from this winter's weather

Kelley was very enthusiastic and was ranging farther afield than usual.

When we reached the logged area today there were men there and they showed us where the snowmobile trail continued and we followed there good instructions 

Another bridge Kelley would not cross

She went down into the gully and up the other side. Only because the crust was strong enough to support her.

The trail ended at the lake and a sign told us to proceed at our own risk

We also looked for the trail that went south and then turned a couple of times to come back to the trail we had come in on. We could not find it but had passed  a memorial trail and thought that was part of the rectangle and went back to try it.

We eventually reached a fork and thought that was the intersection of '2' and '7' on the map- there are not markers on the trails. But we had to leave that exploration for another day and turned back. I think the # 2 branch would take us to the extension of the  trails we do from our house. We will find out next time. 

Leftover conifer

We returned the way we had come and here are almost back

We got in a good hike - 3  1/2 hours . Other than the logging people we met no one and it was quite pleasant weather-wise. 

3/24/14 City Forest

Cold and a bit of wind, but sunny. Four degrees when we got up and I stalled 'till it was up to twelve. The West Trail had a narrow but well packed path for pretty good walking .

Heading north on the rail bed there were only some old ski tracks but the crust mostly supported me. Soon the ski tracks disappeared but we continued on until I started to break through the crust in places and we turned back.

When we left the rail bed, Kelley wanted to take Main Rd. That and the Loop Rd. were alternately bare earth and patches of ice and snow. Back on the West - a lonely old leaf

We had met no one until we were almost back to the car when we met a woman and her young dog. It was not aggressive but barking and jumping around a lot and Kelley did not engage it in play. We then met a couple and their dog that Kelley knows and she ran to greet them. An invigorating hike. The woods are still pretty and the footing had been pretty good.  2 hours

3/23/14 Walker Ridge Area

Still a problem finding places to hike. Decided on the roads at Walker Ridge. The game management people have a building  there so there is parking. Just beyond there are no vehicles ( except snowmobiles) allowed in winter- in summer I think they are mainly logging roads. We decided to walk the roads, which were nicely packed by the snowmobiles, and see if we could find the short trail that runs off of one of the roads and up Frye Mtn. and also check to see if the Frye Mountain Trail crossed the road we thought it did on a previous hike.

It had been gray when we left home but had mostly cleared when we arrived and was 34 degrees with a bit of wind. Right at the start we met a couple with their young children and then right after a snowmobile. We walked  past where the trail we were looking for should have been, to a gate and then turned around. I'm not sure where we were on the road, hence the question mark. The footing was excellent but it had been fairly hilly so we got a good work out. We took a short detour at an intersection to check out the trail crossing - we had been correct- and then continued our walk back. We had seen no one since the people at the start and then near the end a second snowmobile and a couple walking with a dog.

I only took pictures of the roads today.

It actually cooled some- down to 30 by the end but had been a beautiful day with the sun and the snow. I had expected lots more traffic on a pretty Sunday  but we mostly had it to ourselves and that was nice. Kelley seemed to enjoy the nice footing as I did.  2  1/2 hours

3/22/14 Demeritt Forest

About 30 and overcast with another winter weather warning for this afternoon and tonight-- 3-5 more inches of snow predicted. Hoping for better than yesterday we elected to try the forest which had been good last time we were here. Logan Rd. had not been groomed as it had last time but the surface, though a bit rough , was firm. Before we were out of sight of the parking lot Kelley got excited and stated barking. I could see another car in the lot and soon a man and his dog.

Kelley and Yogi

We walked along with them until the trail intersection and we took the green and they the blue. The trails had also not been groomed but were smoother with good footing. You can trace our route on the map above.

The Sewall Rd. section was the roughest but If I stayed in prior tracks I did not break through often. The Black Trails were good as were the rest that we took, avoiding a return to Sewall.

I recently read that dogs have an excellent memory for place and this seems to be true for Kelley. There are trails on which we stop for our apple or for lunch at the same place. She always go directly to them. On the Red Trail there is a bench where we have had lunch a couple of times and today she beat me to it .

This tree seemed to be watching us

Waiting for me to take a picture, again

It got darker as we hiked but did not start to snow and the temperature was comfortable with no wind. The footing was mostly good for me and all good for Kelley as the crust supported her even off the trail. We met no one after our initial encounter and it was very peaceful - a good hike.  3 hours