2/2/14 Neighborhood

We woke to a couple of inches of new snow and a gray day. I shoveled the drive and then while waiting to hear from a friend decided on a brief walk around the hood. Shortly before Gracie's house, Kelley saw what she thought was Gracie ( an old friend )  in her yard and got very excited. I let her off her leash and she tore off down the road, only to stop short when she realized it was not Gracie. She had met Bentley but didn't know him well. Then Gracie also appeared in the yard and Kelley ran to greet her. Soon all three dogs were playing and we were pleased to see how well the three of them got on. They played hard for almost an hour. My pictures were disappointing- poor exposure-dark dogs and white snow - and not well focused -dogs in motion, but they give a sense of the time they had with each other.

Gracie

Bentley

 Getting tired.

Great fun for the dogs and we enjoyed watching them enjoy themselves. they all got a good work out.

2/1/14 Georges Highland Path

Warmer today- 29 when we started and 34 at the end- mostly sunny and little wind. We had not done the section of the trail from Walker Ridge Rd. to the Hogback Loop. For awhile it was closed due to timber harvesting ( they must have rerouted as we saw no evidence of it today) and then when we tried it anyway, it was very wet and difficult to follow. The last time we were on the Hogback Loop- from the Sheepscot end- we met a couple who had come from Walker Ridge and said it had not been a problem to follow. We found this to not be entirely true.

We parked by the Inland Fisheries Bldg. and walked to where the trail crosses the road- about 1/4 mile. The parking shown on the map is only available in summer. We passed the entrance to the snowmobile trail- We had taken that to Hogback in the past. There was a blue blaze as we entered the trail and then not any others. This was not a problem at first as the trail was obvious but it soon became confusing and after walking around looking for it we gave up ( even Kelley couldn't find it ) and headed toward what I thought was the road. We came out of the woods where the snowmobile trail crossed Rte. 220 and found our trail also across the road. From this point on the trail was well blazed. For some reason it had been laid out to take you up the side of the hill

and then back down

and up again

several times- just the trail if you wanted a real workout.  No one had been on the trail recently but the footing was not bad with no ice except for a couple of frozen streams

When we reached the Mountain Rd. it again became confusing. The map said we should come out at the end of the Hogback Loop but we have done that loop many times and know where it comes to the road. This was not that place. We walked a short ways on the road and what looked like another trail but the only thing I found familiar was the trail we had come in on long ago- there was still an animal skull tacked to a tree that I had photographed back then. We decide to leave the rest for another day and headed back.

One more hill on the way back

When we reached the road, we took the snowmobile trail back to Walker Ridge Rd. and on the way found that the GHP came to the trail we were on. We ignored it.

In spite of the confusion and the hills it had been a good hike. Pretty woods, quiet, pleasant temperature, and none of it a problem for Kelley.  2  1/4 hours

1/31/14 Newport-Dover-Foxcroft Rail-Trail

Gray and cold- 19 degrees- but supposed to warm up. By the time we got to the trail it was mostly sunny and that was nice. We expected the snow to have deteriorated and we would not have to share the trail with snowmobiles. But, even though only 35 miles north of home, they still had lots of snow ( more than we do)  and the trail was in good shape. We parked at the Irving and started south. After a short distance we crossed a bridge over the Piscataquis River.

The trail is mostly through woods, with some marshy areas.

You can see how nice the surface was- packed snow and no ice- very easy walking

A stream we crossed

There were a fair number of snowmobiles and one skate skier but no other walkers. Kelley seemed to enjoy the nice surface but made occasional forays into the deeper snow and sometimes walked in it. After about an hour and a quarter we turned around. We did one short exploration of a side trail that Kelley wanted to do but it led us to a large field and then toward someones house. I did see these trees I liked

One weed

A pleasant hike even with the snowmobiles- it warmed up to 29 by the time we finished and it was nice to have not a speck of ice to deal with  2  3/4 hours

1/30/14 Sheepscot Headwaters

Cold but sunny and no wind ( it warmed up to the twenties) . Still unsure about parking we had three possible hikes in the Montville area , thinking we would be able to do one of them. Our first choice had a parking lot and the entrance was clear. We hiked up the hill to the Northern Headwaters Trail and found it had received use by both hikers and skiers. Good footing, with packed snow and very little ice

There are a number of old stone fences in the area and these are in pretty good repair.

We turned off on the Hemlock Hollow Trail and found, at first , that no one had used it since the last snow

After awhile a single set of ski tracks appeared  from the woods, went on for awhile, and again left the trail. We were back on unused trail. The footing was also good with snow over a firm crust. These trails are well blazed and easy to follow. Also, Kelley is very good at following trails and if she is ahead all I have to do is follow her.

We took the Hogback Connector to the Bog Brook Trail which was , at first unused

but just before the spur trail there were tracks from another hiker who had come that far and then turned around and they went on to just after the trail crossed the stream. There we got off the trail and sat by the frozen marsh for our lunch. We followed the Bog Brook to the Whitten Hill and took that back to our start.

A nice hike. Comfortable temperatures and pretty peaceful woods- we met no one and heard no sounds of civilization. Kelley had no difficulty with the terrain, though there was no water for her to get into.  2  3/4 hours

1/29/14 City Forest

About 12 degrees but with sun and little wind. Back to the forest because we went with a friend and her two dogs and she wanted to go- she also has four wheel drive and studded tires ( see yesterdays post ) . We walked the West Trail to it's end and the the rail bed to an unnamed trail back to the West Trail. The footing was mostly good with some easily got around icy patches on the West and a little rougher footing on the rail bed- nothing really bad. The dogs all seemed to enjoy the outing. Roxie was very energetic, running all over the place as usual. Gus did his exploring thing and Kelley mostly stayed close to us. I didn't take my camera out once so no pictures. An enjoyable hike 1  3/4 hours

1/28/14 City Forest

Ten degrees and the rain from yesterday is now a coating of ice. We thought our best choice was City Forest. It was icy, cold, and windy but the sun was out. My Stabilicers  worked fine and the walking wasn't bad. Kelley doesn't like ice either and she also did OK, detouring around patches of the very slick variety. We  took the West Trail and met two women, with their dogs, that we had met before and the dogs had all got along. Today Kelley hung back to avoid them even though they were friendly toward her. No idea what that was all about. At the end of West we got on the old rail bed and took that to the trail we had used yesterday to get back to West. Just outside the parking lot we met Pete and Cadie a new friend of Kelley's . Cadie is till a pup and has a lot more energy but Kelley played for awhile

Kelley decided to rest and Cadie continued to try to get her playing again.

Pete and Cadie went on their hike and we went to the car. The road from the parking lot is up a hill and it was very icy. Part way up I lost traction, the car started sliding back, did a complete turn, and I was head back to the lot. On the second attempt, I again slid back but this time into the snow beside the road and I was stuck. A nice man stopped to try to help but couldn't get enough traction to pull me out- it took him several tries to get his truck up the hill. We tried sand and branches but no luck- then Pete came by and he had a phone to call a tow truck which is how I finally got up the hill. A 1  1/2 hour hike and about the same time to get up the hill.

1/27/14 Demeritt Forest

Gray and cold ( 19 degrees ) with a forecast of snow and rain and a high of 41 high tomorrow of 14 degrees.  Strange weather continues. We first drove to the trails near Perch Pond but still could not get in the parking lot or find a place off the road for the car. OK, back to Demeritt Forest where we were able to park a few days ago. As we drove, freezing rain started, making it difficult to see but it stopped by the time we got to the forest. We followed the path indicated above with the idea of sorting out the Black Trails at the other end. We were able to follow the map to the first major intersection of those trails and thought we were doing well until it started to rain ( lightly) and we turned back leaving the rest for another day.The rain remained light and we met a couple with three dogs and that made Kelley happy. The walking was mostly pretty good as there had been a fair amount of use. The Black Trail had the least use and was more of a slog. They seemed to have got more snow they we had. It was pretty with the latest snow still on the trees.

So, a pretty good hike- damp but not soaked- the rain became heavier on the drive home. Kelley seemed to like it and spent a lot of time sniffing around- the snow did not seem to be a deterrent.  2 hours