3/10/14 Demeritt Forest Redux

Our friend Faith had not done these trails so we returned with her and her dogs Roxie and Gus. Not quite as warm as yesterday- stayed in the twenties but sunny and little wind so it was comfortable. This time we started from the Logan Rd. entrance and you can see our route on the map above. Once again the footing was good and we avoided the icy section of Sewall Rd. The dogs all seemed to enjoy themselves with Roxie doing her usual zipping around and Gus and Kelley doing lots of sniffing of whatever.

Once again I mostly failed at  to get pictures of the dogs I liked- contrasty light and lots of movement. Some pictures of the trails and Gus.

A pretty day in the woods and a good hike.  2 hours 

3/9/14 Demeritt Forest

Beautiful sunny day though not as warm- did not get out of the twenties. We started from the end near the Forest Service yard and found mostly excellent footing of packed snow and for the most part trails that had once been groomed. I won't try to describe our route which you can follow on the map above. One goal was to do the small loop on the Black trails we skipped last time and we did that today. We also followed Spring Road out, which we had not done this year. After the Blue Trail junction the road is not groomed and there has been some timber harvesting which made it less attractive. Part of Sewall Rd. was not groomed but has a nice packed path so not a problem- the section nearer the entrance had apparently been plowed rather than groomed and so had no snow base and was icy- really the only ice we encountered.

Some pics of the trails

Turned out to be a very pleasant hike. We met one woman walking but no other people which was surprising for such a nice Sunday. 2  1/2 hours 

3/8/14 Little River Trail

A beautiful day- mostly sunny with some clouds in the middle- 27 degrees when we started and 42 when we finished. Our friend Mary went with us and Kelley liked that she did. We started from the Water District office end of the trail. This is an interesting trail in that it is in the city of Belfast but except for a road crossing you are mostly in the woods and not aware how close you are to all the city stuff.

This is the No. 1 reservoir next to the Water District office and parking lot.

The first part of the trail had a thin glaze of ice but was not bad with ice grippers. There was less ice as we progressed and also there had been less traffic and we theorized that was the reason for less ice. By the time we got to where we turned around there had been a lone walker and we had fluffy snow. We followed the trail along the river and reservoirs until it turns north away from the river and stopped for lunch before turning back. On our return the  trail conditions had improved as the rising temperatures softened the ice glaze. We met a woman and her dog on the way back but no one else the rest of the hike.

Some pictures from along the way

The spillway at the end of reservoir No. 2

A beautiful day and a nice hike. The moderate temperatures were a real treat after the frigid days we have endured.  3  1/4 hours 

3/7/14 Walden and City Forest

Beautiful sunny day - 24 degrees at the start and 34 when we finished. First time it's been above freezing in 12 days. After yesterdays somewhat arduous hike I decided we would have an easy one today. We started from the end of Tamarack Trail and found nicely packed snowy trails. Some of the sunny spots had a light glaze  but it was not a problem and we both were happy with the footing. We started toward the Loop Trail but Kelley wanted to take a side trail and I decided she could pick the route today since I didn't do such a great job yesterday. The trail she picked crossed the easement which has a snowmobile trail and she took us a short distance on that and then back to another trail that brought us back near where we had left the main trail. She took us on the Loop Trail to the rail bed and then to Main Road to Squirrel Trail and over to West Trail. When we came to the unnamed trail we take between West and the rail bed I decided we would take that- going forward would not get us back to our start. When we got to the rail bed, she took us to the south section of the Loop Trail and that back to the start. On this last section we met a neighbor and his dog Homer who is a friend of Kelley's and that made her happy.

Some pictures of the trails today.

A very nice hike on a beautiful day. Other than Paul and Homer we saw no one and it was peaceful. 2 hours

3/6/14 Sheepscot Headwaters Trails

A little warmer ( 12 to start and 24 at end) , sunny, and no wind. Decided to try the trails from Halldale Rd. to get to Hogback to see if we could find the other end of the trail we missed the other day coming from Walker Ridge Rd.. The trail up Whitten Hill had a nicely packed path and was easy walking.

The Northern Headwaters Trail had the same conditions and is a pretty trail

Problems began when we turned onto the Hemlock Hollow Trail. No recent traffic and it looked like a lone snowshoer in the past. They had not created a crust and it was a plod through snow from 10 inches and deeper to an occasional  knee deep lurch.

I decided to continue, hoping conditions would improve after we crossed Halldale but more likely on the Hogback connector. This turned out to be not the case. More tromping through snow. I fell several times when I hit deep pockets but the snow was soft. I did, however, rip the knee in my pants

Next chance was that people had done the Bog Brook Loop. Nope- more plodding

We got a short break when someone had followed the trail with some heavy machinery

After a very short distance they turned back into the woods and the rest of the hike was as it had been since we got on the hemlock. We have done several hikes here in winter and I have never seen the trails with this little use. It seemed that people had only used the Northern Headwaters Loop. Kelley did not seem bothered by the snow ( she did not sink as deep as I did ) and was enthusiastic throughout. When we reached the parking lot she headed back over to the trailhead. I had had enough. It had been pretty but somewhat arduous. 2  1/4 hours

3/5/14 Snowmobile Trails

Another cold one. Kelley woke me at 5:00 but I stalled 'till 9:30 when it got up to 9 degrees. I didn't want to go out and wanted less to drive somewhere, so it was out the back door and  down the easement to the snowmobile trails. Kelley was very enthusiastic, running ahead and ranging beside the trail sniffing out whatever had been around since the last time we were here. The trail was packed snow and easy walking with only a couple of icy patches on the open marshy area before Church Rd. At one point a narrow dirt road crosses the trail and I couldn't remember what was up there so we climbed the hill to find out.  It was a business of some sort - no name and no people. There was a large three door garage, a gas pump, several trailers, and this old truck.

Some of the other things we saw along the trail

We walked for about an hour and then turned around, making it a two hour hike. We didn't meet anyone and it was nice having it all to ourselves. I was not uncomfortable once I got warmed up. There have been many times when I did not want to hike but went anyway and always, at some point I think, " this was a good choice- I'm glad we came". 

3/4/14 From West Penjajawac Grasslands

Sunny and  12 degrees but less wind than yesterday.

The grasslands is a large meadow, reserved for ground nesting birds in summer. We walk along the edge to the start of a snowmobile trail that then gets you into the woods. I could not find a map so have cobbled together the one posted above which is approximate and incomplete. Kelley was excited about this hike as we had not been here in a long time so it was like a new one which she always likes. The footing was good for both of us with packed snow and very little ice.

 After crossing a small stream the trail forks and we took the right which after crossing a marshy area ( too wet in summer) we came to the old rail bed which was looking very wintry.

There are more marshy areas along the rail bed.

We explored a couple of side trails and then headed back to the snowmobile trails that took us out to the easement and to the left fork of the trail we had come in on.

Another pretty sunny day in the woods. 1  3/4 hours