3/18/14 Glenburn Snowmobile Trails

Warmer- 16 when we started, sunny, and less wind- pretty good hiking weather. Decided our best bet was still snowmobile trails so we headed for nearby Glenburn - a little over 6 miles from home. We parked at the closed store on Hudson Rd. and hiked to Pushaw Lake and back. The trail was well packed snow which made for easy walking. Kelley mostly stayed on the trail as off trail she would sometimes break through the crust to still quite deep snow.

A marshy area along the trail

Pushaw Lake

A pretty nice hike on a beautiful day. Again, we met no one until on the way back we stopped to talk to the man cutting lumber in the woods near the start- Kelley ran over to greet him as she had before. 2  3/4 hours 

3/17/14 Snowmobile Trail

I cannot trace our route after we took the fork toward Glenburn.

Sunny with some wind and cold- 4 degrees when we got up- I stalled 'till it was 9. Trails are still iffy but someone took their snowmobile down the easement behind our house and the track was nice and firm so we decided to take that. Once we got to the actual trail it was wider and still good footing with only a couple of very small patches of ice. The wind was not as strong as yesterday but still biting in the open areas.

Kelley found a toy

This is not the most scenic trail , especially the first part but we did pass this farm

Eventually you veer off the easement and get into some woods

We came to a fork with a sign saying "New Trail" and indicating Bangor or Glenburn- we headed toward Glenburn. The trail continued through woods for a bit and then came to a trail we had been on before ( and had passed earlier) .

We followed it to the same place we had reached in the past

and turned back, staying on that trail rather than getting back on the "new trail ". We linked up with the trail we had come in on we headed back.

And I found a few more pictures

In spite of the cold a pretty nice hike- good footing, beautiful blue skies, sun and we met no one, making it a peaceful 3 hours .

3/16/14 City Forest

"Mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 20's. West winds 15 to 20 mph with gusts up to 35 mph." This turned out to be an accurate forecast . We decided to try City Forest but when we got to the road going down to the parking lot we use we found it had not been plowed. That meant parking at the top and walking across the broad meadow that leads down to the beaver pond. The wind across here made me think of turning back it was so cold.

Down the back side of the hill

There had been a little use but the track was frozen so pretty lumpy walking. Kelley was mostly supported by the crust so it was OK for her.


Once we got on the West Trail and were out of the wind it was comfortable but the track was still rough 

At the end of West we found that the rail bed had had a skier but no walkers

The Main Rd. had also not been plowed and had only a lone ski track so we returned on the trail we had come in on.

Back by the beaver pond Kelley found some water

Going back up the hill to parking.

It was just as cold on the return trip. We had seen no one on our hike- unusual for a Sunday. It had been a challenging hike- more for me than Kelley, though she did pretty much stay close and on the trail. 2 hours 

3/15/14 Downtown and Neighborhood

Woke up to light  rain, stalled for awhile but it continued so we went downtown for a walk. I let Kelley pick the route but she was apparently not very excited about the rain and the slushy sidewalks either and took us on a short loop back to the car. I only took one picture

Later in the day it cleared for awhile before it started raining again and we went for a walk around the neighborhood. Bentley and Gracie were available for a little playtime and that made Kelley happy.


Bentley has a lot of energy

 Gracie taking a break

Bentley, Kelley, and Gracie

Taking a break

Back home to clear the ice away that the graders had left in front of the drive. Supposed to get cold again tonight and below freezing the next few days so we anticipate more ice for tomorrows hike. Bah!

3/14/14 Neighborhood

Yesterday was another snow storm and Kelley went to the nursing home to visit the oldsters. This morning it was cold ( 9 degrees) but with bright sun and no wind. I had used a neighbor's snow blower to clear the largest part of the snow yesterday afternoon so I only had to shovel a couple of inches this morning. No   snow mobiles had been on the easement behind the house- I went through knee deep snow to check it- so that was out and other trails were also going to be a problem so we just went for an hours walk around the neighborhood.

A few pictures of the hood

Kelley enjoys being out walking anywhere and she also likes people and gets to greet all of them that are out clearing their drives. Lots of talk about the weird winter we have had and which continues as the forecast for tomorrow is 40 degrees and rain.

Back home

3/12/14 Marsh Island

Gray but mid 30's. Winter storm forecast for this afternoon through Thursday so we wanted to get a hike in  in the morning. This turned out to be a bit of a surprise. We started from the Hill St. end and it started out fine, with nicely packed snow with good footing. ( Pink on the map above )

But soon the trail became obscured by some timber harvesting and tracks from large machines. We could see more extensive logging off to our left so we went right looking for the trail or a blaze. This was bushwhacking through  fairly deep soft snow. We did not find the trail or blazes but there there were multicolored flags all scattered all over which was not helpful. But  we came upon a pond we had not seen before and there was open water which Kelley took advantage of.

The area around the pond was quite marshy so we tried back toward the more extensive logging.

We walked along the edge for a bit but still could not locate the trail and gave up and  started bushwhacking back  the way we had come and eventually found the trail that took us back.

We then drove over to the trailhead at the end of Penobscot St. to see if that was also torn up. It was not and we again had a nice trail. ( orange  on the map)

Which we followed through Peter's Field

and on over to the river. I got a couple of pictures

While Kelley waited patiently

From the river we headed back to our car- it had started to snow very lightly. We took the little alternate trail near the end and that was also in good shape. The first part of the hike had been disappointing but the second part was fine. It might be worth exploring westward from the trail we were on to see how large is the logging area. 1 1/4 hours for first part and 3/4 hour for the second. 

3/11/14 City Forest

We got an inch or so of new snow and it was gray,  dreary.mid 30's , and on and off light drizzle. I was also feeling a bit under the weather so we just went to nearby City Forest . The walking was not bad as there was just enough snow to cover icy patches. We started from the parking lot off Kittredge Rd. and walked  the  West Trail.

 Kelley was very interested in all the smells to be checked out so we didn't move very quickly.  At the end of West  we met a woman with her dog Millie and, after a brief chat  two skiers. We then took the rail bed

 to the unnamed trail we use and took that back to West. That trail had had little use and was a bit more difficult- for me but not for Kelley.  As we neared the parking lot, Cadie came running down the trail to meet us and there was some brief play as Pete caught up. But as we chatted Kelley opted out of playing. and had a rest.

It had been an OK hike in spite of the weather and my matching mood.  1  3/4 hour