1/19/14 Demeritt Forest

Gray morning with snow forecast. Ice is still a problem but at many trail head there is also the problem of parking the car. There are either snow banks that prevent you getting your car off the road or if there is a lot it's not plowed. I decide on nearby Orono as there are several places we hike. I printed out maps for three of them , hoping one would work out. When we left home there was very light snow but it increased in volume as the day progressed. As it turned out the first place we tried had a small parking lot that was clear. A man sitting in his car told us it was cleared because it's also a school bus turn around.

It was icy but I put on my grippers which worked well and if I stayed in the center of the trail where there had been use the surface supported me.  We started down Logan Rd

Which we took to the Blue Trail and that to the Red

A small pine getting more snow, The snow intensified as we hiked and made the woods very pretty.

One of Kelley's endearing habits is to decide to join me while I'm preparing to take a picture and ruin the shot. She also jumps into the middle of nice reflections in water but she improved a couple of those.

We followed the Red Trail to it's end at the forest service yard and then turned back. This nice bench gave us a spot to have our apple

When we reached the White Trail we turned off on it, it can be very wet and we were hoping for frozen- it was not bad and I only broke through a few places and kept my feet dry.

I missed the turn of the trail and continued on, coming out at a point different from where I thought we were- this end of the trail has always confused me. We started down what I thought was a road that would lead to a circle of the Black Trails

But it soon turned into a very narrow trail that wound through the woods and eventually led us to a large field near Stillwater Ave. - way off track. We backtracked ( the snow made it easy) and found Sewall Rd.  (we were back on track) which took us to the Yellow Trail

and that to Logan Rd. and toward our start.

Almost back

When we reached our car we walked a short distance down the road

to a spot where we could get to the river. There is a lot of water on this side of the river bank and Kelley decided to break through some ice to get to it. There had been little water today

The snow was now so heavy I could not photograph the other side of the river

Back to the car. I had not been optimistic about our chances today but we ended up with a very nice hike . It had stayed around 30 degrees with no wind. The woods were beautiful with the snow and we had them all to ourselves.  3 hours

1/18/14 Walden Parke

Gray,  cold , dreary. Rain and snow in the forecast. Kelley did not seem her usual self last night after yesterday's hike  - it had not been that long in terms of time but we had been able to move at  a pretty good clip and probably walked more miles than usual. So, today would be an easy one at nearby Walden.  I checked the way down from the parking area and it was very icy and the trail ahead also looked icy. I put on my ice grippers and we were off. The first part of the trail was fairly rough, in addition to icy but once we got on the main part of the loop trail it was better. Still icy but more even and the middle part supported my weight so with the ice grippers not bad at all.

When  we reached the rail be we talked with a man on a bike who was also trying to find descent trail conditions and compared notes. We continued on the rail bed with conditions similar to the Loop Trail. We continued on the rail bed to the area where the snowmobile trail comes in and then turned back and got on the other side of the Loop. Again, not bad if you didn't mind the ice.

Kelley had a hard time finding water she could get to and this was the best she could do.

When we got back to the parking lot a couple and their pup were just getting out of their car and Kelley ran over to greet them. They liked her "full body wag" and gave her some attention and the dogs got to meet. This all made Kelley happy. The hike had been better than anticipated and i was glad we had come ( I had contemplated another cup of coffee and staying in) . 1  1/2 hours

1/17/14 From Dover-Foxcroft

Gray morning with possibility of rain. Hesitant to drive very far, only to find icy trails. Decided to try the rail-trail that runs from Dover-Foxcroft to Newport ( 26 miles ) . In the past we have done it from both ends- of course, not the whole trail. We parked at the Irving and I looked at the trail and it looked pretty good. Even though only 35 miles north of us , they had a lot more snow. A trail continues on ( east?) and since we had never done that decide to try it. The trail was firm , solid , and not slippery- best conditions we have had in ages. Kelley was also happy as she gets excited when we do a trail she hasn't done before. This would prove to be a trail with a lot of variety. The trail first passes a marshy area with perhaps ponds- it was hard to tell with the snow and ice.

And the briefly into woods

and out of the woods and through the back of the town , crossing several roads, and neighborhoods.Not exactly the experience we were hoping for.

from beside someone's yard

then we were back in the woods but not far off the trail was a gigantic timber operation. It went on for acres and was loud. We would get glimpses of huge piles of trees so I climbed a snow bank to get this picture of a tiny part of the operation.

A runner came from behind us and stopped to give Kelley some attention. She said the trail used to go through nice woods but had had to be rerouted. She was also happy with the footing and said it was greatly improved from yesterday because of the small amount of snow they got last night.

We continued on with more woods and  these nice birches

And then came to a series of very large fields.

and then more woods . Kelley had not been able to find much water she could get at and actually broke through some soft ice to get in here- unusual behavior for her.

After crossing a road the trail  looked like an old rail bed

We had not seen any snowmobiles to this point but then a group of five passed us- we didn't see any more the rest of the hike.  It was time for us to turn around but we may return and start from one of the roads we crossed, skipping the town stuff at the beginning and the timber lot. On the way back we got some light rain but not enough to make me uncomfortable.

Near the end Kelley really wanted to get to water and ventured out on the ice- again, not something she usually does. You can see she is a bit tentative.

Well an unusual hike but the excellent footing and easy walking made up for some of the other aspects. Kelley had really liked it with lots of running ahead, which she does when excited. 3 hours

1/16/14 City Forest

Gray and mid 30's but no wind and not raining. Decide to just go to the nearby forest as trail conditions remain poor.This is the start of West Trail-less snow but what there is has a nice icy glaze.

We mainly wandered around, exploring side trails. Some were pretty good and some not so. There were  pools of water around and Kelley was into one within 10 minutes of our start. The pictures I took of her were badly out of focus. At one point in our wanderings we ended up on East Trail ( which we never hike) and I was confused about the direction we were heading. Luckily we met a woman and her dog Daisy and they set us straight. We ended up walking along with them for awhile and that was pleasant. We then headed off on another side trail - the worst yet as the crust often failed and there was water beneath some of it and there  were also small streams that had overrun their banks making large wet areas. We did some bushwhacking to avoid the worst sections of water on top of  ice and headed back . Not the greatest hike but it felt good to be out and Kelley was happy as usual.  2  1/4 hours

1/15/14 Newman Hill-Hinds A misadventure

A nice day but there still seems to be ice everywhere. This was a try at another place. The start up Taylor Rd. was encouraging- no ice- even a little muddy. We decide to try the ski trail toward the bog but that turned out to be difficult rough icy surface. Back on the road/rail bed we again came to ice covered snow.

Still, if I stayed in the middle it wasn't too bad. Then we took the short trail to Pine Pond- still frozen

When you are back to the road/ rail bed it gets a bit confusing. The map shows the rail bed curving off to the east but there is a trail that looks much more like a rail bed that goes straight ahead- the part that curves looks like a woods road. We went straight ahead.

There was less snow and pretty good walking. And then there was no snow

and I found this lichen

This trail proved to be very variable as we came to a very wet section that we were barely able to skirt ( ponds on either side and probably impassable in spring) and then heavy snow and lots of blow downs.

At this point we turned back. When we came to an unmarked side trail- not on either map I had- Kelley wanted to take it so we did. At first it wasn't bad.

but soon we were in a marshy area with crust that broke leaving me in water above my boots. Of course, none of this was a problem for Kelley. We came to another trail which I thought I knew but I was wrong. After awhile we were in even worse conditions.  There were some of the blue diamonds they use to mark the ski trail but no one had been on the trail and that was suspicious. We crossed a beaver dam that I thought we had seen on a previous hike and now I could hear traffic. Thinking we were near Forest Ave., we head for it with the plan of taking the road back. It was not Forest Ave. but the interstate. OK, I had never been near the interstate on any of many previous hikes here- no idea where we were. The trail continued, roughly parallel to the highway and we were still seeing those damn blue diamonds. It got even wetter with water several inches deep on top of ice. Finally we came to a road I hoped was Forest Ave, but it didn't look right. I flagged down a couple who told us this was Kirkland Rd. in Old Town. We had been headed away from where we wanted to be. They asked where we had started and offered us a ride which we accepted.

Map of the area showing where we started and where we ended up. This is probably my worst display of a poor sense of direction.

Two hours after starting out we were back at our car and glad of it. I was wet to my knees and also quite dirty. Kelley was as she always is.

1/14/14 City Forest

Lower 40's and raining- supposed to be an all day thing so when it was only drizzle we went to get in a hike at the forest. We started from the parking lot and the short section of road to the West Trail was still icy. The trail itself was in much worse condition than when we were last here - rougher and a glaze of ice. The ice surprised me as it was above freezing and had been all night- I guess since it was light, the rain just froze when it hit the snow. Kelley didn't mind- the crust supported her but me only if I stayed in a narrow band in the center - so I put on my ice grippers and we continued. The grippers really made the ice OK

A couple of things on the icy snow

At the end of West we got on the rail bed. Still icy but not as rough. I still had to walk the path in the middle or break through- Kelley was fine.

Kelley found some water and got in but then realized she was surrounded by ice ( she doesn't like) and is looking for a way out.

After the intersection with the  Walden Loop Trail there had been less use of the rail bed and it became more of a plod. We took a trail back to the West Trail and headed back. We took a detour down to the beaver pond but it was frozen over with a little water on the ice in places.

But in the far corner where the water was flowing across the dam there was open water.

We had not met anyone on the trails but met a woman and her dog starting out as we reached the parking lot. In spite of the drizzle, ice, and rough footing not a bad hike. 2  hours

1/13/14 Little Long Pond

Still lots of ice around. We thought conditions might be better at Acadia because it's usually a few degrees warmer on the coast. As we neared the pond  we saw that there was still quite a bit of snow and that there was probably going to be  ice too. We parked by the gate on the other side of the pond rather than the usual parking lot because I was afraid the Friends Path might be icy. We walked across the end of the pond

to look at the West Side Trail ( which we usually do) but it was pretty icy and we decided to stick with the carriage roads.The pond was mostly frozen but in one corner was an open patch. Kelley tried to get to the water but the ice in front of her kept breaking and spooking her and she gave up.  Back to the east side of the pond and the road and fields were free of both snow and ice. This didn't last long and we were  soon having to pick our way around large patches of ice.

Added to this was a woman ahead of us with a male dog that kept coming back to us and wanting to hump Kelley. When we came to the trail across to Jordan Stream and the West side Trail I decided to give it a try as it couldn't be much worse than the carriage road. It turned out to be better- mostly snow with little ice.

Just before we reached Jordan Stream we came to another (or a branch of Jordan) stream. Kelley had earlier found a tiny stream that ran under the road but this was the real thing.

When we  came to the Jordan we found the bridge partly broken and snow covered. It looked too risky and we turned and returned to the carriage road. For some unknown reason, conditions on the road became much better with packed snow and very little ice. This was true until we came to the bridge across the stream , the bed of which which was solid ice.

looking over the side at the stream below.

After the bridge, conditions varied from good to patches of ice but mostly not too bad. We met one other woman with her little dog. She was also tired of the ice ( we have more rain forecast) and unhappy that the skiing was also ruined ( cross country skiers use the carriage roads ) . We continued on the roads to complete a circuit of the pond. Not the best conditions but a pretty day .  2  1/4 hours