Winter Trek '08

Ahh, the semi-annual snowy trek to the frozen backwoods of Katadhin. What a trek, indeed! We had to part with Evvie into Grammy's capable hands for four heart-aching days, but the picturesque landscape and greuling fatigue made the parting tolerable.
After a late night in downtown Millinocket, the Baxter Expedition team assembled our sleds as the sun came up beautifully on the snowy peaks. It was a lovely day with temperatures starting in the zero range and increasing into the teens as we made our way into the park on our 13 mile trek to the Roaring Brook Campground.

We stopped for lunch after making it the 4 miles to the Togue Pond gate and rounding the corner for the grueling steady uphill climb of 8 miles. Hallie & I started moving again before the rest of the group in order to stay warm. We were afforded a lovely unobstructed view of the south face of Pomola, the Knife Edge and Baxter, as we began the long trudge.

After a startlingly-quick 6 1/2 hour ski, we emerged at the bunkhouse with our spirits and endorphins high. We unpacked, settled in for cribbage and cocoa as we planned the next few days. The snow moved in overnight and fell about four inches before changing over to rain for President's day. We had a good warm cabin from the woodstove, but everything else we either packed in or filtered.

After a breakfast of egg burritos, we took advantage of a light break in the weather to break trail to Sandy Stream Pond and South Turner Mountain- just a couple of miles skiing without sleds. I felt incredibly light not dragging 40+ pounds of gear behind me.

It quickly became apparent that we weren't going to be able to smash a new trail through four feet of snow up the mountain, so after a bit of clowning around, we headed back to the pond for some overcast views of the North Basin. Then it was back to camp for some smoked Gouda and crackers. Bob made the most delicious Pad Thai that night so our stomachs could revel while our muscles rested.


The next morning we got up early for a climb to Chimney Pond.
The trek got more cloudy as we climbed the 1500 feet into the cloudy snow squalls. Most of the crew wore our skis and struggled up the icy path, but Hallie sensibly did the climb in snowshoes. The snow depth was 5'3" at the snow gauge that the rangers set up near the pond.



As a comparison, here's a photo I took at Chimney Pond two summers ago.

When it was time to come down, the skiing was fast and furious! The grade near the top was so steep that after a few high-speed crashes, I had to walk down a ways to where the skiiing was more controllable. I'm still recovering from some major falls.

Here's the fearless expedition team moments before departing back to the "real world".

All in all, it was an amazing trip. The food was amazing and plentiful, the company was ebullient, and the scenery was delicious. We were all a bit sad to pack up our sleds on day four, but a few hours down the trail and I was ready to hit the cars, the bills, the work, and the tug of our regular home life.