Raw video of the pond with a loon who welcomed evening with his song. The rhythm section making the clicking noise you hear is comprised of some unusual barking frogs that lined this side of the pond.
Maine
Long Pond Family Trip – Baxter State Park July 2015
This impromptu family trip came together on just a few days planning. There was some time between the trip with the boys from Texas and my upcoming second attempt to put together a Baxter-IAT loop. Rather than sit home thinking about that looming over my head, a few days of relaxing at one of our favorite spots seemed like a great idea.
Whoops! Our spot, Long Pond Pines, was only available the second night, but we soldiered on by booking the Long Pond Outlet for the first. The plan called for starting from the trailhead near Trout Brook camp and looping around Trout Brook Mt counter clockwise. This trail was new to all of us, but we knew the distance was in our daughter’s range.
The trailhead seemed a bit confusing with three different trails leaving directly from the parking area. The girls actually started up the wrong trail that would have taken them straight up the mountain, but I caught them before they took more than a few steps.
The trail was moderately even with rolling ups and downs. It sees enough traffic from day hikers to keep it well trod and easy to follow. In one of the low sections we came across this beaver dam just up from the trail with a small pond forming behind it.
It was a warm and muggy day so we were happy to find the short side trail to our camp. There was plenty of room for tents at the site, but it didn’t seem as open to the breeze as the spot on the other side of the pond. We went topless to catch what breeze we could in the tent and to watch the stars.
Unlike previous trips where we paid for canoe use by the hour the ranger at the gate asked us for two days worth of fees. Since it was paid for I hiked over to where they are stored and paddled it back to our camp. Well first I made the mistake of exploring the pond a bit and had to fight a strong, afternoon headwind to get back to where the girls were. It has been a while since I paddled alone and the wind had some fun with me before I eventually returned to camp.
The outlet looked to be barely flowing, but the air was filled with the sound of frogs, birds and bugs. This looked like a great spot for a moose to wander through, but family trips tend to be a bit too noisy for them to get close.
Once the afternoon breeze died down the pond became like glass. I love the reflections the mountains leave in these ponds. It is hard not to feel peaceful when looking at the reflections and listening to nature’s music.
We went out for a family paddle in the morning. Then later when it was time to move camp the girls walked over while I took most of the gear in the canoe. It certainly seemed like a relaxing way to travel.
Speaking of relaxing the plants around the water’s edge were certainly easy on the eyes. That feeling didn’t extend to the ears though due to some unusual “barking” frogs that lined this side of the pond. I’ve never heard this particular sound before despite having camped at this pond several times previously.
Still it is hard not to feel at peace when looking at floating water plants. The girls spent some time splashing in the pond to cool off, but I was happy to just sit on the hill and soak in the day.
The roof was on the tent just in case, but furled to preserve the view. The Trail Ridge 3 is hard to fit between the roots at this site, but sleeping next to the pond is always restful.
Speaking of which, after a long hard day of play our daughter decided a nap was in order. Good thing she got her rest because the walk out the next day seemed a bit harder than the walk in. Maybe it was the heat, but we were all ready to be done by the time we reached the car.
Definitely worth the effort though! These moments when we all are out there together are so special. The downside is that my solo trips feel much more alone after one of these family adventures.
I’ll leave you with this quick video of moments from this family adventure. Hope you’ve had a chance to get out there with those you enjoy spending time with this summer. There is never enough time, but that is all the more reason to get out there when you can!
Upper South Branch and Pogy – Baxter State Park June 2015
As usual the boys from Texas came up looking for adventure in the wilds of Baxter State Park. Once a year they arrive freshly steamed from the south to enjoy our pleasant climate, eat lobstahs and try to find a mountain to make them appreciate their flatland home for another year. Time constraints forced us into an early date in mid June and we hit the trifecta as far as bugs go. The black fly bloom was at its peak, but there were already plenty of mosquitoes and deer flies as well.
The plan was actually quite tame compared to some years. We had reservations for two nights at the Upper South Branch LT in hopes of doing the Traveler Loop followed by two days of relaxing at the Pogy Pond LT.
We had great weather to start and enjoyed the relaxing two miles or so we had to hike in to our site. Mostly flat with a big ridge in the middle it provided lots of different views of the pond. This view is from the camp site looking at the ridge we came over which sits at the base of the main part of the mountain and would be the start of our climb the following day.
The lean to at Upper South Branch is advertised as having room for four, but it definitely is one of the smaller ones in the park. The boys used their tents as bivies while I hung my bug net. I had a tarp prerigged so it could easily be deployed if a storm came up overnight as was expected, but we left thing open to enjoy the view and the breeze.
Sunset brought a period of complete stillness as I often find to be the case in these mountains. No matter what afternoon breezes blow there seems to be at least a short period of rest before the evening comes on.
There had been talk of a front coming through over night, but the red in the sunset made me think perhaps it had fizzled out. We’d have to see what the morning brought because this loop would not be safe to do if wet. Things certainly seemed peaceful as dark fell.
That peace didn’t last too long though. During the night the wind began to blow through the trees with gusto. It wasn’t as loud as being in the White Mountains when the wind comes up, but it made for restless sleep. Morning dawned to wind driven clouds covering the mountain. We never really saw much in the way of rain where we were, but we could see the peaks were scraping the clouds and at times the entire mountain disappeared from view.
Being wise old men with slow healing bones the elder block voted to stay safely below and watch the storm roll by. The youngster was wise enough not to argue. Based on how slippery the rocks were on the Pogy Notch trail the next day I think we made the right choice. Later in the year there is enough traffic to wear some of the moss off, but even on level ground it was pretty slippery at times so I’d guess that ridge would have been mighty treacherous.
So we moved on to Pogy Pond on day three. The storm had moved on leaving lots of sunshine and a pretty strong breeze. The bugs were bad here as well, but the views were fantastic.
The wind made fishing a bit pointless so I kept up with the relaxation theme. Between swatting at bugs I found time to enjoy some of the good things Nature has to offer. These water plants had some very impressive blooms.
The pond also had some wild life. There were a lot of these giant tadpoles swimming about near the shore. I’m not certain if they are related to the booming bull frogs we heard later, but those sounded big as well.
The youngster studies bugs as part of his college program, but has a strong aversion to feeding them. He often relaxes completely covered from head to toe for protection. I tend to rely on swatting as much as possible so I don’t have to wear all those clothes.
We did have one bug issue I couldn’t abide by. There were a couple of wasp nests inside the lean to. I’m a pretty big stickler for following rules, but opted to be an outlaw in this case and sleep outside. The price was a vicious no-see-em attack on the second night, but I’d never have been able to sleep next to those wasps.
The boys took the canoe out for a spin and tried some fishing but the wind made both a bit challenging. Darn pretty place to paddle around though. I did some casting from a rock near shore, but the wind made it seem more like a comedy routine than fishing. 
I did get this shot of a huge dragon fly. Always happy to see these guys around as they love to eat mosquitoes. No wonder it was so big when you consider the food supply it had access to.
The wind finally calmed down towards the end of our last day. Watching the sun set light up the mountain without having to climb it seemed a bit too easy, but still wonderful to enjoy.
Not the trip we had planned, but so much more relaxing than our previous struggles with roaring floods and gravity. The talk is of trying to get back to more serious efforts next year, but to tell the truth, I’m ok with this style once in a while.
No posts. No apologies!
I’ve been feeling a bit guilty about the lack of posts, but I won’t say I’ve been feeling bad. Here are a few pictures from the three most recent trips. Too busy going on more adventures to do trip reports now so these will have to hold you over until I stay home long enough to catch up.
Late June Baxter trip with the boys from Texas
July trip with family to Long Pond in BSP
Solo seven day BSP/IAT loop
Just about to head out on another big trip in a few days. Hope you are getting out there too!
Trailspace Review Contest
Check out their post at the link below for details:
http://www.trailspace.com/blog/2015/07/01/win-elie-kayak-lavika-paddle.html
If you aren’t familiar with Trailspace they are worth a visit whether you are interested in writing reviews or just reading. Gear for most outdoor, back country activities is covered by real people with real experience using things in the real world. Check them out if you have a few minutes between adventures.
Acadia Family Day Hike
This post is all about the pictures. Enjoy!
Get out there with them while you can. They’ll be heading off on their own all too soon.
Spring Tent Testing
With a big storm forecast for overnight it seemed the perfect time to put a few tents through a serious rain test. I set up my last generation MSR Hubba which I use for most of my trips and the 10 year old TNF Tephra22 that has only been used for winter trips in the last 5 years or so. With 30 mph winds expected along with an inch or two of rain conditions were perfect for making sure these tents were ready for the upcoming back country season.
Both of these tents are free standing and I rarely use stakes when I take them out on trail. Considering the weather and the fact that they were both completely empty I opted for a full array of stakes on both of them for this test. I even staked out a few of the guy lines just to give them a fighting chance of still being there in the morning.
The storm came through over night as promised with some roaring winds and waves of downpours that just kept coming. By dawn the time between showers was getting longer and the winds were dropping a bit, but there was plenty of standing water in the low spots. Looking into the yard I noticed the vestibule of the Hubba had come loose from its stake, but other than that both tents were pretty much as I’d left them.
In between morning showers I pulled my boots on and went out to see the results. Looking into the Hubba I was very pleased to see there wasn’t as much as a drop of water to be seen. The floor and the bug netting were perfectly dry despite the fact that I’d pitched the fly for maximum ventilation rather than protection.
Feeling optimistic I peeled back the fly on the Tephra and tried to see through the bugnet door, but couldn’t quite make out what I was seeing. Once I opened the door it was clear there was definitely water inside. It was pooled around the edges though the floor looked as though it had drying wet spots throughout. The fly was pitched to more than adequately protect the inner tent so I can only assume it has lost its waterproof qualities. Having only been out in the snow with it I had no idea, but now I’ll have to do some further testing to see exactly what the issue is and what can be done about it.
Rather than sit around going crazy waiting for the trails to dry I like to keep busy making sure I have everything ready for the season. If you’re waiting out mud season yourself, or even if you aren’t, now is a great time to do some testing at home. Making sure your gear works as expected and refreshing your skills at using it can be time well spent, leaving you a better shot at a trouble free trip down those paths less traveled by
Turn Turn Turn
The planet circles the sun, Winter melts away to Spring, the cycle continues. Some follow arbitrary dates on a calendar, but by that measure Spring arrived several hefty snow storms and a lot of frozey nights ago. My thoughts may have turned towards planning Summer adventures, but I’ve kept my Baffins close and my long legged base layers closer even if it is April.
Now though I think we are ready to really turn the page. The snow has gone and returned more than once, but I’m pretty sure we’ve seen the last of the last of it. So much so I officially declared a change of season yesterday and held the changing of the baskets ceremony for my hiking poles. The big snow baskets that have kept me from poking in too far all during the snowy months have served their purpose. Keeping them on into mud season is risky, as those same over sized baskets mired in the Spring muck can pull a man under if he doesn’t know when to let go.
I stay off the trails for a few weeks this time of year to let them dry a bit. When I do go back out I’ve learned to test suspicious looking spots with a pole before putting a boot into them. I’ve had what looked to be an inch of mud take my leg to the knee and have had trust issues ever since. Still, a pole will do you no good if it gets stuck so having the right baskets for where you are headed is worth taking a moment to consider. Boots too for that matter heh. Mud season is no time for minimalist shoes as far as I’m concerned. Mesh uppers breath well in the Summer heat, but breathing mud is another matter.
We are getting a late start on our change of season up here. Yours may be well under way, but whatever you’ve got going on outside your door today I hope you are making plans and getting ready to get out on what adventures the coming seasons bring. It will be time to put those Winter baskets back on before you know it so don’t miss a single chance to get out somewhere less traveled by
Winter Packs
Winter packs are very different from the packs we carry the rest of the year. Mine definitely are at least. It can be the same physical backpack, but the things that need to be carried are so different that it really changes the whole concept of how the pack is used.
The most obvious difference is all the extra gear that needs to be carried outside the pack; shovel, snowshoes, spikes, skis, ice axes… Most of these are things you need easy access to at times you need to use them, but they need to be secured in a way they won’t be lost in the snow. Sharp edges mean you have to be extra careful that they don’t cut themselves free of whatever is holding them on, other gear or the pack itself. Even with all that going on you still want to have access to things inside the pack too. It really can become a puzzle to figure it all out, but putting some thought into it ahead of time certainly pays off when you’re wading through deep powder and won’t find a dropped item til spring.
My pack changes a lot on the inside as well for winter. Most of the year, in terms of cubic inches, I’m carrying more food than anything else. In winter that changes as insulation takes up so much more space. Normally I bottom carry my sleep system, keeping food and sleep clothes in the main compartment and most everything else in side pockets. The winter pack flips that around with the top quilt needing about twice as much space as the Ventra, extra clothes and of course puffy outer insulation for camp. These items take over the main compartment with additional insulation such as hats and multiple types of gloves invading the side pockets. Food, stove, fuel and insulated mug get relegated to the bottom pouch, but since so far the trips are all really short that hasn’t been an issue.
What has been an issue I’ve found is odd moments of confusion. Normally I instinctively know where every item in my pack is without hesitation. Everything always goes where it belongs until used and once used returns immediately to that same place leaving no doubt where any item is. Then, for the short cold weather months everything is some place else heh. Instead of instantly being able to reach out and grab whatever I need I have to wait til my first instinct is overridden by my second.
It has been a fun winter of playing in the snow, but I’m glad to see it go for more reasons than getting my regular pack in order again. Planning is off to a slow start this year, but the rumblings have begun. I can feel the trails pulling at me and I know I will answer. Family trips with the girls, the annual week with the guys from Texas is almost set and an old friend from California is threatening to come back for another adventure. Hopefully I’ll find some time for solo trips or I may have to find a new trail name. Hmmm, maybe Vermont?
Whether you know where you’re headed or just feeling the pull of the trail now might be a good time to think about how you pack your packs. A little thought to organization can pay off in any season on the path less traveled by
Winter’s Last Gasp
The calendar says Spring and we’ve even had a few really warm days, but Winter hasn’t quite given up yet. This past weekend we were visited by some brisk winds along with some nippy temperatures so I thought I’d get out to enjoy the weather.
The winds were of the steady, howling sort most of the night before but quieted down a bit before I headed out. The gusts were still pretty strong and exposed skin was definitely at risk of frostbite despite the mid March date and strong sunshine.
The open expanse of the river gave the wind room to play. Quieter moments were rare and punctuated with walls of blowing snow flowing down river.
But for the strength of the sun it seemed more January than March. Not sure I’d want to test that ice this time of year though. Actually, having watched the way the currents work on this stretch of the Androscoggin I wouldn’t want to cross this part of the river even in January.
Soon this will all be gone, probably in the next few days I’d guess. It was great to have one last chance to get out into this solidly frozen world. Spring brings all manner of joys to the woods, but Winter has its own special happiness to it as well.
Those blasts of cold wind took their toll though and soon I was headed for home. Warm enough when walking, this was no day for lingering too long enjoying the view. The next few days will likely see this all turn to mud and Spring will officially begin. Time to look forward to the adventures the coming seasons will bring, but also time to think back to all the fun this past Winter has brought us on the paths less traveled by
Less traveled by 