Amy organized a trip for us to Maine this past weekend to visit the Appalachian Mountain Club's "Medawisla" hut to go cross-country skiing. Here is a short account.
We had originally planned on making this trip back at the end of January, but then realized when the week rolled around that we would have had to be driving in the middle of a huge nor'easter snow storm. Amy got on the phone and was somehow able to move our reservation to the next month, very glad about that (really no way we could have driven that day).
Instead of a blizzard, on the day we were due to depart we were having a major warm spell (60+ degrees, with lots of rain the day before), so much so that I wondered whether there would be any snow at all when we arrived in Maine. Thankfully, the temps ratcheted down the whole way, and it was about 15 when we finally pulled in to the hut parking lot.
The drive up from Cambridge to Greeneville ME (the nearest town) is about a 6 hour deal, so it is hard to squeeze it in on the side, you need to just give the day over to travel.
We had thought about stopping in Portland ME for lunch, since they have interesting food there, but that would have meant leaving much later in the day, so instead we decided to stop in Freeport and grab a sandwich there. Driving conditions were good all the way to Greeneville, where we got off the main roads and continued on the back roads all the way out to the hut. There were a few dicey spots, but in general we had no real trouble.
The main Medawisla lodge is gleaming and new (it was completely rebuilt in 2017), with solar panels and such. The cabin Amy picked out for us was nice too-- couple of smallish bedrooms and then a common area with a nice Jotul wood stove. The stove seemed very overpowered considering the size of the cabin; even a small amount of wood in it heated the place up to the point where you had to crack windows open.
Our cabin:
The food at AMC huts is nearly always good, and it was no exception at this place-- the one downer was that because of COVID the rule was that you had to pick up your food in the lodge, then load it into an insulated bag and bring it back to your cabin to eat there. That was too bad; I've always found it fun to meet the other hut visitors while setting and eating "family style".
After dinner we sat and read our books; Medawisla is definitely a no-TV no-internet detach-from-everything type place. I also took the opportunity to get out the skis and work on them a bit (getting rid of old ski wax, etc). My ski equipment is very shaky these days-- I thought seriously about trying to replace it this past winter, but with the COVID-related supply shortages it was very difficult for me to find places that were stocking skis that I actually wanted.
I settled instead for buying some new bindings (which I was able to install myself) and a new pair of boots. The only boots I could find that looked workable were a good deal heavier than I would have liked, but I felt as though there was on way I could keep the old boots going (big holes in the toe area, kept together with duct tape).
On Saturday we got up on the early side (6:30 ish) and made tea + coffee in the cabin, then headed over to the main lodge to collect our breakfast at 8am. We were ready to hit the trail by around 8:30, and the weather was cold (11 or 12F) but not unbearable, so we made our way out.
Sunrise:
We opted for the so-called "Lake Circuit" trail, which makes a big loop around "Second Roach Pond" (that's the name of the lake that the hut is on) and runs for about 10 miles. I was a little nervous about this route since there isn't any practical way to cut it short once you've started it, but we decided to go ahead anyhow.
The ski conditions were fine, in fact much better than my expectations-- I had been worried that we would have to contend with patches of ice where it had melted and refrozen, but it was really mostly drifted/packed snow with a dusting of powdery stuff on top, so very skiable indeed. The trail was virtually empty -- we only saw one other couple on the way (not until mile 7 or so). There were snowshoe tracks for the first three or four miles along the on the north side of the lake, then they petered out, leaving us skiing for miles without even seeing any other tracks at all.
Lots of moose tracks however, they were hard to miss. The depth of the snow and the weight of the critter meant that they left huge post-hold sized hoof-prints, and we saw lots of moose "scat" as well. Whatever moose it was looks like he decided he liked walking along the ski trail, since the tracks would criss-crossed the trail all over the place, sometimes running right down the middle.
Trees were a mix of evergreen and deciduous, mostly on the smaller side (the place has the look of land that has been logged recently). Weather warmed up a bit as we went along, but still quite cold (maybe around 15).
At mile 6.2 the trail turns south and then heads out onto the frozen lake, cutting off the very eastern tip of Roach Pond. That section was pretty hair-raising, since it was nothing but ice (no snow at all), and we were facing a stiff headwind. The usual methods of propelling yourself (kick and glide) didn't work at all, so we had to just hold our feet rigid and push along with the poles, lots of work. We stopped for lunch just after reaching the other side.
We didn't linger for very long eating lunch, but I could feel myself cooling off fast while we were eating, so I was pretty eager to get back on the trail before getting completely frozen (at that point my fingers were definitely unhappy).
This was the point where we encountered another small "family group": mom and dad and two small kids. The smallest kid was in a sort of "sled stroller" thing with skids and a couple of long handles coming out the front; the dad was holding the handles and pulling the sled forward (no poles, he was "skate" skiing). Just behind the sled was the older kid (who was holding on too) and then mom was bringing up the rear. Impressive setup, I bet the dad was having to work hard.
A few miles left to the lodge:
We finished our tour a bit before 2, so it took us maybe 4.5 or 5 hours, so a substantial outing.
Whew, made it -- time to start the fire again.
Dinner was meat loaf and potatoes (very "stick to your ribs" stuff); I think I overdid it a bit, had too much to eat. While standing in line in the main lodge waiting to collect our meals both Amy and I were surprised at the number of little kids -- not just grade schoolers but babies and toddlers (the under 3 set). I was puzzled that folks would want to bring their little ones to a place like this, but they were definitely in evidence. Maybe the adults take turns watching the babies and then going out to ski when their shift is over?
Lots more reading Saturday night; we were plowing through books at a steady clip. I think I have enough to last me (especially given that I picked up one of Amy's cast-offs).
Sunday: slightly easier time sleeping last night than the previous one. I did a sort of strip-tease in reverse: started out with just a sheet, then added in an unzipped sleeping bag (as a blanket) on top, and then much later when it really cooled off I got under the heavy duvet. That worked pretty well.
It was below zero when we got up around 6:15ish, super cold... after looking at the thermometer we decided to maybe make a slightly later start. I had to hassle over getting the fire started again this morning (it had gone out); the logs I grabbed from the wood pile turned out to be not completely dry. I did get it going eventually however.
Breakfast at 8, which turned out to be a perfectly delightful Eggs Florentine (perfectly cooked), along with hash browns, fruit, and yogurt. Temp still zero when we got the food back from the main lodge, so we just had another lengthy reading session after breakfast while waiting for it to warm up.
Around 11 it had finally warmed up into the teens, so we ventured out-- Amy opted for hiking and I strapped on my skis and went out to explore some of the trails to the south and east of the lodge ("Trout Mountain"). Photos:
Unlike the paths from yesterday these were almost all flawlessly groomed; I felt as though I was at a downhill ski resort on one of those "first run of the day" descents. On one section of the trail I got a peek through the trees of Mt Katahdin to the north, that was kind of cool (I think it is only 30 or 40 miles away).
Back at the lodge I gobbled my lunch down (another hummus and veggie sandwich) and then had a very nice half hour nap (yay). My feet felt a bit beat up from my new boots, bunch of sore spots and a couple of blisters, so I was just as glad to call it quits at that point.
We had another long set of reading sessions, and I finished off a couple of books. My selections this time: "Station Eleven" by Emily St. John Mandel, and "Axiom's End" by Lindsay Ellis, both entertaining reads.
Another early night (we were both tired), and then after breakfast we hit the road back to civilization. On the trip back we finished off our book on tape, "One Day We'll All Be Dead and None of This Will Matter" by Scaachi Koul, an entertaining memoir-ish book by a woman who is the daughter of Kashmiri immigrants living in Canada. Very snarky and insightful.
