Most of us would probably like to forget the “winter” of 2011/12, otherwise known as “The Winter That Wasn’t.” But even in the midst of one of the warmest winters on record there was snow to be found.
If winter won’t come to you, you have to go to winter. The nice thing about living and playing in the northeast is that you usually don’t have to go too far (although sometimes going a little farther afield can find BIG powder…). Winter can be fickle, embracing one place, snubbing others, but it usually visits somewhere. Here’s one story from “The Winter That Wasn’t”:
February 22, 2012:
“Enough is enough!!! It’s nearly the end of February, the heart of winter, and we haven’t had a single snowstorm worthy of the name since Halloween! This month has seen only one day of below-average temperatures. My thermometer says it’s 46 degrees outside this afternoon and I’ve absolutely had it! I love winter, look forward all year to cold and snow and cross-country skiing I want winter to start three months ago and last until the end of April!
But wait, there’s hope!
The current snow depth map, shows some pockets of real snow (12-20 inches) in parts of the Green and White Mountains, and a large swath of snow across Maine, with a pocket of deep snow just east of Greenville and southeast of Kokadjo. That’s right where the AMC and their partner West Branch Pond Camps offer camp-to-camp cross-country skiing. Hmmm . . .”
Headed For AMC Maine Lodges For A Taste Of Winter!
When I opened my emails the morning after that tirade, I found out that, yes, the folks in Maine had snow, Yes, there was more snow in their forecast, and YES!!! they had openings. So I dusted off our touring skis and put them in the ski box on top of the car, and packed a duffle bag with the stuff we needed for three nights. And Marilyn and I headed for Maine.
Our plan was to drive right to West Branch Pond Camps, get there as early as we could and spend the afternoon exploring trails in that neighborhood.
The next morning, we planned to drive around to the AMC winter parking lot and ski in to Little Lyford Pond Camps, overnight there, move on to Gorman Chairback Camps, overnight there, and then out.
Why AMC Maine Lodges?
There are a number of huge advantages to adventuring with the AMC and West Branch Pond camps in this particular area around Greenville, Maine.
First, this is really an easy getaway to plan and execute. The camps are about seven miles or so apart by the most direct route (most of the trails are groomed) and you have many longer options if you want them.
Second, you can either carry your own gear in a pack or pulk or you can pay them a small fee to transport it for you by snowmobile if you want to ski unburdened. They’ll also transport you for a fee, if you need it.
Third, you sleep in a cozy cabin; when you arrive, everything’s set up and there’s a fire going in the woodstove. They do all the cooking (meals are served family style) and provide lavish fixin’s for a trail lunch. It really doesn’t get much easier than that. West Branch Pond is more “rustic” than the two AMC facilities. The cabins are just as cozy, but there’s no indoor plumbing, just clean outhouses and a sponge bath with water heated on your woodstove if you need to clean up. The AMC camps have hot showers, indoor toilets and a sauna in the main buildings.
Peace and Quiet
Fourth and most important of all: private snowmobiles are not allowed at any of the camps. Now let’s be clear here. I’m NOT against snowmobiles in general as long as they are used responsibly. Snowmobilers are good citizens who pump a lot of money into local northern economies that would otherwise have very little happening in the winter. Snowmobilers also pay registration fees that maintain trails which are wonderful for mountain biking in the spring, summer and fall.
But snowmobiles don’t mix very well with the quiet and serenity that is the essence of wilderness cross-country skiing. On the AMC properties in Maine, snowmobiles are restricted to a very few major corridors where they can happily play at high speeds, while the rest of us get to enjoy winter solitude away from speed, noise and exhaust fumes. It’s a great compromise and everybody wins.
Finally Finding Winter!
Our plan to find winter worked absolutely spectacularly. The night before we arrived, a storm that once again missed all of southern and most of central New England had dropped a foot or more of light, fluffy snow on the area around Greenville.
During our visit, everyone assumed Marilyn and I were the good luck charm that caused the snow to fall. We did nothing to disabuse them of this notion. In fact, some of the folks we stayed with were begging us to stick around for the rest of the season. Believe me, if we could have, we’d have been happy to . . .
We began our adventure on Sunday, arriving late morning at West Branch Pond Camps. Good warmup. WBPC has been in the same family for five generations. Owner Eric Stirling and his wife, photographer Mildred Kennedy-Stirling, have started on generation six: Avis, is now three-and-a-half and about as cute as a kid can be.
Eric greeted us when we arrived, then took our luggage to a lovely cabin on the lakeshore. He’d already started the woodstove for us; the cabin was toasty warm with a kettle of water warming in case we wanted a hot drink before heading out or a quick cleanup on returning. Earlier, he’d been out grooming the portion of his 15-kilometer trail system he thought we’d like best, and we wasted no time heading out on our first cross-country ski adventure of the winter. Hooray! At last!
The temperature was in the low 20s, the wind brisk and refreshing, the snow was deep and soft, and the sky that clear, vivid blue that happens only in winter. Conditions simply couldn’t have been more perfect.
Our itinerary for the next three days called for skiing every day. So I wanted a nice little warm-up, six or seven miles or so, with a good climb or two, just enough to get the muscles tuned and the blood flowing.
With three challenging days ahead, Marilyn’s idea of a “nice little warm-up” for this first day was focused more on the “little.” So we chose a four-mile loop close to camp with a few modest hills and some spectacular views of West Branch Pond and nearby White Cap Mountain. Not what I had hoped for but still a fun little ski jaunt. I call this “compromise;” Marilyn refers to it as “My husband trying to kill me.” Still, she’s a good sport about it and (almost) always admits she’s had a good time when we are done.
Not in any hurry, we glided along in the sunshine, savoring the pure joy of soft snow under deep blue skies. The only noise we could hear was the wind in the trees. Couldn’t have been nicer. For most of our jaunt, ours were the only tracks on the newly-groomed trail. On the final leg of our ski, we met the other seven people staying the night—they’d just arrived and were as anxious to hit the trail as we were.
We got to know them a bit over dinner that night (baby back ribs with dirty rice and broccoli). Nice folks, typical of the people you meet at these wilderness camps in the Maine woods.
This one day was more than worth the drive. When you’ve been waiting for months for winter to arrive, finally feeling real snow under your skis is as good as life ever gets.
Lovely Little Lyford
A building layer of clouds gave us a magnificent sunrise over the frozen lake the next morning. After breakast (homemade donuts, oatmeal, pancakes and sausage), we reluctantly left West Branch by car and drove to the AMC’s Winter Lot, and put our gear in the shed where it would be picked up and taken to camp. Then we geared up for the longer ski into Little Lyford Pond.
We could have skied directly from West Branch Pond camps to Little Lyford along the beautiful Pleasant River Trail. But that would have meant additional logistical problems, including hiring the local shuttle service to make sure that our car ended up where we needed it for our ski out. If we’d had more time (and the lodges had had openings) we could have skied out from West Branch to Little Lyford, then on to Gorman Chairback, then reversed our journey. As it was, driving our own car to the Winter Lot just made things easer in the short time we had.
Our plan was to ski to Little Lyford on the Hedgehog Gate Trail rather than take the more direct route via snowcovered roads. OK, I’ll admit it. I took a wrong turn at an unsigned intersection which made our trek quite a bit longer and tougher than the 7.4 miles we had planned. My bad. I had a map, but should have had a compass handy in my pocket, or on my pack strap (inexpensive pin-on ball compasses are ideal for this), not just in my pack on this sunless day.
The extra skiing just made our somewhat-later-than-planned arrival at the AMC’s Little Lyford Pond Camp all the sweeter. A cup of hot tea in our extremely cozy cabin, a sauna followed by a warm shower, and a dinner of curried chicken stir fry (again in the company of very nice folks) set the world right again. I enjoyed our little side-jaunt, and Marilyn survived, feisty as ever, and ended the day still speaking to me, so it was all good.
Did I mention that the camp at Little Lyford is very comfortable? All of the cabins have been refurbished in recent years and, though the look and feel are pure Maine-woods rustic, they are cozy-warm and just delightful. The main lodge and the bathhouse (with toilets, showers and sauna!) are pure wonders in this wilderness setting.
Gorgeous Gorman Chairback
We lingered long over breakfast the next morning, enjoying good company and the spectacle of a slowly clearing sky. A dusting of fresh snow overnight made the 6.5-mile ski from Little Lyford to Gorman Chairback Camp seem almost magical. Again, there was no hurry as we savored the solitude and quiet. In fact, we never saw another person on the trails all day. Couldn’t have been nicer.
Gorman Chairback is an amazing oasis in the wilderness. They offer a choice of three accommodations. For the budget-conscious, there is a bunkhouse. We chose the rustic cabins on the lake shore with no plumbing (outhouses nearby, indoor toilets, sauna and showers are in the spectacular new lodge building where you eat and socialize). They’ve also added five brand-new multi bedroom cabins with toilets and showers. The roast beef dinner that night was simply sumptuous, the stars that night, viewed from the open lake with no bright lights of civilization nearby, were spectacular.
Another bluebird day arrived next morning for our ski out. We set a leisurely pace, and stopped for lunch in the lean-to at Trout Brook, but the 8.4 miles passed too quickly. In total, we probably skied about 30 miles over our four days on cross-country skis, all on gorgeous trails we shared with very, very few other people. If the winter never shows up nearer home, at least we’ll have these wonderful memories to tide us over until next December.
Life is good when you finally find winter.
Planning Your AMC Maine Lodges Trip:
Go to the AMC Maine Wilderness Lodges web page to start planning your winter wilderness getaway. If you are booking early, check for pre-season special deals. They’ll have almost everything you need right there and can answer any additional questions you have.
What You Need In Camp
For all the fact that a warm cabin and cooked meals are waiting for you at the end of the day, this is still a wilderness experience. You need to be more prepared than you would be for staying in a B&B and skiing a cross-country area.
At West Branch Pond and Little Lyford, you need a sleeping bag (Gorman provides sheets and comforters). Unless you sleep really cold, it doesn’t need to be a winter bag—the woodstoves hold a fire a long time and the cabins stay comfy all night. In fact, if you aren’t careful it can get too warm, even if it’s really cold out. We brought winter bags one year, but they were overkill. We now use light summer bags (rated to about 40 degrees). There are comforters on all the beds if you need more warmth.
You’ll need good, warm clothing including baselayer, insulation layers and an outer shell layer, a warm hat and layered gloves/mittens. The winter of 2011/12 was generally a warm one, but you can’t count on that. The first time I skied from camp-to-camp up there, it got to 30 below zero at night and never above zero on the sunny days.
Add in a headlamp, some comfy lounging clothes and camp footwear, your usual toiletries, and a good book and you are pretty well set for camp life.
On The Trails
Again, this is a wilderness area. There’s no cell phone service here and, on some of these trails, you won’t see anyone else all day long. It’s a good idea to let the camp staff know where you are going, then stick to that plan. It’s also generally wise to travel with a companion.
While most people just use a small daypack for lunch and a few extra clothes, and never have any trouble at all, I prefer to go a little more prepared—especially if it’s really cold or snowing. Marilyn carries a 50-liter daypack which holds her lunch, water and hygiene kit, headlamp, plus extra clothes. I typically carry a slightly larger pack (65 liters seems to be about right) with my extra clothes, lunch, and hygiene kit, of course, my emergency kit which is always with me when I leave the road, a small first aid kit (mainly for blisters and other such minor mishaps), a few handwarmers, map, compass and headlamp and spare batteries. I also carry a small compression stuffsack containing a Gore-tex bivvy sack and one of our light sleeping bags. On the outside of the pack, I strap on a Z-Lite pad. All of this extra “stuff” adds about six pounds. But if one of us got somehow debilitated from illness or injury, he or she could rest comfortably and safely while the other went for help. The closed-cell pad also makes a nice dry spot to sit for lunch.