winter wonderland!

jessica and i moved to maine for many reasons, not the least of which was the promise of reliable snowfall, and all of the winter-time activities that require it. snow-shoeing, downhill and xc skiing, winter hiking, fatbiking, endurance shoveling, and the age-old pastime of betting on when the plow will come to the rescue.. and boy howdy, did we land up here in time to experience a winter to remember! bangor, me, our nearest metropolitan neighbor, had it's second snowiest season on record with 132.7 inches, thus far.

i write this, now officially spring, looking out my window at shoulder high snow on the lawns of our property. not where the plow shoved it, mind you, just as it fell. it's getting hard to tell where the snow berms end and the dirt begins on the shoulders. by most local's accounts, the soon-to-be mud season should all but dry out just in time to get ready for next winter's first snows..

while it's here, might as well enjoy it, right? i intended to. i got out as much as i was able, but not as much as i'd like to have, and not in as many ways as i'd hoped. a few aborted hiking trips in the whites and a stalled ski project, as well as all the times that i was just lazy..  now that the temps are rising, the snow receding, and folks are talking about, and prepping for, spring events and activities, i feel a sense of loss at the missed opportunities, though in a lot of ways, this winter was a crash-course in maine winters for the both of us, and we'll be better prepared for the next. in tribute to personal winter exploration and new experiences, i will continue this post with two of my most memorable local activities: the (unexpectedly) longest xc ski trek i've ever done and my first fatbike ride.

the frye mountain ridge.

the xc ski trip was my 'plan B' for a cancelled whites trip, and i wanted to explore a pair of connector trails between the multi-use trail(MUT) in camden hills state park, and the tanglewood xc ski area/4h club. i would then do a loop at tanglewood and head back the same way. pretty straight-forward.

the groomed MUT.

starting at the rt. 1 entrance to the park , up the MUT, past the ski shelter, all the way to it's terminus at steven's corner, where i'd pick up the snowmobile trail connectors.

CHSP ski shelter.

one of the best things about utilizing the snowmobile trail networks is that it usually gives you access to areas too wet and swampy, or posted private property, in the non-frozen months. it's a neat way to see the terrain between the roads in most of this area of maine.

probably a bog any other time of year. connector snowmobile trail.

anyway, despite a realization that i was under-nourished for the sort of distance that i would ultimately log for this trip, and never really added up the total mileage in my planning, and a pretty bonky feeling on the last leg, it was still quite rewarding, and the scenery and beautiful weather made this one of my best outings this winter. check out the trip data and map here.

fatbiking is something that i'd always felt that i'd really enjoy, combining my love of cycling, exploring, and covering ground on my outings, however, as it's a pretty new niche of cycling, opportunities to 'just try it out' without a large monetary investment are few and far between. for the uninitiated, fatbikes are mountain bikes with extra wide 4-5 inch tyres, allowing the rider extra 'flotation' to ride on softer surfaces, like sand, snow, and super wet and boggy areas that a normal mountain bike with 2-2.5 inch tyres would just sink into. with a fatbike, one still needs the snow to be pretty packed down to get anywhere efficiently, so back to the snowmobile trails, it is!

i know exactly 1 person, personally, who owns one, and with a bit of prodding, he graciously let me borrow it. thanks, mike!

powerline, north towards frye mountain, morrill me.

fatbiking is a hoot! everything i hoped it'd be, and if i can get the funds together for next winter, i'll be getting one of my own, fer sure! the ITS snowmobile trail network can take you all over maine, and all the way to canada, if you choose, so there's plenty of exploring to do. it seems to me that, around the midcoast, folks who would never spend the money on a decent mountain or road bike are embracing the fatbike as a way to get out and enjoy their own backyards in new and different ways, and that's a pretty neat thing! what once was just a niche-of-a-niche in the cycling world, fatbiking has really come into it's own as a lasting branch on cycling's evolutionary tree, especially with the release of fatbike models from the larger bicycle brands, and now front- and full-suspension models available from multiple companies. hey, if it gets more folks outside enjoying maine's beautiful landscapes, i'm all for it, especially when it uses no gas, makes almost no noise, and improves the health of the citizenry. sweet deal!

check the rides here and here. 

-josh