Paradox
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- Joined
- May 29, 2006
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The road is labeled Caribou "Valley" Road on many maps, but is signed Caribou "Pond" Road. I can report that the road is clear and only a bit muddy up to about .5 miles below the AT. After that the snow gets deeper and deeper from the steel deck bridge on up. How deep you ask? Well my all-wheel-drive Ford Escape (small SUV hybrid) is stuck to the frame in the middle of the road about .9 miles ABOVE the AT.
I missed the trailhead at 6 am and kept going on frozen snow. There are plenty of areas to turn around in the first 3.7 miles of CVR but once you cross the steel deck bridge there are no more places to turn around. So I kept going on frozen, snowmobile packed snow until I went off the side of the road. I tried rocking it and digging it out with a snowshoe for about an hour, but it just got worse. So Zippy and I hiked back down the road about 5.2 miles and started hitchhiking toward Stratton Maine. (I found the AT, careful: the air is still quite blue in the area.) FWIW the GPS coordinates for the AT are NAD83, 19 T 394094 4988234. Someone picked me up after I had hiked .5 miles and took me the 9 miles into Stratton. I could not find a store that sold a come-a-long winch or tow rope, but the general concensus was that I could get everything I needed at Jordan Lumber in Kingfield about 15 miles back past the CVR. (I didn't think I could afford the log skidder that was for sale in Stratton.) Fortunately, my ride was heading back in that direction and took me back to the market near the Sugarloaf Resort. I hitchhiked another 1.3 miles before Jean picked me up and took me to Jordan's. Bought the 2 ton come-a-long, a tow strap, and some polypro-line.
Jeff (owner of the Carrabassett Inn and Grill) picked Zippy and I up after .5 miles and took me back to CVR, and got to my car about 2pm. By this time the snow was mashed potato consistancy, and it took me 3 hours to winch the car into the middle of the road but it was not going anywhere but down into the snow. So I then hiked back down the road where I called Jeff and he came and picked me up and took me back to the Carrabassett Inn. Great burger and a couple Glen Livets later, I was feeling pretty good and tired. The wife and a friend were coming the next morning. Jeff called everybody on his contact list for me, but no one felt comfortable going up that road on a fool's errand.
Sue and a friend (Jack) got to the Inn about 9:45 and we drove up to the steel deck bridge and walked the 1.5 miles to the car but the temps were not cold enough during the night to improve anything so I just grabbed everything we could carry and walked back to the car, and headed back to NH. We saw an SUV parked near ours with Quebec plates and that may have been Timmus and Motabobo.
Other notes:
1.) Mainers are very helpful, and friendly, so hitching a ride even with a dog along did not take long.
2.) Cell phone reception ends at about the AT. It is great along much of Route 27/16 until near the Carrabassett Inn where it ends.
3.) All-Season Radials are worthless up there.
4.) I counted 15 moose along the side of the road on route 16 between Berlin, NH and Rangeley in the late evening of 4/24/08. One monster was running at full gallop on a collision course that gave me quite a scare.
5.) I counted 4 moose in morning twilight as I was driving route 16 between Rangeley and CVR. There is a young female moose hanging out about .3 miles up CVR that I saw four different times on Saturday.
6.) Deer are everywhere.
7.) About 24 miles of hiking, no peaks bagged.
New Plan: I purchased tire chains for my 4WD Explorer Sport Trac. I'll head back up this Friday evening and see if I can get it out with some additional tow lines. Anyone have any other ideas?
I missed the trailhead at 6 am and kept going on frozen snow. There are plenty of areas to turn around in the first 3.7 miles of CVR but once you cross the steel deck bridge there are no more places to turn around. So I kept going on frozen, snowmobile packed snow until I went off the side of the road. I tried rocking it and digging it out with a snowshoe for about an hour, but it just got worse. So Zippy and I hiked back down the road about 5.2 miles and started hitchhiking toward Stratton Maine. (I found the AT, careful: the air is still quite blue in the area.) FWIW the GPS coordinates for the AT are NAD83, 19 T 394094 4988234. Someone picked me up after I had hiked .5 miles and took me the 9 miles into Stratton. I could not find a store that sold a come-a-long winch or tow rope, but the general concensus was that I could get everything I needed at Jordan Lumber in Kingfield about 15 miles back past the CVR. (I didn't think I could afford the log skidder that was for sale in Stratton.) Fortunately, my ride was heading back in that direction and took me back to the market near the Sugarloaf Resort. I hitchhiked another 1.3 miles before Jean picked me up and took me to Jordan's. Bought the 2 ton come-a-long, a tow strap, and some polypro-line.
Jeff (owner of the Carrabassett Inn and Grill) picked Zippy and I up after .5 miles and took me back to CVR, and got to my car about 2pm. By this time the snow was mashed potato consistancy, and it took me 3 hours to winch the car into the middle of the road but it was not going anywhere but down into the snow. So I then hiked back down the road where I called Jeff and he came and picked me up and took me back to the Carrabassett Inn. Great burger and a couple Glen Livets later, I was feeling pretty good and tired. The wife and a friend were coming the next morning. Jeff called everybody on his contact list for me, but no one felt comfortable going up that road on a fool's errand.
Sue and a friend (Jack) got to the Inn about 9:45 and we drove up to the steel deck bridge and walked the 1.5 miles to the car but the temps were not cold enough during the night to improve anything so I just grabbed everything we could carry and walked back to the car, and headed back to NH. We saw an SUV parked near ours with Quebec plates and that may have been Timmus and Motabobo.
Other notes:
1.) Mainers are very helpful, and friendly, so hitching a ride even with a dog along did not take long.
2.) Cell phone reception ends at about the AT. It is great along much of Route 27/16 until near the Carrabassett Inn where it ends.
3.) All-Season Radials are worthless up there.
4.) I counted 15 moose along the side of the road on route 16 between Berlin, NH and Rangeley in the late evening of 4/24/08. One monster was running at full gallop on a collision course that gave me quite a scare.
5.) I counted 4 moose in morning twilight as I was driving route 16 between Rangeley and CVR. There is a young female moose hanging out about .3 miles up CVR that I saw four different times on Saturday.
6.) Deer are everywhere.
7.) About 24 miles of hiking, no peaks bagged.
New Plan: I purchased tire chains for my 4WD Explorer Sport Trac. I'll head back up this Friday evening and see if I can get it out with some additional tow lines. Anyone have any other ideas?
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