T
Tramper Al
Guest
Planning:
I conceived of this trip in mid October, as a means to get myself into Baxter with a few friends. The seemingly bewildering maze of BSP winter trip regulations can be mastered, and I am living proof. I chose North Brother as our goal, and a luxurious cabin on Kidney Pond as our base for winter's final weekend.
I tried to gather a diverse group of strong winter hikers, limited as we were by our cabin size of six bunks. I really wish everyone could have come along.
It was a very good thing that we started with a group of 6, because one cancelled just a few days prior, and another could not escape a work emergency on the eve of the trip. And then there were four! Four is the BSP minimum for above treeline travel, if you are keeping score.
Preliminary evening:
The group (Blue, Kevin R, Al D and me) all met up at one of Medway's finer roadside motels, finalized plans, and got a little sleep.
Day 1: Ski in to Kidney Pond
We drove up the Golden Road to Abol Bridge, and after chatting with the ranger for a minute or two, we were underway about 9:00 am. Visibility was limited this day, and we had a few snow flurries off and on. We were all skiing, pulling pulks, and loving it. Our route took us straight over to the Tote Road at Abol Pond. We traveled on and off with a trio headed for Roaring Brook, then we turned left on the tote.
The quiet, peaceful feel of the park in winter was very comforting, as we climbed several hundred feet. First we passed Abol CG, then Katahdin Stream CG, then the AT route into Daicey Pond. We decided to stick to the road with our big sleds, and pulled off the tote into the Kidney Pond access road a little after 2:00 pm. Here we were soon treated to the first of our Pine Marten encounters, as the little guy was out hunting, loping along parallel to our path for several hundred yards. Our presence did not seem to bother him in the least.
After 12 miles of skiing, around 3:00 pm, we arrived at serene Kidney Pond camp, located our cabin, and settled in around the woodstove, ably fired throughout by Kevin R. After a few hours of feasting and trading stories, it was off to bed early, in anticipation of our morning departure to climb North Brother from the Marston Trailhead, still 5 miles away.
I conceived of this trip in mid October, as a means to get myself into Baxter with a few friends. The seemingly bewildering maze of BSP winter trip regulations can be mastered, and I am living proof. I chose North Brother as our goal, and a luxurious cabin on Kidney Pond as our base for winter's final weekend.
I tried to gather a diverse group of strong winter hikers, limited as we were by our cabin size of six bunks. I really wish everyone could have come along.
It was a very good thing that we started with a group of 6, because one cancelled just a few days prior, and another could not escape a work emergency on the eve of the trip. And then there were four! Four is the BSP minimum for above treeline travel, if you are keeping score.
Preliminary evening:
The group (Blue, Kevin R, Al D and me) all met up at one of Medway's finer roadside motels, finalized plans, and got a little sleep.
Day 1: Ski in to Kidney Pond
We drove up the Golden Road to Abol Bridge, and after chatting with the ranger for a minute or two, we were underway about 9:00 am. Visibility was limited this day, and we had a few snow flurries off and on. We were all skiing, pulling pulks, and loving it. Our route took us straight over to the Tote Road at Abol Pond. We traveled on and off with a trio headed for Roaring Brook, then we turned left on the tote.
The quiet, peaceful feel of the park in winter was very comforting, as we climbed several hundred feet. First we passed Abol CG, then Katahdin Stream CG, then the AT route into Daicey Pond. We decided to stick to the road with our big sleds, and pulled off the tote into the Kidney Pond access road a little after 2:00 pm. Here we were soon treated to the first of our Pine Marten encounters, as the little guy was out hunting, loping along parallel to our path for several hundred yards. Our presence did not seem to bother him in the least.
After 12 miles of skiing, around 3:00 pm, we arrived at serene Kidney Pond camp, located our cabin, and settled in around the woodstove, ably fired throughout by Kevin R. After a few hours of feasting and trading stories, it was off to bed early, in anticipation of our morning departure to climb North Brother from the Marston Trailhead, still 5 miles away.
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