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Jan 27, 2024: Mt Blue/Rangeley Lakes Trails Center

Participants: Ron Chase and Brent Elwell TC: Kenny DeCoster

Thankfully, the forecast called for several inches of snow (and not rain) on Friday, so I called Mt. Blue to see if the trails would be groomed by midday Saturday. Instead of ideal skiing conditions, I found out the Maple “round the mountain” Trail was closed because of beaver activity. I hastily changed the venue to Rangeley Lakes Trails Center. There, Ron, Brent, and I were treated to freshly groomed trails. Cool temperatures, no wind, and new snow made for incredible skiing. We skied to the northeast corner of the property and did a double loop down Ron’s favorite hill, then climbed for a mile towards the southeast corner to ski down the Larry Hill trail. With Saddleback Mountain shrouded in clouds we cruised through the snow covered spruce forest to the parking lot. The only bad decision the TC made was to follow Brent down a snowshoe trail where it was so narrow that negotiating the turns was comical. I had made an identical error several years before at Mt Blue. Will I ever learn? We skied about 9 ½ miles, and with a drive of 3 hours both ways, it made for a full day.

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Jan 15, 2023: Narrow Gauge Pathway

Thanks to Brent Elwell’s assistance gathering information on snow and trail conditions, Narrow Gauge Pathway in Carrabassett Valley was our choice for a club Nordic ski trip.  We had an excellent day of skiing with very good trail conditions, much of it along the Upper Carrabassett River where there have been several club whitewater trips.  There was a lot of traffic that included skiers, snowshoers, skijorers, fat tire bikers, and dog walkers.  The ski back while double poling much of the way was fantastic.  Having new members Jade & Sean Klutz join us was a special treat.

Participants:  Jade Klutz, Sean Klutz, Brent Elwell, and TC Ron Chase

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Feb 7, 2022: Mt. Blue XC Ski Class II-III

Trip Leader: Kenny DeCoster. Participants: Gary & Suzanne Cole, Ken & Susan Gordon, Paul Peters, Troad Richmond and TC.

As winter was melting away in southern Maine, 7 of us took advantage of the new snow up north in Mt Blue State Park. We formed two groups. One group skied the long loop around Center hill and Hedgehog Mountain. The second group explored the loop trails in the western part of the park. The variety trails offered something for everyone. The trip was delayed for two days because of the polar vortex, so we had warmer temperatures but very cloudy skies. The snow conditions were great and we had most of the park to ourselves. A glorious ski. We all met back at the heated yurt and shared stories and yummy homemade and homegrown treats. This seems to have become an annual tradition, so y’all come out and ski next year.

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Feb 13, 2021: Mt Blue State Park

mount blue xc ski

Participants: Laurie Wunder, Tom Meredith, Ken Gordon, Gary Cole, Brent Elwell, Ron Chase, TC: Kenny DeCoster

Living in southern Maine doesn’t give me a clear picture of how the snow is behaving up north. I hear meteorologists constantly talk about flurries in the mountains, but how does that translate into track quality? Ken Gordon assured me that the snow would be perfect. So 7 chowderheads braved the forecasted -“frigid” temperatures – on Saturday morning and socially distanced in the state park’s parking lot under sunny skies and light wind – a regular winter day. On the trail, we quickly shed layers climbing the back of Center Hill. The persistent cold had preserved the snow over the last weeks and the skiing was excellent. 

I was surprised that we were the first group to break trail to the top of Hedgehog Hill. The reward was a glorious sun-bathed view of Webb Lake, Tumbledown, and Jackson Mountains. After lunch, we each picked our own way down the hillside leaving it cobwebbed with ski trails crisscrossing between the trees. I haven’t learned to switch from gloves to mittens after stopping for lunch, and my hands froze on the long downhill stretch off of Hedgehog. From the bridge over Houghton Brook, we saw otter tracks in the snow and an access hole in the ice. A rare treat. We met more skiers this year and had to watch out for snowmobilers at trail crossings for the first time since I’ve started leading these trips.

We introduced Tom and Laurie to the 10-mile loop trail. And even though some of us had to work to keep up, nobody took a wrong turn or got left behind. It’s tricky to plan XC skiing when the winter schedule is posted so far in advance. But I got lucky. As Brent said at trail’s end, “Best snow conditions ever.” Lucky Ron has more snow on the way for his trip next weekend. Stay tuned.