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Feb 26, 2021: Bradbury Mountain Bike Ride

Trail conditions at Bradbury Mountain State Park were near perfect for the (1st?) official PPCS Winter Fat Tire Mountain Bike Ride.  As the result of a dedicated group of trail groomers Bradbury has become the “go to” area for fat tire winter riders and today’s ride lived up to everyone’s expectations.  Initially a group of four, Ryan and Mason Galway, Dave Boyle and myself, we were joined by former PPCS kayaker Brian Budd for an 11 mile tour of Bradbury’s single rack trails.  The ride had been scheduled for Saturday, Feb 27, but incoming rain (again) had forced me to move the trip forward a day.  The trails were packed hard enough that Dave and Mason were able to easily ride with their “skinny tires”.  We rode almost all of the available terrain except for the mountain side of park; after 11 miles most of us had had enough.  It was an excellent day and we all agreed to schedule a few more PPCS rides for the 2022 winter season; it’s just one more way to get outside and enjoy the company of friends in the beautiful State of Maine.

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Mar 27, 2021: Skip Pendleton Memorial St. George River Trip

The Skip Pendleton Memorial St. George River Trip is a sure sign of spring.  Skip passed away on 9/24/17 at age 84 and this was the fourth St. George trip in his honor.  For those who didn’t know him, Skip, who had a remarkable outdoor resume, never paddled whitewater until he was in his seventies.  He quickly developed strong paddling skills and adopted the George as his favorite river.  Four of us turned out for the event this year.  Fittingly, we consisted of two canoes and two kayaks as Skip was adept at both.  The weather was partly cloudy and a little cool, but everyone had a most excellent time.  Preoccupied with perpetually stimulating conversations, the flat water section quickly passed.  It was a treat catching eddies and surfing waves in the easy rapids.  Everyone had successful descents at Magog Chute.  It was a busy day on the river with groups ahead and behind us.  Think this might be the first official club paddle trip of the year. Looks like I beat the Eggster with the ice breaker….again.   Let the games begin.

Participants:  Helen Hess, Craig McKinnon, Jim Tierney, and TC.  Special thanks to Nancy Chase and Faryl Wiley for assisting with the shuttle.

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2021 Spring Paddling and Covid Update

Hello Paddlers,

The PPCS trip schedule is now open, so it’s time to get out the boats.  We will be continuing to take appropriate precautions regarding the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

As always, the TC will have discretion in whether and how to run a given trip.  The size of the trip may be limited for safety. Less experienced paddlers may be excluded from more challenging runs so that rescues and the physical contact they require are less likely.  Please check in with the TC several days ahead of time regarding a scheduled trip.  And if you feel at all sick, do not come on a trip!

Participants should be responsible for their own shuttles, which should be arranged before arriving at the trip site.  Consider a bike shuttle, wearing masks in vehicles with open windows, or riding in the back of a truck.

Participants should wear a mask when in close contact (e.g. loading boats) to protect yourself and others, and for now, skip signing the trip release form.

Have fun and stay safe!

SYOTR

Helen Hess, President

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Feb 20, 2021: Cranberry Peak

To ski or not to ski was the question when planning the February 20 trip.  My preference was to ski but an untimely freezing rain storm had limited the choices.  As late as the day before, I still hadn’t decided.  My son, Adam, motivated my final decision as he liked the idea of hiking Cranberry Peak, the western most summit in the Bigelow Range.  About a 6.5 mile roundtrip hike from the winter trailhead at the end of Currie Road in Stratton, the 3,213 foot peak with a little over 2,000 feet of elevation gain is moderate in difficulty.  It was snowing when four of us met at the trailhead.  The usual debate about whether or not to wear or carry snowshoes raged.  Three of us started out wearing them.  By the time the trip was over, everyone was bare booting on the previously packed trail.  The snowstorm abated and we enjoyed excellent hiking conditions for most of the trek.  However, wind chills in the summit area were quite extreme limiting the time spent enjoying the truly phenomenal views that included a panoramic vista of frozen Flagstaff Lake.  By the time we returned to the trailhead, it was snowing again.

 

Participants:  Chowderheads Adam Chase, Deb Harris, and TC.  Guest:  Steve Anderson

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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.