January - 2012
Off the mountain and into the City News
Jan. 2 (Monday): 30 miles of snowmobile trail were opened way up by East Inlet, not groomed, just opened, and quite a few took advantage of it. The Warming Hut at Deer Mountain has received a face-lift and the groomer is sitting there ready to go....
Went 'shed hunting' in the high hills and started out walking in 3 inches of snow. Thought it was pointless to wear my skis so I left them on the top of the car. I was regretting that decision as soon as I crossed the beaver swamp because the snow became deeper and deeper the further up I went. 18 inches on the summit and very slow going. Lots of moose tracks and several 'beds'...but no sheds...at least not this trip!
Across Sophie Lane
The Warming Hut at Deer Mountain Campground
Small tributary to West Inlet Brook
Raspberry & Bamboo Lane
Last shove up the 3,125-ft summit (yup-those are moose tracks!)
Winter Wonderland
Windswept and lonesome looking
Moose Bed #1
Heading down the draw
Looking back at the Summit
A Welcome Sight after 4.9 grueling miles
Hydiseka, (famous for his 'Home Brew Game Cameras' ), sent this link ..... http://www.huntingchat.net/forum/showthread.php?t=36342 on rusty G's moose hunt in Pittsburg.... Hey, I know that Toby Owen guy!....I'm surprised that I had to hear about this hunt from someone in Pennsylvania vs. someone that comes in the store for coffee every morning....HA!
Jan. 3 (Tuesday): Slightly sore from yesterday's excursion but limbered up by shoveling the 1-2 inches of snow off the decks.... trecherous driving on Route 3 by Eastman's Farm .... Went to John and Linda's for supper (or dinner- whatever you want to call it). Great having them back from their holiday trip south!
Jan. 4 (Wednesday): The Vintage Races are still on for this Saturday - heard they were trucking snow in from who-knows-where....
Jan. 5 (Thursday): Up before the birdies this a.m....Working at Dube's Pittstop....
Played cribbage at the Colebrook Country Club (Cribbage Cohorts) and have finally joined....I've met quite a fascinating crew there......some of them go all the way to 'St. J' to play tennis - I love tennis but guess I'll wait 'til spring.... Some play racquetball and a few belong to the Moose Alley Squares (square dancing)....Who says we're too old to have fun?
Jan. 6 (Friday): Pittsburg Panthers had a good evening....Both the girls team and the varsity boys won tonight!....Travis Chase was outstanding as usual with Kyle Skidgel and Robbie Major's great teamwork....Fantastic game!
Pittsburg vs Linwood
Jan. 7 (Saturday): Happy Birthday to my second daughter, Lynn! (34) -- (creeping right up there!) -- Went to the Vintage Snowmobile Race in Pittsburg this a.m. and took pictures until the battery died....so here's a few of them....
Here's your trivia for the week.....What's Missing?
Jan. 8 (Sunday): Hey - Good job Carol from Union, Connecticut.... It's the FRONT RIGHT SKI missing - not Armand....Ha!....Armand (Pathfinder) was milling about the crowd but wasn't racing this year....maybe he'll give me one of those Rupps, ya think?
Jan. 9 (Monday): Happy Birthday to my #4 daughter, Lisa (31).....
Need to get working on this website and get it up-to-date......and got a call from Gayle, we're heading to Bosebuck via sleds for the reciprocal weekend Jan. 27-28-29- Should be a lot of fun (if we don't get lost!)
Jan. 11 (Wednesday): Couple of melancholy days here but they get further and further apart now, which is a good sign....of course it probably didn't help by listening to 'Amarantine' by Enya.....Awesome CD!
Jan. 12 (Thursday): Snow started late up here....somewhere around 10:30-11:00....Went to get the trailer at Gayle and Tom's to load up my ATV and the Blazer decided it didn't want to do 4-wheel drive today...but that's okay because with the arctic temperatures floating in over the next two days, all of a sudden a poker run in the Stratford Hills with no hand-warmers or windshield has lost it's appeal.
Played in the cribbage tournament tonight and the winning streak is all over!.....lost 5 out of 9 games and even though John said he was going to beat us all, Linda came in first...HA!....Good time with great people!
Jan. 13 (Friday): Trails into town opened today with 4-5 inches of new snow further up north and this morning was 29 degrees @ 4:45am. VTJeeper must've had a lucky trip north? - I noticed space on his second tree is filling up fast!
Snow's coming down heavy now and I guess I'll forego the game tonight in Pittsburg.
Jan. 14 (Saturday): The greatest anti-depressant for an Ex-FedEx courier is to get in the vehicle and DRIVE.....lack of money and gas kept me local but I did get up to 3rd Connecticut Lake, checked out the warming hut at Deer Mountain, which was open with lots of sleds outside....Raced two sleds on the Magalloway Road (they won)...and took a ride in to Big Brook Bog (logging)....Lots of sleds up for the long weekend and Happy Corner was jammed! - 3 above at Young's and 0 at 3rd Lake.
Jan. 15 (Sunday):-10 this am in W. Stewartstown.... and -18 by Amey's Log Yard....
Jan. 16 (Monday): Looks like -10 degrees again but I'm not going out to check....Got a call from a friend in Marble, NC last night and the temperatures haven't been a whole lot warmer down there, some nights in the single digits....Tomorrow looks like another 'shed huntin' day and I have a range in Vermont that's peaked my curiosity - just not sure how to get up there without trespassing or crossing over into another country illegally....(seems like I recall a snowmobile trip- turned sour- when I almost wore a maple leaf suit....)
And it dawned on me, with the gap in mountain news occurring over the last year, a very important trip was overlooked....a trip that took place the end of Sept./early October - Hydiseka and Mrs. Hood (Robin- or is that Norma?) came north from PA for their annual outing.
Mrs. Hood graciously bowed out of this trip-into-the-high-hills by promising a hot meal at the end of the day while I, (MtnGoat), and Hydiseka assembled radios, compasses and assorted paraphenalia - (and don't forget the ropes and bungies for hauling out our trophies!)
I talked John into checking out Desmond Valley - a place where I had jumped 7 moose during hunting season and we saw two cows, but came up empty-handed in the shed department. Not deterred, we headed to our traditional hunting grounds, turned on the radios and parted company after leaving the truck....
Moments before I broke out onto blowdown summit, the radio cracked 'Hey, I found a skeleton' - and I thought to myself... "What a creep!" - but I good-naturedly went over to look anyways before hurrying off to find a shed before him...
Entering 'la-la-land' while tramping down ferns, visions of standing on a stage receiving two plaques - one from Boone and one from Crockett - danced before my eyes until the radio cracked again...'I found a set'.......'Ha Ha Ha...very funny!'; I called back.............'Couldn't of been more than 20-yards apart', he gloated.....and of course, I had to go look--- sputtering something along the lines of 'Mr. EagleEyes can lug them out by himself - and watch out for those cliffs!' (little private joke!....what happens in the mountains -stays in the mountains?)
I offered to lug 'Stinky' out with a good thick mitten inbetween....down over blowdowns and sometimes crawling under stands of spruce, while 'stinky' permeated my pants and jacket. By the time we reached the truck, I was glad they weren't my 'treasures'!
Stinky and it's companion rode the roof rack of the Blazer back to Snowfield with more than one curious on-looker and now, even though it's months later, I've yet to see a photo of the two...?!? (Ya - that's a hint....and you know who I'm talking to...)
Here's some more good reading: Field Judging Moose and take a look at that on the cover of 'Fair Chase' magazine (bottom of page)....if I saw something like that after rounding some spruces......
Some great links....
Too bad I couldn't get in there tomorrow! Mt. D'Urban
Stuck on Elephant Mtn. - Rangeley Snowmobile Site Photo
On the Rapid River -Location of Louise Rich's 'We Took To The Woods?
....And now....posed and ATL photos of Hydiseka's 'finds'....(You call that 'right-out-in-the-open?????)
Jan. 17 (Tuesday): Oh no!...snow and sleet....it wasn't supposed to do that....may have to revamp my plans a bit but won't know until I get out and see what the roads are like....
Ate a hearty breakfast at Howard's then hit the trails....Ended up skiing from the Pittsburg/Clarksville town line right there at Washburn's Family Forest....
Even though I spent a lot of time climbing, the ride back down was anti-climatic, not nearly fast enough!
Saw my first moose tracks up at what I dubbed the 'Alpine Garden' and miniature 'Headwall'....and ran across several beds, mostly moose. No sheds again but that's somewhat of what I expected when I saw the snowmobile tracks...they've already combed the area.!....
Great hearing from Dave and Joy!...really miss you guys!....
Jan. 18 (Wednesday): Windy and cold this am....another prospective tenant coming to look at the apartments today....
Jan. 19 & 20: Had a meeting for the North Country Endurance Challenge last night and we certainly have our work cut out for us....We'll be opening up registration soon so haul out the kayaks, bikes and sneakers.... A few more inches of snow overnight...
Jan. 21-23: Took a trip up Monadnock Mountain (Lemington, VT) thinking it looked like a pretty good place to go shed hunting....HA!.....nary a moose track anywhere....I never made it to the tower, and I'm not even sure there is one, although I've heard rumors that one was dumped in via helicoptor....I just know I climbed and climbed, dumped my pack off the trail (which is an unforgiven sin in the mountains), kept on climbing some more, curious to know if one really existed or not, reached an opening and saw absolutely nothing except another ridge to climb so I gave it up, admitting defeat. Hiked the quarter mile down to my pack, swung it over my back and a ski had slipped - so as I was standing there making adjustments and talking out loud to my skis, a man from Colebrook came hiking up the trail..?? (This late in the day?)...
After a short hello/goodbye....he headed to the top and I headed down, figuring that was the last of human contact....
At a brook crossing, I slipped and fell, wedging a ski into a crevass between two rocks....off came the pack and precious time got lost in my quest to hit a trail junction before he caught up with me on the trip down....I was going left and I knew he was going straight and I thought I might make it but just before a bridge I heard ski poles clacking behind and a voice called out "Is this your knife?".....'If it's white with a fish on it, then yup, it's my knife....didn't know it was on me..."......didn't know I dropped it...but then....how many things have I 'dropped', then found, in the woods????
Got back to the Blazer 5+ hours after I left it and I'm pretty sure Charley's waiting for the midnight bell to toll...just went on a frantic search for drugs and found two motrin in a pack - and it's raining out.
Having supper at John and Linda's in Colebrook tonight so it'll be a nice night out with good friends....
Jan. 25 (Wednesday): Had a wonderful treat out at Li Wah's (John didn't feel like cooking and no one was complaining - although he's a fabulous chef). And as we were sitting there, I let it sink in that I'm losing my two closest friends in about four weeks.... Seems like there's no end to this downward spiral....
Lisa (my fourth little girl) is having her second back operation Friday, so keep her in your thoughts and prayers.... An MRI revealed that her spinal cord is crimped, causing all the pain in her legs......
Went to the Canaan, VT schools to see what their hiring procedures entailed and found that they do the fingerprinting themselves....so I filed an app. with them.
Jan. 26 & 27: Our trip to Bosebuck has been cancelled ....I was really looking forward to getting back on a sled -- (I miss my AC/ZL 800 incredibly) -- so we're looking at next weekend for Diamond Ridge or Stub Hill....
Lisa's operation went well but she's in pain....If the roads are clear in the am, I'd like to go to Maine Medical in Portland to see her...I know she loves her Mom and that would cheer her up....
Flatlander and Phazergirl are heading to the 'Burg' on Sunday so I'm hoping to catch them after work -- (Great friends from snowmobiling days )... and if I could write a tribute to two great people, I would have to say that throughout this whole ordeal and the passing away of my Dad last January 8th -- they stuck by me all the way. And this year, from New Year's Eve to January 8th, I experienced the blackest depression of my life, one I hope is never repeated. But even then, they kept up their support. Thanks Scott and Chris for everything you've done for me...I truly love you and appreciate your friendship!
Jan. 29 (Sunday): Light snow last night, just enough to cover the roads....
Headed to Portland yesterday but turned around in Grafton Notch....the Blazer just barely made the long hill going to Upton and finally shifted into 4-wheel drive at the top..? ....but somewhere halfway through the notch it headed for the trees twice without warning so I turned around at Old Speck.... Lisa's at home in Sanford, recovering from her wounds....
Cookin' in the kitchen this am...so got to run...(I can smell the toast burning...Ha)
Very busy in the restaurant ( a lot of sledheads ).... and I've definitely decided this isn't my dream job either...just send me out on a remote trail and I'll be happy!....Went up to Magalloway Cabins after work to sneak a ride with Scott and Chris but they hadn't checked in yet - met them on my trip to Littleton....(I'll catch up with you guys over the next couple of days, ok?)...
Anyone heard from CTSkidoo?...Don't know if he's in Pittsburg or still down south....probably could catch him on a forum?....
Ha! Didn't take long to find him....just simply went to slednh and there he was..... SledNH
Jan. 30 (Monday): Got these awesome shots from Hydiseka.....
Red-tailed hawk
Bobcat w/coyote
Who would guess that those two would be in the same picture frame?......but we all know that cats have a way of establishing their territory (and everyone else's too)....
Need to set up my game camera tomorrow....I've been toying with this for quite some time but haven't come up with a good location yet....has to be someplace that I'll be able to get back into before spring.... I've been staying off back roads since I cleaned out a ditch & culvert for the town, but I'm getting antsy....Deadwater's closed off but I could go in from Ferguson in Clarksville....good as any place to get stuck, I suppose! Going sleddin' with Flatlander on Wednesday so maybe I could dump it then....?
Jan. 31 (Tuesday): Sleep does wonderful things! I don't want to put my game camera up on snowmobile trail 21! Forgot that they run that trail in the winter....Ha!....maybe Covell Mountain???......just got this photo from Gayle of Magalloway from Covell...
...and Old Thumper posted some photos to SledNH........if you're still not convinced there's snow up north....
Just got back from a non-productive trip north - Desmond Valley is plowed in and Smith Brook is sleds only again.... 2nd Lake Dam parking has been plowed and Idlewilde is open to Champion Circle....Logging is going on at Coon Brook, Big Brook and somewhere up the Magalloway Road....and my game camera came home with me....
Wow! -- Look at this!....They need a caretaker for the Horn's Pond Campground?.... I stayed there twice when I maintained the Horn's Pond Access Trail - The first time I shared the lean-to with several mice that thought nothing of running across my face all night --- then I could hear them chewing away at my pack hanging from the rafters
.... the second time, 15 French-Canadian men came in late, crammed into the lean-to (Jana and I were on a tent-platform nearby)...and we listened to French Ballards and giggling all night... so being the anti-social mountaineer, I took to camping illegally on a ledge overlooking Sugarloaf, USA (ski area in Carrabasset Valley)... or I slept under the stars on the North Horn overlooking Flagstaff Lake....Awesome and highly recommended!