We drove out to West Kingfield, to the foot of the Longfellow Range to ski on Saturday. There was plenty of snow there - not a lot in the woods, but the snowmobile trails were darn good. Skied with Alison and Stacy. Good stuff.
Al and Stace with Abraham behind them.
This sign made me snicker a little. I had been bombing down the hill and was far ahead of Al and Stacy. As I waited for them, Al came "ripping" around the corner down the same hill - with this sign on her left. Oh, the irony.
On Sunday afternoon Jim joined me for a quick hike up Bald Mountain in Weld. The boot pack was so good that I made nearly the same time I make in the Summer.
It was odd, at the trailhead we met a man (who coincidentally was just "off" enough to make me think that had I been alone, I would have been thankful to have my pepper spray, knowing I would likely not have to use it). He was sweaty. He wore really thick glasses, big pack boots and a thick winter hat. He appeared as if he had just finished the hike. Then he took a big gulp of water and headed back up. Huh. So we followed suit, never catching him until he had stopped to speak to another male hiker on his way down. From there we were kind of hiking together, the three of us. At one point he said down to me, "I like how you're as sure footed as your dog." He kind of slurred his speech so I had to ask him, "What?" Then I got it and just was like, "Ha." Like I said, he was totally fine, but just a little "off". We hit the summit and I went to my special spot that is a little off the beaten path. Jim and the hiker looked at the view from the typical spot; when I showed back up, they were talking about boilers. Huh. He asked us if we ever jogged down, we answered something. Then he told us how he had jogged down, made it in 15 minutes and decided to hike it again since he felt he had not gotten enough exercise. I can relate. I started to think him more normal. Then I checked out his vest. It was old, and blue and down of some sort. On it, in gold, was the word Maine. Now when I raced in high school I remember the kids who made the Maine State Team (in either Alpine or Nordic) were given blue jackets with gold lettering. I think back in the day, he was on one of the State Ski Teams. And by that point, I chalked him up as perfectly normal.
The summit with ice - looking at Webb Lake, Walker, Tumbledown and Little Jackson
Me and Dix
I had to take this shot of studboy. He tried hard not to smile, but I waited him out. I am documenting his fashion choice to put the tank OVER the long-sleeve. I asked him, "You didn't want to put that underneath, huh?" Nope, he sure did not.
Next evening I went for a walk with Dixie near the Sandy.
And yesterday, oh yesterday, what an intense ski. Embarrassingly, I skipped lunch. I had a healthy full breakfast and underestimated the need for food. Thankfully, I had an emergency bar with me and Al split her ABJ (almond butter and jelly). We drove to Rangeley, thinking there would be more snow. There was, but only a very little more. We bought a map at the Chamber of Commerce (FINALLY I have a map of all the Rangeley Trails) and chose a loop. MF, did that bad boy CLIMB. We climbed and climbed and climbed some more. Phew. Thank goodness for that food and thank goodness for the huge downhill to the pond. It was a really pretty choice, although it will be interesting to see when we opt for it again (knowing how much work it was). This is Saddleback from the highest point of the ski; there was a nice little pull off for the view.
This trail reminded me of another EPIC outdoor adventure. Like my ski the other day - long and exhausting - so too was a mountain bike ride I did once that left from the cabin I used to live in out in Tetonia, ID. We had biked for a long, long time and were hoping and praying we knew where we were and that we would make it home before dark. Imagine how I felt on that ride when I saw the smallest, brown sign (a lot like a state park sign)that read WYOMING. Huh. We left ID and had ridden into WY - not a big deal from downtown Driggs, a fairly big deal from Tetonia. We made it home, exhausted. These signs, like road signs, only out in the woods, reminded me of that ride.
Al at the junction when we KNEW we were heading down! See her smile - you never see that smile! Another little ID connection. That hat she is wearing? I made her that hat for Christmas when I lived out there. She, like my sister-in-law, loves the hat and has kept close track of it since falling in love with it. Coincidentally, my sister-in-law has the same print and pattern, only in a nice blue.
The dogs waiting in the field just before we dropped a little lower, onto the lake.
Saddleback from the field - you can really see the ski area in this one. Word on the meteorologists' lips is that Rangeley will get 5+ inches near the end of this week. I hope so.
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