Saturday, March 6, 2010

Hiking (snowshoeing) on Maine Huts & Trails!

Good evening, all!

Well, it's been a wonderful day! One of those wonderful, or wonderfilled, days that can only be accredited to God.

Cari and I have been talking about getting out for a "walk" for quite awhile now, and it just so happened that we both had the weekend off from work. The weather forecast was for high 40's temperatures (not bad for the first week of March, in Maine!), and 100% chance of happy hiking!

We had talked, also, about checking out one of the Huts of the Maine Huts and Trails system. We opted to trek in to Flagstaff Lake Hut, a round trip distance of about 4 miles, with easy access to the trailhead via Long Falls Dam Road. We put our snowshoes on, and after about 0.2 miles of access trail, we came to the main trail. It was groomed, wide, flat, mildly rolling, perfect for crosscountry skiing. We had another option... travel the Shore Trail. We did, and found it very enjoyable. It was a snowshoeing trail, and just a little rough, meandering through the woods along the shore of Flagstaff Lake. It was quite beautiful, sunny, with a nice view of the Bigelows, just southwest of us, across the lake.

We arrived at the Hut, an incredible place! Upon entering, we were greeted by one of the Hut caretakers, a very nice young man named Sky, who, we learned, hailed from Islesboro, Maine. We poured ourselves cups of delicious coffee, and chatted with a couple of guests. Sky came back out from the kitchen, and we talked a bit more. We, of course, talked "trail talk", and I stated that I had made a SOBO attempt in '07. Well, Lo!... Behold!... HE had done a SOBO hike of the Appalachian Trail in 2007! He said he remembered me, that we had met in the "100 mile wilderness", and that I had been hiking with "Faithful"! Wow! He also said that he had hiked with, and around, Faithful, further down trail, Pennsylvania and such. Sky's trailname is "Johnny Appleseed", and he was hiking with "Puck". ... ... Yeah, it's a BIG world, but not THAT big! Amazing!

We eventually had to leave, and we shoed back to the truck on the main trail, which was much faster. All in all it was just a terrific day, and every muscle ache brings a smile to my face. If you get a chance, enjoy the Maine Huts & Trails system. It is still being built in stages, but has a lot to offer already. This particular Hut can be accessed by hiking, snowshoing, skiing, and kayak/canoe! For sure, find out about it, here is their site... http://www.mainehuts.org/huts/flagstaff.htm

Goodnight, good hiking, God Bless!

Stickman

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