Saturday, January 30, 2021
Sandy Point Wildlife Management Area (Stockton Springs)
Sunday, January 24, 2021
Peaks Kenny State Park
Matty and I visited Peaks Kenny State Park this afternoon, hiking from the park's entrance to the beach area along the park's closed road. The snow was firmly packed down along the road, making walking in boots a relatively easy task. It was 15 degrees out, but when we reached the beach area 30 mph winds were whipping in from the lake, making it feel like -6 degrees. The round-trip distance was 3.2 miles.
Here is a map of our hike. We had a great time despite the frigid temperatures.
Saturday, January 23, 2021
Sklar Park (Orono)
Sunday, January 17, 2021
McPhetres Farm Forest (Veazie)
Matty and I explored the McPhetres Farm Forest in Veazie this afternoon, hiking 8/10 of a mile on slushy, modestly hilly trails. The 25 acre preserve is owned by the Town of Veazie and sits adjacent to two other preserves - Davis Forest and Manter Wood - giving visitors several trail options for exploring the combined woodlands.
When I last visited here in September 2019, I found the trail system somewhat confusing. However, since that time the trails have been freshly blazed and new trail maps have been added at nearly every intersection, making it very easy to navigate.
Here is a map of our hike.
Saturday, January 9, 2021
Pleasant Lake Preserve (Stetson)
My son and I went snowshoeing today at Pleasant Lake Preserve in Stetson. The preserve, established in 2010 and administered by the Sebasticook Regional Land Trust (https://www.sebasticookrlt.org/pleasant-lake) features a relatively flat trail that leads out to and then circumnavigates an island in Pleasant Lake.
The initial part of the hike was enjoyable as we traveled along the Cape Trail and visited two lakefront picnic sites. We then took part of the Loop Trail to the Shoreline Trail, at which point things became challenging.
There were multiple sections of the Shoreline Trail where the trail crossed over ice (and water underneath). The ice hadn't fully frozen over yet and in several points along the trail we broke through, although the water wasn't very deep. At one point, however, I broke through ice with my snowshoes into water that was knee deep (despite being on the trail). Freezing water soaked my boots, socks and pants. Since temperatures were in the mid-20's, we decided to forgo the remainder of the Shoreline Trail and bushwhack through the center of the island back to where the trail entered the island. The interior of the island was thickly forested at parts and we discovered a frozen over stream as well, but it was significantly shorter than had we either backtracked or continued along the trail.
I would recommend the preserve if you just visit the Cape and Loop Trails. We only saw one other person during our visit, and some of the trails had not been visited since being covered with snow around a week ago.