Joyeux Noël

For the holidays this year, Bill and I packed up our skis and headed East to spend some time with mère et père' Daigle in Fort Kent, Maine.

We were spoiled by the miles of groomed cross country trails at the Biathalon Center, just up the road. Bill even found the "Moat" that was named after him when he was a ski racer in high school.

I got to work on my French Canadian, and came away with some pretty good insults. Bill's French Acadian uncle was my tutor and pumped up my ego. Ja'i le front tout le tour de la tête. Right, mon oncle?

This is a new mural, painted on a building near downtown Fort Kent, that pays homage to the potato farmers in Northern Maine. Bill and I both worked in the spud fields growing up, even though we lived on opposite sides of the country. We each had two weeks of "vacation" during potato harvest during each school year. And still, after 8 years together, we have not yet had a taste-off of the Idaho vs. the Maine potato. Regardless, I'm pretty sure my high school mascot (The Mighty Russet) is tougher than his. Attache ta tuque!

For New Year's we drove up to Quebec City, one of the oldest European cities in North America. Established in the 1600s, this cool, very French, cobbled city was built as a fort on the Saint Lawrence River. As we walked along the foot-ball-field-sized boardwalk overlooking the river, we were shocked when a canoe full of paddlers launched out into the ice ridden water. They managed to break through the ice chunks with their paddles and feet, to maneuver to the other side, over half a mile away. I mean, seriously, who in their right mind would do that? You have to check out this video, courtesy of the land of You Tube, to fully appreciate what it means to paddle across a moving river of ice chunks. We land lubbers were plenty cold as it was, without a dip in the Saint Lawrence.

The Quebec humidity made it feel 20 degrees
colder, and while I tried to stave off frost-bite, this
tiny Québécois handled the cold like it was child's play.

 

Bill's dad, Ron, had the right idea for a head warmer, which doubled as a fashion statement. He bought his bonnet from a little shop where the hats were handmade.

Of course, once we made it back to Maine, we left a little time to indulge in some great "Downeast" seafood. We highly recommend the Lobster Diavolo at Portland's Street and Company. Delicious!

Stemple To Flesher...Maybe Next Time

There's nothing like a good ski with friends to put you back into the blogging spirit. Today we hit the trails, and the backcountry, with a couple of buddies and two good dogs.

The Continental Divide Trail (CDT) holds a lot of draw for Bill and I, but we've only been a small section of it on a quick backpacking trip years ago. Today we went to Stemple Pass, elevation 6349, with the idea that we were going to ski along the CDT to Flesher Pass, elevation 6131. We were looking at roughly 12 miles of skiing, and went into it perhaps a bit too cocky and ill-prepared. Bill topo'd the trail and mapped the elevation changes, and, as always, I mentally downplayed the ups-and-downs existing between the beginning and the end.

Matt, Sho, Pelé, and Stewie

 Ultimately , gaining 700 feet to our highest destination, the snow was at times knee and waist deep (especially for some of us little people), and just iced over hard enough to let you fall through after a few moments of exhilarating surface-skimming, only to crash through in the next heartbeat and get your skis buried in the heavy snow below. The dogs, god bless 'em, plowed through, mostly up to their chests.

After about 5 hours of the good fight, we'd only made it 4.5 miles in. Thanks to Bill, ever the voice of reason, for helping us realize we'd never make our original destination before nightfall. Plus, good dogs were getting pretty tired. A bit of disappointment to turn around, but overall it was a great time and a fun ski. And a good reminder to heed the boy and girl scout motto: be prepared (ie: always pack more granola bars than you think you'll need, don't assume snow conditions, and never forget to pack a headlight...or dog treats.)

Stemple Pass:

This place is one of our favorites. It's about 30 miles northwest of Helena, with loops of cross country trails that are generally skiable from December to March. Good place to bring the pooches. (Baxter had to sit this one out, but Stew-dog had a good time with Pele`.)


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Homestake Lodge: Spring Skiing, Off the Grid

For the B&B (Bill and Baxter) birthday party we packed  up our cross country skis for the final ski trip of the season. Homestake Lodge is a relatively newly-developed, off-the-grid, cross-country ski area just a few minutes east of Butte. The ski conditions were fair to poor, due to a long stretch of 50 degree plus days, but the trails look like they have great potential when the snow's good; they're narrow and winding. And best of all, we were able to take our dogs on the trails! Lodging (cabin or yurt) is dog-friendly as well. And up at the main lodge, there is hot soup and fresh baked bread available for lunch.

The owners, Chris and Mandy, are a couple from Maine who designed and built the trails and the lodge from the ground up. Chris was kind enough to give us a tour of his energy set up and solar hot water collectors; he had some good suggestions for when we put in our own. Tip: make the water collection tank as big as you can and place it near the panels for optimum heat conservation.

Bax, 12 today!, and Stew having a good day on the trails.

Bill water skiing across a melted portion of trail.

Both just happy to be part of the team.

Overlooking some of the trail system.