I needed to attend a meeting in Millinocket on Wednesday. The usual plan for me at these sorts of things is to drive up, attend the meeting and return home in the same day. One of our group had the good idea that we stay overnight and spend the next day on a snowmobile trip. I have not ridden a snowmobile very much and then only to accomplish some task like checking a cross country ski trail. So this was a new adventure for me. We spent the night at Twin Pines Camps in an excellent new cabin. Actually cabin does not do the place justice it was beautiful and had all of the amenities. To make the plan even more perfect we had driven up in a snowstorm and when we left the meeting we were greeted by freezing rain. Very nice not to have to drive home through that.
The next morning we rented snowmobiles at Twin Pines and planned to ride a loop that would take us over the east branch of the Penobscot, north along the river, crossing back at Matagamon and riding back down to camp through Baxter State Park. A pretty long ride for a novice like me but not impossible and one that should have us easily back for supper. We left Twin Pines at around 9 AM and headed out on the new snow. As a novice rider I had some difficulty crossing this small stream. We were able to quickly get sled out of this problem and travel on.
After a pleasant ride we crossed the river at Whetstone Bridge and began looking for the trail off to the north. We never did find the trail and eventually wound up in Patten way too far to the east. After an hour of being lost and confused we were able to sort out the trail we had come in on. On the trip back we were still unable to locate the trail to the north. Now low on gas we decided to head to East Millinocket for gas and by this time a very late lunch.
After fueling machines and stomachs we headed back toward Twin Pines. What we expected to be a simple ride of maybe twenty miles. Not. The two cutoff trails that showed on the map were not in use. In fact we were forced to turn around where a bridge was out and mired two of our sleds in deep snow. After a lot of pulling and sweating we were able to get all of the machines back on the trail. By now it was completely dark which adds another set of navigation problems. We caught up with a trail groomer who told us that the only thing we could do was backtrack completely to the river and trace our trail to Twin Pines, another thirty miles or so.
At this point I was very tired of riding on a snowmobile and ready to get off, but we were a very long way from anywhere that we could call the end of the trip. Another hour of riding and a couple more mix-ups with unmarked trails and we returned to Twin Pines at 8PM. Tired and sore but having had a great adventure with stories to tell. Unfortunately my camera battery had been drained by the cold so no other pictures.
As I drove home (another 3 hours) I thought about how trips that I guide are never like that for my clients. I know exactly what will happen and where we are going. In fact I pride myself on starting and ending almost exactly on time. I think about their safety constantly and do all that I can to insure that everything goes well. At some level my clients miss out on the adventure part of an outdoor experience. The day was not really what we had planned and was exhausting but it was great fun. By being persistent and careful the trip ended well if later than scheduled. I was tired to be sure but thoroughly enjoyed spending a day out doing something new and had a great winter adventure.
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