Winter at Debsconeag Lake Wilderness Camps

Debsconeag Lake Wilderness Area in Winter.

It’s been a rather snowless winter in Southern Maine where I live and the result has been months of nearly no time outside. So, when Chewonki offered the chance to ski into Fourth Debs for a winter weekend, I jumped at the chance.

A group of us – a mother and daughter from Ashville, NC, a doctor from Woolwich, a chef from Bar Harbor, Chewonki Head Naturalist Lynne Flaccus -- all met just north of Millinocket and hopped on a few snowmobiles (my first time riding one). The ride into the wilderness sporting camps included stunning views of Katahdin and crossing over the West Branch of the Penobscot River in winter. I was excited to get to the lake and put on my skis.

Once on skis, we crossed the frozen lake and entered the woods, immediately there were signs of wildlife. A beaver had been busy around the inlet of the lake – we could see tooth marks on several stumps he left – as well as signs of his belly dragging up and down over the bank of the stream. We saw tracks of coyote, red squirrel, snowshoe hare, white-tailed deer, and others we could not identify for certain. It struck me how devoid my life can be of wildlife until I take the opportunity to step into a wild place. I needed this trip and the chance it provided to challenge myself, meet new friends, and take a break from the trappings of my predictable life back home.

That afternoon we met the rest of our group and skied the circumference of the lake enjoying the grand views of the surrounding wilderness. Later, three of us settled into a yurt, while others took to cabins – already snuggly from the fires that has been build in preparation for our arrival.

The following morning we ate yet another a delicious meal – this time a breakfast of eggs, fruit, sausage, bagels and cream cheese with coffee -- before strapping on snowshoes and heading up the cliffs behind the camp. We hiked through a range of forest types – hemlock, spruce, cedar and pine at first and moving into white birch, beech, maple, hornbeam, oak – yielding at the top to a barren landscape made possible by a fire some years ago. The opening at the top provided views of the grand Katahdin range to the northeast, Jo Mary Mountain to the south and thousands of acres of lake-spotted wilderness all around. The sun shined for the whole day against a bright blue sky.

I was reminded again of the simple pleasures of hiking to a summit and enjoying a snack and conversation there with friends.

The remainder of the weekend was equally fulfilling – and deeply satisfying. Many of us on the trip (myself included) have committed to making this an annual trip – as we all recognized the enjoyment winter has to offer when you get outside and allow yourself to discover places, people and wilderness. There is no trick to being an outdoors person, an athlete, or a wilderness traveler. You just have to show up. by Betta Stothart-Conner

Winter at Debsconeag Lake Wilderness Camps

We stood in silence and watched a coyote trot across the ice on Third Debsconeag Lake. In the background Mount Katahdin filled the cloudless sky. Light winds and temperatures in the 20's and a deep snowpack all combined for a beautiful winter day. Earlier we had followed the tracks of coyote, snowshoe hare and fisher as we snowshoed over the portage trail between Fourth and Third Debsconeag Lake. The coyote was all business, on the hunt, stopping only briefly to look in our direction as Lynne and Kyle howled their best coyote imitation. Soon it entered the woods and we were left with a memory and a fleeting glimpse of one the local residents of the Debsconeags. I've learned over the years the importance of stopping occasionally to look back from where you have come. Once on Big Wood Pond in Attean Township in northwestern Maine we were rewarded with the sighting of a group of deer crossing the ice followed shortly by a lynx. Another time a coyote followed us. The most memorable experience occurred on the DePass River in Northern Quebec. We were a week into an extended canoe trip. Our group of six canoes had just paddled down through a Class II rapid. The canoes drifted with the current below the rapid. I turned to look back upriver and it was then that I saw the first dozen or so caribou come out of the spruce forest and cross the river. Over the next half hour or so we watched a steady stream of thousands of caribou cross the DePass. The image of the caribou herd crossing the river is as vivid today as when it happened almost 15 years ago. Luck has a lot to do with seeing wildlife but just as important is learning how to look. This past Sunday on a frozen lake I was again reminded of how important it is to take the time to really look. By now I'm sure the coyote has long forgotten seeing us but my memory of him or her will quickly come to mind each time I visit Third Debsconeag. Our next cross country ski weekend at Debsconeag Lake Wilderness Camps is coming up February 19-21 we have a couple spaces left and hope that you will consider joining us.

An update from the Wilderness Trip Office

Happy New Year!

For the past 20 years the first program of the new year at Chewonki has been a Wilderness Medicine Course. We have a wonderful long standing partnership with Wilderness Medical Associates (www.wildmed.com) who provide the instruction for our Wilderness First Aid Courses. Today is the final day of our Wilderness Advanced First Aid Course that filled with 28 students. After a one day break tomorrow we will welcome 30 students for a Wilderness First Responder Bridge Course. The next WAFA and WFR Bridge Courses are scheduled for May 26-29 and May 31 to June 3, 2010.

Maine received between a foot and three feet of snow from the New Years Day Weekend storm and we are all looking forward to inviting folks to join us for cross country ski weekends at our Debsconeag Lake Wilderness Camps. We rendezvous outside Millinocket and gear is shuttled into camp by snowmobile leaving participants a 10 mile ski with a daypack. The ski in over rolling terrain to the Camps offers stunning views of Mount Katahdin. Accommodations are in comfortable wood heated cabins our Yurts. Meals are served family style in the main Lodge. Days are free to explore on skis or snowshoes or curl up by the wood stove with a good book. The Martin Luther King weekend trip is already filled but there is plenty of good skiing in February and March.

We hope that you will join us for a winter getaway or consider one of our summer trips. We can always customize a trip to suit a group of friends or family. This year we have already scheduled custom trips to canoe the St John River in May,the Allagash in September and to hike in the Torngat Mountains of Labrador in August.