While there were no official winter trips listed for the past season, several North Woods Ways activities took place during one of the best winters Maine has had in memory. January through mid-February was like a classic old-time winter. There was plenty of snow, and virtually no thaws or rains to diminish a remarkably consistent six or seven weeks of glorious dry cold.

Garrett was able to spend eight days on the Big Black River and St. John River with three Darrow Camp leaders on a “friends trip”. The outing coincided with a record setting cold snap that was very akin to Labrador conditions. In the past there was a minus 36 degree dawn on an Allagash trip, and a single minus 42 reading at home on the Big Wilson Stream; but this trip started out with bragging data. Our first three dawns were minus 38, minus 46, and minus 36; while lunches at mid-day rose to a balmy minus 4. Toward the end we did get some moderation, and it went above zero to snow, with the final two lunch time temperatures at plus 17 degrees.  Our coldest dawn was four degrees warmer than a Maine record which was set just downstream from us at a weather station near the Big Black and St. John Confluence at an even Minus 50; a low that was equaled only once in New England when a town in Vermont recorded the same in the early 1970’s.

After that, we spent two weeks with a group from the United Kingdom who had signed up for a collaborative course with Lisa Fenton and Ben McNutt of Woodsmoke, and Alexandra and Garrett of North woods Ways. Eleven of those days were spent on Pine Stream, where ideal conditions were present the entire time.

Finally, we enjoyed an Introductory Weekend of Winter Camping offered through Maine Audubon  just up the road at Borestone Mountain Audubon Sanctuary, where we are employed May through October. It was the first winter camping offering at Borestone, and the first official use of the property on the Onawa Lake side of the mountain. Three veterans of previous NWW winter trips joined seven new people on that wonderful occasion. On a ledge above our lake-side campsite were a perfect fresh set of bobcat tracks and a small round bed in the snow.  We all hoped that it had been curiously peering down on our glowing tents the previous night.