Outdoors

Published
January 12, 2013

Getting back in the Black: The little mountain that could

The small ski resort that thinks big, Black Mountain opens its first backcountry trail, begins grooming and remains an affordable $15.
Published
January 12, 2013

Deirdre Fleming: Moosehead Lake awaits a Squaw Mountain renaissance

This week could turn into one heck of a 50th anniversary around Moosehead Lake, because this is the week Squaw Mountain Ski Area atop Moose Mountain may open its doors again. A friends group incorporated last February pushed into high gear two weeks ago to raise money and turn the once defunct small ski area […]
Published
January 12, 2013

North Cairn: The moon outshines a squirrel

Sometimes the slightest vision leaves me calmed by the joy only nature can reveal. And so it came to me at the last full moon, the shining, ivory orb in the cold winter sky, held in the half fog of the stilled night, too frozen even for the mice and one bigger animal — presumably […]
Published
January 12, 2013

Kid Tracks: It’s way ahead for an early trail

The kids and I enjoy cross-country skiing and try to expand our horizons every year with a visit to a new trail. After last year’s disappointing winter (and no big skiing adventures for us), we decided to visit Carter’s in Oxford for an easy, groomed-trail experience right after the big January snowfall (we’ve learned our […]
Published
January 12, 2013

Carey Kish: Uplifting experience hiking the peaks

A number of Maine mountains provide snowshoers and hikers with access to their ski slopes for winter adventure on foot. Ready-made packed trails allow for straightforward snow travel, and wide-open ascent routes offer continuous views. Base and on-mountain lodges make great places to warm up and enjoy good food and drink, and even entertainment before, […]

Published
January 12, 2013

Hunting: Falcons the true winged wonders of hunting

I watched with fascination as a pair of black ducks jumped from the narrow salt creek and darted away in an erratic, ground-hugging flight. The falcon, which had been coursing several hundred feet above, folded her wings and fell into a stoop. Nearing the ducks she shallowed her dive, then twisted and turned, mirroring every […]
Published
January 12, 2013

Skiing in Maine: Skiing needn’t be gone with the wind

Wind can be both an ally and enemy to skiers and snowboarders. At its best, wind helps to subtly shift snow around the mountain. Breezes move light snow around after storms, filling in skied terrain and once again creating untracked powder. Unfortunately, wind can also bring in bitter, stinging cold and create a hard crust […]
Published
January 12, 2013

Allen Afield: The old hound almost assured a hare-raising time

In my preteens, rabbit hunting meant a short walk east from my home, taking me through a stately grove of white pines and then to a tumbling brook that rushed downhill, enough of a drop for a kid to sled the bank. The stream skirted a huge varying hare (Lepus americanus) cover, dozens of acres […]
Published
January 12, 2013

Best Bets

SUNDAY Youth Field Day all day in Phippsburg Snowshoeing, Nordic skiing, dogsled rides, winter tracking and more will be taught by the Phippsburg Sportsmen’s Association at the club’s winter youth field day. Equipment will be available for snowshoeing and skiing, or kids may bring their own. The Sportsmen’s Association’s facility is on Route 209. Activities […]
Published
January 7, 2013

Where wild boar came from still a mystery, official says

A state biologist says a wild boar killed in Somerset County in November did not have rabies or any of the swine viruses domestic pig owners worry about. Where the boar came from, however, remains unknown. “It’s kind of a mystery, still,” Kendall Marden, a wildlife biologist with the state Department of Inland Fisheries and […]

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