In this Issue
March 2005

NORDIC NOMAD
Lost on a poacher's trail
By Tim Kane

Tim Kane

TIPS FOR THE TRAILS Avoid wearing cotton shirts out on the trails because they don’t wick moisture away from your skin. Cabelas, Browning, Patagonia, Terramar, Gransfors Bruks and Layers all make excellent synthetic products. According to Windblown Ski Center (www.windblownxc.com) owner Al Jenks, PolyPro fabric is the best. Guide to Area Cross Country Ski Centers Kermit's gift to nature lovers

With March promising to be an extension of a very unpredictable winter, many cross-country skiers will probably be forced to drive hours to kick fresh tracks. One journey in particular comes to mind that I logged about this time last year to Prospect Mountain in Woodford, Vermont.

The night before I headed up I-91 North to Brattleboro, Vt., and then west to Prospect along Route 9, I had visions of a good old-fashioned, remote, skill-building back-country outing on the other side of the mountain where few skiers roam. The challenge was I had never skied that part of the mountain before or wandered that far out into remote wilderness without a map.

Strapping on a 25-pound daypack, which offers a wonderfully innovative strapping mechanism stitched on its rear side to accept extra snowshoes and/or skis, I carried enough water, energy food and emergency gear to feel safe if stuck outside overnight. My wife knew this skier’s general whereabouts and our cell phone had service. So I was prepared if trouble awaited me on the mountain.

I headed immediately toward the center’s back-country trail system left of base lodge. I climbed about 800-vertical feet to reach my intended trail destination of “Danish Delight” — a boomerang-shaped trail at the very edge of Prospect ski center’s boundary line. Knowing this adventure could last a lot longer than my average 2.5-hour trekking time (it ended up being 5 hours); I paced myself early on by taking baby steps instead of full strides. The first 30 minutes was all up hill so my strategy worked well.
Reaching the intersection and settling onto Danish Delight, I found a few promising side trails to explore. All three of those trails led me to dead-ends: one at a private motel, one at a parking area, and one in a camp. Directly behind a hunter haven called the Lemieux Camp, however, I found another side trail with some fresh ski tracks. Unfazed by the previous bad turns, this single-track path climbed a gradual ascent for about one mile. At first, the unmarked trail was quite rough, no doubt doubling as a riverbed since irrigation trenches were not evident. Nothing is professionally groomed back here so I decided to switch over to the snowshoes strapped to my daypack. I then firmly attached my skis to the back of the pack. After using the straps for the first time, I thought the system worked great, taking about four minutes to transition from skis to snowshoes. The shoes gave me the extra power and leverage I needed to finish the ascent. When elevation leveled off again and the old logging trail widened, I went back to skis for the duration of my outing.

It was at this point that the real adventure began.

I knew my trek was skirting along the outskirts of Prospect Mountain ski center, but I could have doubled back following my own tracks out. Then I saw a yellow sign that read “Green Mountain National Forest Wilderness Trail.” I couldn’t stop now. I came up here for a back-country ski adventure and after 90 minutes I finally got one. So I continued up the trail. Later I would learn that the paths I traversed from here forward were part of a 5,060-acre wilderness area named after the late Vermont Sen. George D. Aiken. Researching the property later, I learned that it really has no designated trails. The few old logging roads leading into Aiken soon fade away, and give you ample opportunity to use your compass and map-reading skills as you bushwhack through this area. Unfortunately, I did not have a map, only a compass. I ordered a topo map yesterday.

This wilderness sits on a plateau above 2,300 feet in elevation, but strangely enough is not mountainous. The wilderness trail I chose to follow continued for several miles as single track through a variety of eco-systems, from massive beaver pond areas and coniferous forests to evergreen groves and open slopes. Then I began to tire and cramp up. I started to think about turning back because I had no idea where this trail would end up, and I had been out here for more than two hours already. But I pushed on.
Finally, I reached another trail intersection where the fresh tracks continued. It was marked with a tin pot nailed to a tree and a very faded blue marker. I decided to follow it, which my famous internal compass said headed east back toward Prospect’s base lodge. One problem: I was still tired and miles away from my warm car. So I ate some chocolate, drank some water and found a second wind. My strategy was to give this wilderness trail one more hour, then turn back if it didn’t pan out.

Just as my spirits were raised, they quickly disappeared, however. The wide logging road condensed down to a narrow path with plenty of undergrowth getting in the way. It was bushwhacking time, and that only further slowed my progress.

Miraculously, a few turns later I saw another “Green Mountain Forest” sign from the corner of my eye as I descended a hill. That lead me to two conclusions: I was going in circles, or I was leaving the wilderness area and re-entering the very outer fringes of Prospect’s property. Baseball legend Yogi Berra once said, “When you come to a fork in the road, take it.” So I followed my gut feeling and took the turn.

After reaching another large beaver pond opening, and seeing additional tracks, my nervousness subsided. I was growing even more exhausted, but could not turn back at this point.

I continued to follow my mystery “guide’s” track onto another side trail. But when that trail became a thicket disguised as a trail, I turned around and continued down a slightly wider path with no fresh tracks. That turned out to be a very good decision. It dumped me out onto an ungroomed logging trail on a hill. I decided to climb up it since that headed east, but at the first turn I noticed some very familiar natural landscapes. “Wait a minute, this is 10th Mountain Trail,” I shouted. 10th Mountain Trail is the expert trail at Prospect that leads you up to the summit. So I quickly reversed direction and enjoyed a wonderful descent with great control back to the ski center about one mile away.

After devouring a chili bread bowl, I chatted with Prospect owner Steve Whitham who told me as he repaired a heel plate on my ski that I was following illegal poachers’ trails because of all the bushwhacking I did, and all the problems he has with them.

So if you have good equipment, endurance, and intermediate back-country skills, you can definitely handle this incredible experience. I strongly suggest you get a map and ski with a partner, however, especially in strange surroundings. Aiken Wilderness is located east of the town of Bennington, Vermont off Route 9 west. If you don’t want to pay the $14 ski touring center charge at Prospect Mountain just up the road, the best access is from Forest Road 74 on the east side of the area. A primitive road from Route 8 will take you to the area's southeast corner.

You can contact Prospect Mountain online www.prospectmountain.com or call (802) 442–2575 for more information.

Read previous columns from the Nordic Nomad.