This will be my third season nordic skiing, my eleventh AT skiing, and my first XCD/telemark. I moved to New England from southern California two years ago next month. Moving to New England piqued my interest in nordic skiing. Then this past season I skied the 100 Mile Wilderness in Maine for five days. My buddy and I skied fifty miles hut-to-hut over the course of our trip. He was on pair of Fischer Outback 68s w/ NNNBC/Alaska boots. I was on Sporten Ranger 68s w/ NNN/RossiX5 boots. The difference between what my buddy could do and what I could was stark to say the least. After getting throat punched by the ice/snow and crashing over and over again I decided that I had found the limit of what my NNN setup could do. I swore I was going to get a more robust setup for the next season. Then I discovered the Rotefella xPlore and the rest is history... So, enough about me lets discuss the trip.
Route Logistics
The Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) operates all but one of the lodges in the 100 Mile Wilderness. The AMC opens up reservations for the huts the Monday after Labor Day. I called right when they opened Monday morning and made my reservations. The problem was that the West Branch Pond Camp is privately owned and they allow you to make reservations as far in advance as you want. So, unfortunately my plans to ski North to South were thwarted as WBPC was booked solid on our second day. They only had one spot left on our first day. I ended up booking the last spot (do note that the best way to communicate with WBPC is by email, they can only make calls when they go into town. Also you have to pay for your reservation by check, which you will have to mail). Instead of going from Medawisla, WBPC, Little Lyford, Gorman Chairback we went from WBPC, Little Lyford, Gorman Chairback, back to Little Lyford and returned to WBPC where our truck was parked. If you were to go from North to South (or vice versa) there is a shuttle you can take to get you back to wherever your vehicle is parked.
Cost
The total cost for four nights/five days for two travelers was $1031 ($515.50 a person). This includes breakfast and dinner cooked every night at your hut, a trail lunch (that you order the night before), and snow mobile transportation of your gear between huts.
Food/Accommodations
Since I was traveling with my buddy we opted for the bunk room every night. The only exception is WBPC where they only have private cabins. This kept our cost down. It was also a great opportunity to meet new and interesting people. I am vegan and my buddy is mostly vegetarian. For the trip I had to go vegetarian a few meals, but overall I was able to eat vegan. On the third day for trail lunch I ordered two sandwiches - peanut butter and jelly, and the veggie wrap with hummus. However, the person making the sandwiches must have been confused so they made one sandwich with all the ingredients. I was starving so maybe I was hallucinating but the sandwich actually tasted kind of like a Thanksgiving Meal
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
Thoughts
This was my first hut-to-hut trip and I had no idea what to expect so I brought my sub-40 winter boots for camp shoes. It was fine the first night but the second night my feet were COVERED in blisters. Cramming my feet into those boots at night was horrific. The last night I just walked barefoot into the snow at night to pee. When I got home I bought a pair of Teva Ember Mocs for camp shoes.
There was a sweet family on the trip visiting from Europe. The saw me limping around and gave me a pack of Compeed Advanced Blister Care strips. Those things are AMAZING! Get a packet of them before your next trip. A 10 pack is less than $20 on Amazon.
Gorman Chairback had chipped a hole in the ice so you could go for a dip if you wanted, which was pretty trippy. The water was actually warmer than the air. Never experienced that before.
There is almost no cell reception in the entire area. There is also no wifi. Call your family friends from town before you drive into the woods. There is one lodge that has one bar of reception if you stand in the right spot and don't move. I will refrain from telling you what lodge - just plan on not staring at your phone the whole trip.
The terrain ESE/SE of WBPC along Hay Mountain had some really fun terrain - old logging roads running straight downhill that make for some fun skiing. The main routes are groomed - some more regularly than others. Some of the main routes are also snowmobile routes, which can lead to some pretty choppy conditions. A few days before we visited New England was slammed with an arctic blast that dropped temps into the negative forties and fifties. So, there was still a lot of ice and the lodges were not as full because some folks had bailed on their trips.
AMC Books Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast has a great write-up of the area along with a good topo map. Honestly, you can read the write up in the NY Times for free (the author pretty much copy and pasted it from his guidebook -- or vise versa) The link is in my blog post for those interested. I also bought the AMC map of the 100 Mile Wilderness and brought a compass, just in case. I did not end up needing it, the weather was great all but the last morning when it rained for an hour or two.
Indian Mountain near Little Lyford also had some really great looking lines. Due to our setup we just stared wistfully. I overheard a cook at Little Lyford talking about riding up there on her snowboard...
For photos and a play by play of each day you can check out my blog https://www.iloveto.fish/winter/100-mile-wilderness