Sunday, January 13, 2019

Ovens Mouth Preserve - Boothbay ...HIKING

Trailhead: Ovens Mouth Preserve WEST (There are 2 trail heads...) 

Click here to access more trail info from Maine Trailfinder.
Total Mileage: We did about 2.8 miles!


Directions: From Portland... go north on 295 to the Brunswick Exit, Exit 28.  Merge onto Rt. 1 North.  Stay on Rt. 1 for about 22 miles then bear right onto Rt. 27.  Go 7.9 miles  and turn right onto Adams Pond Road. (This  side road is very narrow and easy to miss... it is right before the chamber of commerce.)  You will go a short distance then have to turn right onto Dover Road.  Stay on Dover Road for about 2 miles... and you will come to this sign.  (It is small and hard to see.) 

Photo from Google Earth

Turn/Bear left onto Dover Cross Road.  The parking area will be about 0.2 miles ahead on the right. 


(A little trick...If you enter 118 Dover Cross Road Boothbay into your GPS you will get to an address just before the parking area... )  


Parking Area comes up a bit quickly on the right... This photo from Google obviously was not taken in the winter.  When we were there yesterday there was A LOT of ice in the parking area.  Be careful pulling into and out of the parking area with the ice! 
Photo from Google Earth


Parking: 
The parking area is small, we managed to fit 5 vehicles in there... but all of us were together, as one hiking party, so  we did not have to leave space for people to move our/around our cars.    There were no parking signs along the road close to the parking area.  Someone in our party did park along the road, but down a bit. 
Photo from Google Earth: 
 
As I said above... it was icy yesterday and the parking area was slippery and hard to pull into.. I have a truck and chose to back in (needed 4 wheel drive to back in.)  

Fees: No Fees!

Notes:  
Now that all the logistics are out of the way... Let me tell you about my hike!  
As of the completion of this adventure I am proclaiming myself to be, among other things, A HIKER!  
I have shared here before and am sharing again... hiking has always been intimidating to me.  I associate hiking with being out of breath, feeling lazy, feeling inadequate, feeling fat... feeling pressure to keep up... with falling behind... with regretting that I even started the hike...feelings of needing to constantly apologize for my inability to hike as well, as fast as others... .... As a person who, in many ares of my life, feels confidence...hiking fills me with angst, self doubt, and negative self talk.  
I have always thought of hiking as an uphill climb through the woods ...with one goal... to reach the top.  
I have said things like...
"I don't hike." "I can't hike." "I don't like hiking." "I can walk for a long time, but hike? Nope." I
 have even said, "I love being outside but I have no desire to hike."

There are some truths in what I have said...I haven't wanted to hike because I didn't think I could... I didn't think I was _____ enough... You can fill in the blank... (good, fit, strong, determined...etc.) 

As I work to get healthier and want to be more active the biggest lesson I have learned... or maybe remembered... is it is about mindset.  Granted... I am not going to wake up tomorrow and think I can hike Everest... because there is no way I am in physical shape to do that.  That is not negative self talk... in this case, that is reality.  But... I can get up tomorrow...or any day... and go for a walk... or a hike.  I can walk or hike for 10 minutes or an hour, or three hours...or a set amount of miles... 

And... it does not matter if I am leading the pack (if there is a pack) or if I am last.  The person who finished first didn't hike any further than I did.  I remember feeling that way when I finished both of the half marathons that I walked... I was definitely closer to the end of the pack than the beginning as far as finishers... but I was a finisher!  I walked 13.1 miles... I wanted to do it, I trained for it...and fought with myself throughout those 13.1 miles.. but I did it. 

Yesterday I hiked for about three miles.  We were on the trail for a couple of hours.  And it was AMAZING!  Truly.  
(I must add here that I have disliked winter fora  very long time.  I hate the lack of sunlight..and the temperatures, don't even get me started....!)  

So... originally I was scheduled to do a session with LLBean's Outdoor Discovery School, learning to cross country ski on Saturday.  Mother nature had other plans... There hasn't been enough snow in Freeport Maine to have a xc ski session.  (Not enough snow in mid January? in Maine? ... I know!)  When  I had signed up for the class at Beans I had posted on my social media that I was going and invited others to join me.  I was thrilled when four other women signed up to come with me!  As the date approached and the snowfall wasn't significant I hoped to have a back up plan for getting together with these women.  
As it worked out there was a hike happening yesterday... organized by the one and only, Shannon Bryan, from Fitmaine.com.  As part of the Fit Maine Social Club, of which I am a member,  she had organized a hike in Boothbay.  (To learn more about the social club click here.)
Her description of the hike, based on what she had read online, was that the trail at Ovens Mouth Preserve was relatively flat with some inclines and declines and would be about 1.75 miles. 

The self doubt in me questioned just how flat this trail may be... how difficult... so I had followed the links in her description  and it seemed pretty 'doable.'  A couple of the women who were supposed to xc ski with me decided to come along on the hike!  I was excited!  

I was surprised to be excited...because I was also nervous.  (I have heard that the things you should definitely do are the things that make you nervous and excited!)  AND... temperatures have dropped significantly so that the temperatures Saturday morning were going to be the coldest of the season.   Was I sure that I could handle the hiking AND the low temperatures? I wasn't sure... but I was pretty sure... I have been investing in outdoor gear for winter and someone at work recently told me 'there is no bad weather, just bad equipment...' so.. I was hopeful that the cold would not be a factor that would ruin this adventure. 

So Friday night I tried to get prepared.  I am going to do a separate, more detailed, post about my gear... but... I focused on the following (not necessarily in this order.): 
1 - clothes/layers for the hike & clothes to change into after the hike (next time I will remember to take a second pair of shoes/boots to change into after the hike to give my feet a break)
2 - backpack
3- microspikes (which I will reference as Bad Ass Spikes!) and a pair of 'grippers'
4 - Water & snacks
5 - Gear for Gladys (Paw protection, leash, food & water, collapse-able water bowl, and a jacket) 
6 - gloves and mittens, hats, snowpants, snowjacket, boots...

This is my gear, ready to go... The backpack had both sets of spikes, water, snacks, a bowl for Gladys, a pair of mittens and a second hat. (to help me accommodate for how warm/cold I was feeling.)  In the other bag I had my clothing for after the hike, plus my gloves, neck warmer, and hat (the rabbit fur lined kind.)

I had seen Shannon post a photo of her hiking in winter and she had on a pair of bad ass spikes that made me think she could have walked across any frozen surface with ease.... I wasn't sure how much I would like them and how often I would use them... so I ordered a pair from Amazon... pretty much the cheapest I could find... (They worked REALLY well, until they broke! I will be investing in a stronger pair!) 



These are called stabilicers... I have had really god luck with these.  Great for walking around the neighborhood after a storm.  I got them from Amazon, here, (pic from Amazon)



Ok... I was as prepared as I could be as far as the night before goes... 

Then there was the morning of...


Saturday morning.... 13 degrees?!  My oh my! 
I had second thoughts... but then remembered on social media one of the women who was supposed to ski with me said it may be too cold for her to come on the hike and my question to her was.... 'if the ski adventure hadn't been canceled would you have canceled?' Her answer... nope... I would have gone skiing in these temps because I had paid for it and had made a reservation... so... my only reason for not going on the hike would have been because it was too cold... and I have bought gear for this.... so... 
NO EXCUSES! 

I had done some reading about taking dogs on hikes in the winter... and everything I read said that for a few hours most dogs will be fine.... I debated about booties or no booties... and decided on none... but I did use some paw protector salve  on Gladys's paws and I think that helped a lot!  She had zero issues!  This is what I used for her. I have not tried other products, but this seems to work well for us.

Look at how excited she is for adventure! 

There were ten of us (plus three pups) on the hike.  Unlike my last hike, Bradbury Mountain, I was happy to be with other people.   In some ways this hike seemed more daunting... mostly because of the conditions, being so cold and being icy.  (Confession: growing up my dad may have referred to me as 'Graceful Gert' on more than one occasion when I would trip or fall!)  But... it also felt great knowing there were nine other people with me... for support and encouragement...and safety. 

 We started out at the same time... and as it goes, I assume, with any hike... the group spreads out.  

 

I didn't care where I was in the pack...I did care about staying with one of the other women on the trail.  She is someone I had 'met' online through weight watchers.  When she saw I was doing a hike not far from where she lived she wanted to come.  I was excited to do this hike WITH her.  We did stay at the back of the pack....a place I was very happy to be.  I could stop when I wanted to take pictures or a breather... after all...for me, hiking is..will be.. about enjoying it and appreciating it... 
(I am learning it is important to look down, ahead of you on the trail, to know what to avoid...but... for me it is more important to stop once in a while...and look around... just like with paddling I like to go slowly and appreciate what is around me.) 

We started hiking... and there were some flat areas at the beginning...then we started going down... 

 

And after we went down for quite a ways... we had to cross over this stream.  We walked on the frozen ice to cross...I was nervous, but the Bad Ass spikes had proven that I wasn't going to slip and I walked right on that stream and had no issue!  

The views were really pretty.  I admit... I thought about being on the water in my kayak vs. being on the shore.  (This is a hike, however, that would be fun to add to the Boothbay Trip I do in the summer! THAT is a day worth looking forward to!) 

 

As a group we paused along the way... mostly to wait for everyone to be together.  (The old mindset would have hated being waited for... and would have been apologetic for holding people up... but not this time!  I was happy to see people who had waited, people who felt we were worth waiting for! No apologies needed!) 

There is something about being outside...even in crazy low temperatures... that is good for my soul! (and my body and mind!)


There was a lot of ice... beautiful! 

We got to a point in the hike that has a beautiful outlook...a small outcropping of rocks.  The perfect place for pausing, getting some water and snacks...and appreciating what we were doing...together.  

 


This is bunny... a very small but fierce dog... (Fierce in that she led the hike!)  

Gladys was very happy to have a break and get some water and snacks.  She even shared her snacks with bunny! 


This picture... maybe this is what hiking is about... getting to a place that is only accessible by hiking...and stopping to take it all in!  

 
(photos of me were taken by Shannon!) 




Then the wind came up... BRRRR... being out of the trees, that wind was brutal! 

 There was a bridge that connects the eastern and western parts of the trail... we walked on the bridge, but did not explore the other side.


(Photo by Shannon!)

 (selfie by Shannon! It's tradition!) 

It was at this point when I started to realize that on a hike.. if it stars with going down... it likely ends with going UP!  


 No Gladys... the other way.. we gotta go UP that incline...

 Let's follow Shannon! 


This was about the spot where my Bad Ass Spikes broke!  I was glad I had my backup pair, the grippers....because we still had some icy ground to cover.  
(Pic taken today) 

The metal plate with the spikes broke...

 Bummer... 

The grippers were not nearly as good as the bad ass spikes... but way better than just boots... I WILL be investing in a quality pair of the Bad Ass Spikes because I think they are key in winter hiking!   (And I will always make sure I have a back up set of some kind with me! (I think I will save the non broken set of spikes to keep as a replacement if the pair I by next ever breaks while hiking.)


After hiking further, with A LOT of up... a lot of roots to go over, a lot of left and right as going up... we stopped at another lookout point... 

Our Fearless  Leader, Shannon Bryan


 

We hiked on... 
 

It was really pretty...
 

The sun...the snow... the trees.... not a bad combination.  



 Here are some pics that Shannon took.  
It is so strange for me to see pictures of me...hiking... in the winter...
 But... seeing these pictures...and knowing the terrain we covered... I have no more reasons to say I am not a hiker... I AM A HIKER!  

This is my hiking buddy!  She did GREAT!  This hike was not easy, it was not flat and we did it!  
I don't want to speak for her... but I think there were times she wondered what she had signed on for... why she had signed on to do it... and thought about finding an alternate, faster route back to the cars....wondering if she could finish... but she stuck with it!  And I am so glad!   (She doesn't realize it but a year from now we will return here and because of her commitment to herself, her health, and to her fitness, we will do this exact hike again, and it will be even more fun because it will be easier.) 





 Look!  That's me... hiking!

 Me & Gladys in the elements!



 My hiking buddy... looking fierce!


As we got towards the end of the hike... I was really happy!  Happy that I had hiked...on ice and snow... happy that I had FUN!!!  So... I decided to make a snow angel!  Gladys wasn't sure what I was doing and if she should be concerned!


 


My gear worked!  I wasn't cold!  
I did get a little sweaty...and did bring clothes to change into... next time I will remove my undermost layer for my shirts  before replacing outer layers because I did feel a bit chilled ... same for my socks.. I will change my socks after...and will also take a different pair of shoes to change into... 
This hike was a huge success!  I am excited for my next hike!  (After I get new BAD ASS spikes!)

This hike did not end with reaching a summit with spectacular views... the views were amazing throughout the hike.  

And... it helped me learn that hiking isn't always climbing mountains... it's exploring the woods, on trails... and seeing beautiful things while sometimes pushing ourselves out of our comfort zones!  



After our hike we all went out to eat at a local pub.  I had a GREAT burger at Newcastle Publick House

It was so great to hike with these women...break bread with them... learn more about them... and find out that we all have things in common... our desire to be outside, needing encouragement, and wanting to enjoy it!  I like this community!  
So...my advice... find like minded people and GET OUTSIDE!


After I got home and settled in... AND had a HOT shower... I was hungry and made myself a fruit plate... apple, grapes, strawberries, cheese, crackers, and...CHOCOLATE Hummus... (One of my favorite things!)

 


What's YOUR next adventure?

UPDATE: I found THIS description on the Boothbay Regional Land Trust site: 

Ovens Mouth West white loop trail (2.4 miles) is one of the more challenging trails with several steep rocky sections that lead to rewarding views of the Ovens Mouth of the Cross River.

Did you see that.. it says 'one of the more challenging trails with SEVERAL STEEP ROCKY SECTIONS!!!  

There's some validation! 
 



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