Turnout strong for film festival in spite of storm Sunday was perfect for snowshoes

What did you do last weekend? I’d bet it involved snow and moving what came down somewhere else – off the deck, off the roof, off the steps, off the car, off the driveway – and doing it more than once. I think I must have done the driveway at least three times. And that back porch roof got shoveled numerous times, once to get a place to stand, and at least three times after raking the upper roof onto it.

I got out fairly early Saturday to repeat the task of cleaning up the mess. By noon I was more than ready to call it quits and get some breakfast.

Friday was spent slithering about snow-clogged city streets in my disabled Jeep Cherokee trying to do errands on my day off. The beast decided that a blizzard day was a good time to test my patience by refusing to go into four-wheel drive. I lucked out and got into my neighborhood garage where Doyle used a couple of hose clamps and some down home ingenuity and locked the front axle to give me back the ability to drive the front wheels again. It’s a temporary fix, but it works, and that’s all that matters. Hanging like a brick over my head and wallet was the possibility of having to buy the replacement part from the dealer for $350. But I found the parts I need at a Florida supplier for $90 – shipped to my door.

With my mobility restored Friday evening, I set course for Norumbega Hall in Bangor where Epic Sports was hosting the Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour. The turnout of 500-plus was great considering the day’s blizzard, and the selection of some eight films crossed the emotional barrier from tears to laughter.

Particularly poignant was the hourlong feature by adventure explorer Jon Muir – “Alone across Australia.” This film won awards at the Banff festival last fall as both the Best Film on Mountain Environment and the People’s Choice (voted on by audience members at last fall’s festival in early November at the Banff Centre 80 miles west of Calgary, Alberta). It was billed as “a remarkable and emotional story of human endurance, the film tracks Muir’s 2001 unsupported solo trek from the south to the north coast of Australia.”

I found myself asking why this man would subject his body to the abuse of dragging a cart and hundreds of pounds of gear across 2,500 kilometers of Australia’s Outback in a 128-day unsupported trek and living off the land. The emotional peak came when his dog, Seraphine, died after eating poison put out to kill dingos, Muir surmised.

Other films were less emotionally draining. One on avalanches showed their awesome powers, another showed some extreme (spelled vertical) skiing and snowboarding, another was about some wild mountain biking while a short cartoon featured a seesawing house perched on a mountain peak that left the audience chuckling.

Halfway through the evening, Epic Sports staff began handing out door prizes and throwing T-shirts into the audience. I caught one (up side the head that ricocheted into someone’s hands so the young lady doing the heaving took pity on me and basically handed me one).

All in all it was an entertaining evening, something you should check out next year when a whole new set of films will roll into town. When you get wind that the tickets are on sale, don’t waste any time buying one because the shows sell out quickly.

Sunny Sunday snowshoeing

A sunny Sunday begged for exploration – new fallen snow, bright skies, mild temperatures – what more could you ask for? Paddling friend Karen Francoeur tried to rally a small gaggle to head out into the wilds, but illnesses and family emergencies put the damper on a group outing. So the two of us headed to Cape Rosier with the goal of doing some snowshoeing in Holbrook Island Sanctuary State Park. There was an ulterior motive in that Francoeur was testing a different cellular phone company’s service and was curious to see if it provided a stronger signal around the Castine area (where she has a summer kayak touring business) than her present provider.

Fortunately for her, the cellular company let her have a phone for a few days and some free minutes. We were off on a phone-test outing. The loaner phone had a neat voice-recognition dialing feature that allows you to say the number you want to call and the phone dials it. We talked to that phone and made calls all the way from Bangor to Brooksville and Indian Bar by Smith Cove.

Speaking of Smith Cove, the whole southern end of it was frozen over, most of the way out to Sheep Island. Numerous other coves where we’ve paddled in the summer are now wearing a heavy coat of ice. It sure changes the seascape. We found the beach at Indian Bar free of ice, and guessed that one could safely launch from there for a winter paddle on a nice day – dressed and equipped appropriately, of course.

But Sunday was a day for making new trails in the snow. No one had been hiking around the park since the snowfall two days prior, so we had a fresh canvas on which to leave our mark. We parked on Indian Bar Road and walked downhill to the beaver pond to walk the perimeter trail. Part way around we ventured out on the snow-covered ice to look at moss hanging from dead cedar trees and to check out holes made by woodpeckers.

After making the beaver pond loop we headed to the dock area at Tom Cod Cove and hooked up with the shore trail that eventually took us to Goose Falls. Part way along that segment we found a small beach sheltered from the brisk northerly winds and stopped to fix a warm drink, some soup, and a sandwich. Out in Penobscot Bay the wind whipped wave tops white. It wasn’t a day to be out there in a kayak, for sure.

As we settled on the tiny beach, a pair of eagles soared just over the treetops to greet us. On the water to the east of Holbrook Island, we saw what appeared to be a few eiders as well as a surf scoter or two.

After lunch we hiked the rest of the shore trail to Goose Falls, then up the road to the northern end of Goose Pond, scouting out places to paddle in warmer weather. A little farther up the road, we headed into the woods on a service road. In just a short distance is an old root cellar that would provide some shelter in a storm (not an electrical one). From there it was a short walk up through a field to where we’d parked.

In all we’d covered three miles, tromping through fresh snow and dodging bent-over trees, sagging under their snow loads. In several places we came across large branches broken from pine trees, and at one spot on the shore trail there was a blowdown of some six to eight trees all seemingly stacked neatly in a pile, the victims of a strong westerly blow. Park Ranger Phil Farr will have his work cut out for him clearing that nest.

If Holbrook Island Sanctuary is not on your list of places to visit, by all means put it there. It’s a day-use park with picnic tables near the water at Indian Bar, outhouses, and hiking trails galore.

To get there check out Map 15 in your DeLorme Maine Atlas. From Route 1 in Orland take Route 15 south to Route 199. That will put you in Penobscot. Hook a left on Route 175/199 to Gray’s Corner and stay on Route 175/176 that will take you over Bagaduce Falls. At the next T-intersection, take a right and a quick left onto the Varnumville Road. In a few miles you’ll hit Route 176 again. Go left for a couple of miles and you’ll see a sign for Holbrook Island. The road down to Indian Bar is about three miles in on the right. On your way to that turn, you’ll see three trailheads where you can usually find a trail map. If not, the ranger’s house is just up from Indian Bar. Stop in and say hi.

Jeff Strout can be reached at 990-8202 or by e-mail at jstrout@bangordailynews.net.