That first “major” outing after recovering from an ankle injury is intimidating, especially if you’re closer to your twilight years than your youth.

Add a chunk of regained lard due to inactivity caused by said injury and throw in some friends 15 to 25 years younger with whom to keep up and you’ll have an idea of my trepidation last week prior to heading out for a snowshoe tromp on the Appalachian Trail north of Jo-Mary Mountain.

I was determined, however, to give it a go. After all, it was time once again to celebrate the passing of another year and a friend’s birthday. We would have fun! And hey, there would be no biting bugs!

Turns out we had lots of fun – as we have in the past with a snow-clogged slog into Wilson Falls, a wintry, wind-whipped hike up Borestone Mountain and a slippery snowshoe struggle up the side of Mount Kineo. We’ve cross country skied into the yurts at The Birches in Rockwood and snowmobiled into Lobster Lake. (The theme, yes, is winter because The Birthday is in January.)

Our birthday band this year was a quartet: birthday girl Karen Francoeur of Orono, with backup from Robert Causey of Bangor (the former Baron of the Bunny Hutch in Glenburn), Andrea Reny of Round Pond and yours truly, the official senior citizen. We gathered (after a fashion) in Orono Saturday morning last, saddled up (after a fashion) and headed north (after a fashion – this group is a tough one to get started). We went through LaGrange, Milo and Brownville Junction past the Katahdin Iron Works road on Route 11 and headed farther into the woods on the Jo-Mary Road.

Around 11 miles, give or take a little, we reached our starting point, the intersection with the Appalachian Trail. Snow banks some four feet tall and soft snow on the other side ruled out skiing, so we strapped on snowshoes, hoisted packs and hit the trail – destination Cooper Pond outlet. It was mid-afternoon.

Cooper Brook runs parallel to the trail at the outset and provides numerous scenic photo opportunities. A brook crossing and several places where there were deep pockets with watery bottoms provided just enough excitement for me. A short, misguided side trip and about 90 minutes later we reached the lake and were rewarded with the untouched artistry of wilderness in winter – not a footprint on the lake, the stillness broken only by the babble of water at the outlet.

Beautiful – but it was time to eat before darkness overtook us. We had carried in a thermos of beef stew, one of pea soup, crackers and humus and some hot cocoa prepared on site with the help of my JetBoil stove. Simple and humble, our eats proved a feast as we sat on Crazy Creek chairs in our stomped-out amphitheater and watched the sun set behind the snow-festooned Jo-Mary Mountain. Life doesn’t get any better than that.

It wasn’t one of those moments that we could linger over for long, however. With darkness came a drop in temperature accompanied by a rising and nearly full moon. At least if my headlamp failed I’d have some natural light!

We gathered gear, restuffed backpacks and began to retrace our steps in the dark.

Our exit was slightly more direct than our entrance – no side trips. At our roadside trailhead the moon shining on the snow provided enough light for us to pack the car. We headed for home.

Our reward for living right was sighting a big ol’ moose roadside just over the snow bank not too far south on Route 11 from the Jo-Mary Road intersection. We rolled down the windows and watched for a few minutes as the shadowy hulking critter made its way slowly through the snow southeast of the roadway, away from us and into the night.

We decided a return trip was in order – maybe in warmer weather when we could cover more ground and spend a night on the trail. After all, there are 281 miles of Appalachian Trail in Maine just calling. Maybe we’ll answer that call next fall. That will give me time enough to find a porter.

8th annual Paddle Smart

Mark your calendar for the eighth edition of the Paddle Smart from the Start safety symposium that will be held this year at the YWCA on Second Street here in River City. This year organizers are hoping to attract a big crowd by holding the event on April 12, which is the weekend prior to the running of the Kenduskeag Stream Race.

And to make the event appealing to a wide range of paddlers, this year the symposium will have a series of workshops for canoeists who plan to do the race. I’ll have more information as it becomes available.

In the meantime, reserve 5 to 9:30 p.m. April 12 to attend the free symposium, and keep an eye out for the sale of raffle tickets for this year’s prize, a new Necky Elaho sea kayak donated by Old Town Canoe Co.

If you haven’t attended the free symposium in the past and you intend to spend any time on the water, this event is for you. Each year for the past seven, more than 200 folks have attended and come away with valuable information ranging from planning an Allagash River canoe trip to proper radio protocol for summoning help from the Coast Guard. Pool demonstrations, always a favorite, show paddlers what to expect in a capsize and how to safely recover and re-enter your boat. Other talks and presentations have included information on how to plan a safe day on the ocean.

jstrout@bangordailynews.net

990-8202