At the Rockwood Boat Launch, Ready to Head Out! (L to R) Alicia, Frosty, Lily, Tatjana, and Christine
On Saturday, March 9th, we headed out toward Mount Kineo. As we drove, I kept marveling at the snowbanks! From Monson northwards, the snowbanks are so high! You can only see the top few inches of many of the road signs. A few were completely buried. The fire hydrants have been carved out of the banks.
The Indian Trail Was Marked with Blue Blazes and Some Red Arrows
Christine had organized a group hike. We parked on the street before the Rockwood Boat Launch. The parking lot was packed! Lots of people were out to enjoy the great weather today. The temperature at the Boat Launch was 23 degrees and the sun was intense.
Windswept Snow on the Lake
We geared up for the wind. We knew the wind would be whipping while we crossed the lake. The wind was blowing on our faces and definitely not pleasant. It was a good day to cross the lake though. It was actually a low wind day. I still ended up with eyelash icicles, since my eyes were watering in the wind. I should have worn my goggles. The distance across the lake is one mile. It seems much longer, especially the windier it is.
Crossing the Lake Toward Mount Kineo
We snowshoed up the Indian Trail. This trail is steep at the beginning. Many of us took off layers. It was so warm and going up is work. The Indian Trail had been well travelled and was packed down in most places.
Coming up the Indian Trail
We stopped several times on the ledges to enjoy the views and revel in the sunshine. It would have been a great day to pack chairs up, sit in the sun, and have a drink. We had to settle for standing.
Christine, Lily, and Tatjana
Up near where the Indian Trail joins the Bridle Trail, we met three snowmobilers. After joining the Bridle Trail, it felt like we were on a sidewalk because of all the snowmobile traffic packing the trail down. Here, we met three hikers on their way down from the summit.
Alicia on the Fire Tower
When we arrived at the summit, we took off our snowshoes to head up the fire tower. The views were spectacular, but it was WINDY up there. We didn’t remain at the top long. When we came down, we had snacks and talked to the snowmobilers.
Christine and Tatjana on the Fire Tower
We took the Bridle Trail the whole way down the mountain. This entire trail was packed by snowmobiles. Holy cow! It was such a quick descent. This would have been a great trail to sled down. You would have stayed right on the path. It was like a luge track!
Lily on the Fire Tower
I put on my Goggles for the return trip across the lake, which helped with the glare. The wind was on our backs this time making this crossing more tolerable.
Magoo on the Fire Tower
After our hike, we went to Indian Hill in Greenville for some shopping. Then we headed to Monson for lunch. We ate at the Monson General Store. The sandwiches were delicious! The store has many Maine made products. It’s a great little spot! Again, Christine introduced us to an awesome lunch spot. We will definitely be going back.
Our trip took us 3.5 hours with stops to relax and enjoy the views. My Garmin watch tracked the total distance as 4.6 mikes. Some more photos from our day are below. Here’s a link to Frosty’s gear list for this trip.
The Kineo Interstate AKA the Bridle Trail
Looking down on Snowmobile Tracks on the Lake from the Indian Trail
Alicia on the Trail
Tatjana and Christine Geared up to Cross the Lake
The Indian Trail
Check out Those Snowbanks!
You Don’t Need a Moat If You’ve Got a Wall like This
