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TOPIC: The County-American Snowmobiler

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Date: Fri Nov 6 4:59 PM, 2009

RE: The County-American Snowmobiler

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Travel: The County, Maine

Friendly folks, good food, spectacular trails make Aroostook THE Maine event

By Mark Savage

Published: Friday, September 18, 2009

The County, Maine - Ask around, even folks who aren't from Maine's giant northernmost county will tell you The County is THE place to snowmobile out East.

Officially Aroostook County, a mammoth region (as big as Connecticut and Rhode Island combined and the biggest county east of the Mississippi River) is affectionately known around Maine, simply as The County. It's a big deal, in fact 6,829 square miles of wilderness with a string of large lakes and 4,000 miles of wide (8-foot minimum), well-groomed trails, and just 35,000 people.

Best yet it usually has snow from mid-November through early April.
At the invitation of Bob Davis, a Maine resident and Guinness World Record holder for most miles ridden on a snowmobile in 60 days , and Yamaha's Scott Hanscom, a Maine native, I explored the outback that's tucked into this most northeastern part of the U.S. Any snowmobiler would love it!

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An Attitude!
Places sometimes exude an attitude, just like people - laid-back, wide open and friendly, that is The County with its heavy Acadian influence. Good food is another hallmark. Your bibs will snug up before you head home, after a few days here, mine surely did.

Yet most of us like to feel welcome whenever we travel to a new area to ride and explore. That's easy here.

Riding through the Cross Lake area we stopped for gas at St. Peter's Country Store, where owner Jules St. Peters and his 86-year-old dad Norm were jawing with several locals just inside the store's door. This is a spot where you can pick up a snack, new gloves, a snowmobile belt, you name it, plus bait for your ice shanty on a nearby lake.

Or Jules can set you up with a cabin rental, or give you directions to most anywhere in the county, his family has lived in the area since 1898. People laugh a lot here, and you'll be smiling, both at the good-natured conversations you'll be having, and the gorgeous trails you'll ride.

Heading out
I stayed with Bob at his Eagle Lake log home, but there are several great spots to base out of if you make the haul, or fly into, the area. Boston or Bangor, Maine, are good places to land if you fly in, but eventually if you're hauling a trailer and sleds, you'll want to end up in Ashland, Presque Isle, Caribou, or, if you want to go all the way north and work your way back south, Madawaska or Fort Kent.

The County abuts mostly to New Brunswick, but also Quebec on its western border. On Day One we headed north on the lake and connected into Trail 73A west into ITS (Interconnecting Trail System) 85 before heading north to Fort Kent, about 20 miles from our starting spot on Eagle Lake. There are some wide open vistas along the way, with rolling hills and fields spreading out before disappearing into thick groves of pines and firs.

Heading down into Fort Kent you get a sweeping view of the St. John River that separates Maine from New Brunswick. A long recreational bridge spans the frozen river and you can ride atop the levee to get to a variety of spots in town for food or gas. We were headed toward Frenchville, 14 miles to the east, so we zipped back onto ITS 85, a wide trail (partially an abandoned railroad grade) that ultimately can connect you into ITS 83 or 81, either of which can take you way south in The County, to Houlton and beyond.
We topped off our gas tanks at Paul's Gas, a friendly stop owned by Rick Daigle and populated with outgoing folks like Julie Soucy and Louise Paradis who will dish you out a sandwich, soup or just a snack.

Take a ride out to the top of the hill just behind the station and you get a panoramic view of The Valley, which is what The County residents call the St. John River Valley. There are plenty of elevation changes in this area and in addition to the prevalent pine and fir forests there are occasional stands of birches and maples. Trails here are among the best I've ridden, wide, well-groomed and smooth.

For lunch we pointed our Yamahas primarily east toward Van Buren and Oullette's Trading Post, a restaurant and general store. Logging had closed off part of the regular trail so we diverted onto club trail No. 98B and across about half of Long Lake before picking up ITS 105 north and east to Van Buren.

At Oullette's, if they don't have it, you don't need it. And they have quite a few things that you really may not need, but will get a kick out of seeing, not just cheesy tourist ashtrays and such, but stuffed animals and collectibles of all sorts. For lunch I'd recommend the clam chowder (hard to go wrong with that in Maine).

With our bellies full and it being just early afternoon we retraced some of our route on 105, and then headed further south toward Stockholm before connecting into 83 north toward Sinclair and St. Agatha just above Long Lake. By dinner time we were ready for a major meal and dropped in on the Derosier family (Dick and Carol and daughter Jenn Daigle) that runs the Lakeview Restaurant atop a hill overlooking the lake, hence the name. If you're in the area you've got to pull in here because this is a major snowmobile stop and where all the snowmobilers hang for meals.

Why? Good food, outgoing hosts that are eager to talk, and reasonable prices. Plus there's plenty of snowmobile parking and it's right off the main trail.

After dinner we had about a 20-mile ride home, again over rolling terrain where I'm told Maine's plentiful moose tend to hang in the hollows. But on this crystal clear night they were nowhere to be seen. However, we did stop about 8:30 that evening to watch the Space Shuttle, which had docked with the international space station, sail across the dark sky like a comet streaking through the blackness. Total miles ridden for the day - 165.

After a chilly start the morning before, this one started much warmer, near freezing, but it was overcast with the threat of sleet or rain. We managed 50 or so miles in the next 90 minutes, heading primarily east on club trails No. 73 and 96 before connecting into 83 near St.

Peter's Country Store and heading south past Madawaska Lake and Little Madawaska on ITS 105.
Well before we got to Washburn we diverted onto ITS 90 toward Portage, a gorgeous run through pines and along a picturesque stretch of the Madawaska River. Rain caught up with us here, but it stirred the firs and pines to smell like a forest after a spring rain, not a bad thing at all.

Dodging the rain for lunch we popped into the popular Dean's Motor Lodge, on the edge of Portage Lake. Again chowder or chicken stew (an area staple) are winners. Gas sometimes is available in town, but don't count on it.
Here we waited out the rain a bit and then hopped back on our Venture GTs and the pre-pro '10 Vector GT we were riding and went back up toward Long Lake and St. Agatha, near where we had ridden the day before. But this time we went up Trails 105 and 83 to Madawaska, where the hills get taller and there are more turns and stunning views from wicked-nice trails.

There's a big Fraser Paper mill dominating the Madawaska skyline, and ski hills across the river in Canada. Despite the earlier rain, the skies cracked open with late afternoon sun for us, lighting up the river and buildings below as we made our way up to another lookout near the city where down below a large church glowed in the afternoon sun.

Then we mounted up and rode on toward Long Lake on Trail 81, across a golf course and toward the beacon that draws so many snowmobilers in the area to "suppah" at the Long Lake Sporting Club Restaurant in Sinclair. This place has been around since 1923, although a couple fires have necessitated rebuilding. Ken and Debbie Martin are second generation restauranteurs, but the fourth owners here and they keep it elegant, but lively.

The club that used to host big bands after WW II now uses a giant jukebox to lure folks onto the dance floor. The place rocks on weekends. We were there mid-week so enjoyed a quieter dinner, of which there are only seven choices, one being a 3.5-lb. Maine lobster. Trust me, its claws were as big as my hands!

Unique too is that you're seated on one side of the restaurant for drinks and socializing. The waitress takes your order and when the meal is ready you are reseated on the other side of the restaurant, the meal already laid out before you. Everything is delicious, but you've got to try the ployes, buckwheat pancakes that you drizzle maple syrup on and then roll up to eat. Filling!

From there we had about a 30-mile ride to Eagle Lake to complete a 190-mile day.

We were never pushing hard, running between 30-60 mph each day, a little faster especially early the second day. All the trails were smooth and well groomed, with the exception of about a 10-mile stretch on day two, our rainy day.

Maine is populated with beautiful trails, both in the scenery along the routes and their grooming. And if you're a hard rider, this is an area where you could easily knock off 250-300 miles in a day. For us cruisers, even 190 was easy.

__________________

member # 2, Club Founder, Director, 2003.Dash For Cash Club Champion, 2001 Pole position Dash for cash, 2000 Dash for Cash Champion

Caboose

Bitch Rider

Status: Offline

Posts: 2118

Date: Thu Nov 5 7:06 PM, 2009

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I thougt you would enjoy the report about a familiar place we've visited. http://www.amsnow.com/sno/default.aspx?c=a&id=4881 #7 -- Edited by Caboose on Thursday 5th of November 2009 07:18:43 PM __________________ Will ride anytime...

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