9211-R1_MSA_November2025_Newsletter

From Hell Rarig storm moved in and didn’t get out in time. At this point it was still snowing heav ily, but they made the decision to con tinue on even though it was dusk and getting dark. Mom recounts being increasingly nervous as her machine was old and not good at going through the heavy snow. Every machine got stuck on every hill they encountered. Each one had to be pushed up the hill by Dad and Reggie one at a time to make it through the deep snow. But they kept going knowing camp was still a long way yet. It was dark by then and they had to use big flashlights Dad had brought to help light the way. Because Mom’s machine was having so much trouble, they put her first in the line with Dot in between Reggie and Dad. They could barely see anything and put towels over their faces to keep the snow from stinging them. Their gog gles were constantly fogging up and the logging road disappeared in the snow and darkness. Mom remembered being scared breaking trail in the front and at one point shut her machine off because she thought she had lost them. Thankfully she finally heard them coming but that moment alone in the forest’s darkness was terrifying to her. To add to the difficulty they were expe riencing, the snow suddenly turned to a sleeting rain. They stopped to put plastic bags over their clothes and anything else that would have gotten wet. Dad decided to take the lead with Mom and Dot behind him and Reggie taking up the rear. Not long after it started to rain, the handlebar on Mom’s machine broke, rendering it useless. The only solution to that was to leave it on the side of the road, totally unpack her machine and tow sled and repack the other three. From there on, she rode on top of the gear on a tow sled. As they continued, they came to a steep hill. Pushing the machines up was doable but they couldn’t get the tow sled with the box of supplies

and equipment up and were forced to abandon it by the side of the road. They rode on but finally had to stop as Dot was physically ill from exhaustion and could go no further.

On the way out, the ride was difficult and slow going as warming tempera tures made the snow slushy. Mom rode on one of the tow sleds adding weight to an already heavy load to pull through the wet snowy mess. They came across Mom’s machine still on the side of the road, pulled it out and rigged up a system to tow it back the rest of the way. Through perseverance and packing supplies and equipment for any even tuality, they made it home safely. It was a testament to Dad’s physical and mental strength as well as his skills in the back country and to my Mom overcoming fear and trusting in her self, this city girl from Boston turned outdoorswoman. A lot has changed in the Allagash since that time. And a lot has changed about snowmachining as well. Mom and Dad bought that camp and added on to it. Dad had a road built from the logging road into camp and made it a home for full time living, which is what they did for many years. Dad’s love of snowmachining never waned though. Even into his 90’s, he still loved to ride, although his time in the Allagash was but a treasured memory by then. Mom and Dad are both gone now, but I envision them together, sitting on the porch of their beloved camp watching the loons on the lake and listening to the whispers of the forest around them, continuing to live their dream.

After locating a suitable place to make a shelter, Dad and Reggie dug a big hole in the snow for a fire and built a snow bench to sit on, covering it with pine boughs and roping up a tarp to pro tect them. Mom and Dot put on every piece of outer clothing they could to stay warm, changing from the soaked clothes they had on. Dad and Reggie made the decision to head for camp which was fairly close, drop the tow sleds with gear there and come back later, even though it meant leaving Mom and Dot alone at night in the woods. Dot was very sick and couldn’t keep anything down. While she rested, Mom kept the fire going by picking up sticks in the surrounding woods and stayed up to keep it stoked. During the night the warmer temperatures loosened up chunks of ice and snow from the trees above which fell on the tarp, caving it in on top of them. It was still raining so Mom lifted up the heavy canvas tarp and repositioned it to keep them rea sonably dry. Finally at dawn, Dad and Reggie returned and had with them the tow sled with the supply box they had left behind. They took down the makeshift shelter and brought Mom and Dot into camp. They only stayed a few days at camp, even after all that it took to get there. Mom’s recollection of those few days was that they were too tired to do much other than rest, dry everything that had gotten wet, and prepare for the trip home.

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