Lows Lake/ Hitchens Pond, Late October 2025

[dcloots]

An absolutely enjoyable trip report to read on a cold and blustery night here in Maine. Beautiful pictures, incredible campsites and and a great story to boot. Thanks for sharing AL.

 

[memaquay]

Sitting in the deep freeze now, lake has enough ice to skidoo on, won't see open water for months....that was a very good read and excellent pictures!

 

[Gamma1214]

Ever since I started tripping up your way, I've had Geraldton as a location on my phone's weather app & check it once in awhile out of curiosity... Makes me wanna head back to S Carolina.

 

[lowangle al]

Thanks guys, it was a great trip. It somehow left me satisfied but wanting more at the same time. Usually when a trip is over it just leaves me wanting more. I think it was the cold temps that gave me the satisfied feeling. Although I was comfortable and never really got cold on the trip I still had enough of it. It was borderline if my kit was up for the weather. Any colder, or if I stayed out longer I would have had to change a few things. Although I had the wood stove in the tent, I didn't have the front of the tent closed off to keep the heat in. I was only warm when sitting right next to the stove. The sleeping area was just as cold as the outside temperature. It was too cold for me to take my clothes off. I never took off my pants or shirt and sweater the whole trip. I slept in my clothes and was only able to change my socks because of the cold. Larry's wall tent on the other hand was nice and toasty inside. I also was lucky to get by with my summer weight boots and light down jacket. Any later in the season and I'd wear insulated boots and bring a winter coat. One other thing I would have changed was my pants. I did wear lined pants but I have heavier ones I could have worn and I would have also worn long underwear with them.

I was tempted to go back out for a few more nights after making these changes, but couldn't fit it in. I was also concerned with the short days and long nights. I could have brought a book to pass time but I never really read in the dark in my tent. In Ak. all my reading was done during the day. Even with reading glasses I have a tuff time reading in low light and I wasn't sure my headlamp would cut it. I guess with the right light and a large print book it would be doable. For the most part it is the darkness that keeps me from camping in the winter and not the cold. I don't think I'll get back out again until around the end of March at the earliest, if there is open water. At that time, I'd like to combine a paddle and ski trip. My plan would be to camp on the water close enough to the road that I could drive to a ski area for the day. Paddling and skiing would be great if I could do both right from my campsite but I'm not familiar enough with the skiing up there to know where a good spot would be. Plus, the ski areas stay open until late April so I think this plan is very doable. As always, I'm looking forward to the next time.