We traveled to Maine recently for vacation. The first half of the trip was
essentially "unplanned and freestyle" but thankfully it turned out that we
visited some of the main Maine XC Ski areas.

On the way to visit an old friend we drove through the Sugarloaf/Rangely
area where we did not stop, but which is well known for their XC skiing. I
believe that national Masters were held in Rangely recently.

We stayed the first night with John Chase, and his wife Susan Fierce. John
and I were ski mates about 20 years ago when he was serious into biathlon
and skied on the US team. A coincidence occurred last year as I was out on a
pole hike and ran into a woman who turned out to recognize me. Turns out
that she is John’s mother and happens to live in Maine just down the road
from where we have some property. Anyway, that led to getting together and
visiting John and Susan at their XC Ski Resort, A Fierce Chase, in Monson,
Maine. Monson is about 500 miles from our home in Rosendale, but
interestingly enough I can walk out my back door and hike to A Fierce Chase
on trails: It is at the foot of “The Hundred Mile Wilderness” section of the
Appalachian Trail (AT), and I have hiked on trails from my back yard here in
Rosendale, to the AT. The 100 Mile Wilderness ends at the northern terminus
of the AT, Mt. Kathadin, in Baxter State Park.

John is quite the groomer, and when he took over the XC operation at
Williams Lake in Rosendale, the place was in its glory. I didn’t get a great
look at the trails at A Fierce Chase, but he and Sue said that they are very
skiable and very enjoyable. They really know skiing, and what makes skiing
fun, so I bet that I’d love to ski there. Check it out at
http://www.afiercechase.com

From Monson we drove east the state to Millinocket via a private forest
road, and then to first Presque Isle, and then to Fort Kent. These
facilities and others are operated by a non profit foundation, The Maine
Winter Sports Center. See http://www.mainewsc.org/Facilities/facil_home.asp
.. Their goal is to reestablish skiing as a way of life in Maine. They are an
impressive group, and the facilities seem to be top notch. Presque Isle
facilities are still under construction, but they will most certainly be up
and running in full when they host the 2006 Jr. World Biathlon
Championships. I roller skied a dedicated lighted 1 km course that accesses
the biathlon range. I found the course tough, not because of long climbs or
wicked down hills, but because I am out of shape and there was no long
downhill to recovery. I ran into some biathletes from New York State who
were getting coached through USA Biathlon and MWSC. The next day I ran into
them again in Fort Kent where I skied their 1.3 km dedicated lighted roller
ski loop. I really liked that loop, but still, no real recovery. Fort Kent
is hosting a Biathlon World Cup this year.

The MWSC seems to be at a cutting edge cutting edge. I know that last year
they took a group to New Zealand to train on snow in August. We were so
impressed with the opportunities they provide young skiers and all Mainers
to experience XC Skiing. Clearly they have a competitive focus, and it would
seem that they have as a goal to seed USA Biathlon and XC ski programs. This
is a model that is probably based on the Scandinavian club system, but I am
not totally sure of that. All I know is that they seem to have focus and the
means and desire to move XC skiing forward.

Downeast (or on the northeast shore) we checked out Cobscook State Park (
http://www.state.me.us/cgi-bin/doc/p....pl?park_id=15 ) which
grooms the gentle terrain of the roads there. The setting is absolutely
beautiful, and the place I am told gets and holds snow better, most of the
time, than Acadia National Park ( http://www.nps.gov/acad/ ) which is a
beautiful ocean side park best visited in off season, IMHO.

When in Roque Bluffs, ME I roller ski the area around Roque Bluffs State
Park,
http://www.state.me.us/cgi-bin/doc/p....pl?park_id=23 ) and
have a great 15 km out and back course that is a joy to ski owing to the
views and being bathed in the negative ions of ocean air. I have always
found it easy to roller ski long distances next to the ocean, and used to
love doing 50 km sessions at Gay Head in Martha's Vineyard that included
Lobsterville Road and the Gay Head Lighthouse Road. But that was before
Roque Bluffs became our yearly summer destination.

Gary Jacobson
Rosendale, NY