Another blog post by Flagstaff Hut Master Ellen McDevitt:

Everyone knows easy ways to conserve energy: turn out the lights when you leave a room, unplugging electronic devices when they’re not in use, closing the door to keep the heat in…  But here at the huts, one of the most energy-hogging things that we do is use water! Heating and pumping water uses lots of heat and solar energy. Showering, in particular, uses lots of energy, and often at times when the sun isn’t shining. Using a lot of energy when we’re not getting solar power is a drain on our battery bank and forces us to rely more on our backup generator. To help conserve energy and raise our guests’ awareness of our energy usage, we turned one shower stall into the Three Minute Shower Challenge! 

Guests who opt for the challenge have fair warning.

Successful guests join the wall of fame!

 So far, it’s been pretty popular! We haven’t had anyone come out of the shower still sudsy and ask for another token, which I think means we can draw two conclusions. First, we have some serious-energy saving guests and second, a three-minute shower is something most people can do. Plus, if you’re a little competitive, trying to beat the shower timer is always a bit of an adrenaline rush!

Does anyone time their showers at home? Can you think of any other ways to help the crew and guests save even more energy?

Snow began to fall on the Maine Hut Trail late Thursday night. Snow continued to fall through the night and most of the day on Friday. Temperatures warmed slightly late Friday and the snow mixed with some light sleet but returned to a wet and beautiful snow by late Friday night. The end result by Saturday was 9 to 11 inches of full-bodied snow, plenty of material for our trail crew top pack and set tracks. We now have very good cover and excellent skiing conditions on the Maine Hut Trail from the Outdoor Center in Carrabassett Valley all the way to our new West Forks Trailhead (45 miles).

People responded to the new snow instantly with both Saturday and Sunday turning out to be very busy days on the Maine Hut Trail. Lunch was a very popular event for Poplar Hut on Saturday as many Sugarloafers decided for an alternative activity to alpine skiing. The hut-to-hut experience is now as good as it gets. With the long range forecast for continued winter-like weather and a long term snowy forecast, the outlook for February hut-to-hut adventures are terrific! No need to hold back now, be sure to make your plans for a hut-to-hut adventure now. Here is a great video which will give you a peek at what a hut-to-hut adventure is like. Enjoy! 

Another blog post by Flagstaff Hut Master Ellen McDevitt:

Strawberry Streusel Bars

We had these at our mid-season crew meeting last week and they were a big hit. I cut them a bit on the large side, but everyone who started out by saying “I’ll just take a half” ended up finishing a whole streusel bar! I figured that was a sign I should share them with you guys, so here goes:

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups brown sugar
2 eggs
2 ½ cups flour
2 cups uncooked rolled oats
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
zest of half an orange
¾ to 1 cup of strawberry jam or preserves

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13×9 pan.

Beat butter and brown sugar until just mixed (small lumps are okay). Add eggs, flour, oats, vanilla and almond extracts and baking soda and mix until just combined. (It won’t cohere completely, but that’s okay!)

Put 2/3 of the mixture into the greased pan. Spread with a layer of strawberry jam—it doesn’t have to be thick, but be sure to spread it out to the edges. If your preserves are particularly chunky, you may need a bit more jam. Add the orange zest to the remaining mixture and sprinkle that over top of the jam.

Bake until the crumbs on top are golden brown and a bit crispy-looking, about 30-45 minutes. (If you have a convection oven or your oven is on the hotter side, I recommend checking at 20 or 25 minutes.)

Here is another post by Flagstaff Hut Master Ellen McDevitt about last weekend:

The first guests to enjoy the snow were a few families and the Wabanaki Writers’ Project (WWP).  The WWP is a youth program that blends writing, literacy education, and outdoor experiences. The students and adult leaders came here for a short writing retreat and it proved to be our good fortune to have them with us.

Sunday night’s activities will definitely go onto my list of favorite Maine Huts moments. After a delicious dinner of fresh buttery biscuits, beef stew made with local meat, green beans and pumpkin cake, we embarked on an energy tour! Some of our guests chose to go on the tour for the second night in a row, so I had to top Saturday night’s tour by showing everyone how the insides of the composting toilets are set up and what the inside of the Clivus looks like. (That’s right—they weren’t satisfied with seeing the finished compost. They all climbed up to see inside the Clivus. No one managed to spot any worms, though; I guess worms are somewhat elusive creatures.)

After the energy tour, the WWP presented an evening program. One of their adult leaders shared a folktale, and the students shared some of the writing they had finished at the hut. Of course, all of their writing was done by hand, so they couldn’t leave me a copy to share with you! I hope to post some of their writing once it has been transcribed. Signing off to go skiing!            

The Wabanaki Writers came to Flagstaff to play as well.

Last week a couple of snow events occurred leaving a total of 6-10 inches of new snow on the Maine Hut Trail. Although not enough snow to groom, there is enough snow on sections of the Maine Hut Trail to find some enjoyable cross country skiing. Basically, where the trail is smooth, road-like and mowed, there will be enough cover for skiing. Where the trail is rough, not mowed and brushy, there is not enough snow to have a good ski experience.

Specifically, from the Gauge Road Trailhead to Poplar Hut is skiable and the section of trail from The Long Falls Dam Road Trailhead to the Big Eddy is skiable. Skiers can also access Flagstaff Lake which is frozen and snow covered. The rougher sections of trail between the huts are not skiable. So the bottom line is that one is able to ski into the huts but skiing hut to hut wil involve some hiking.

Grand Falls Hut Master Michael Downing has been enjoying the new snow at his hut!

There is no need to hold back. Get your skis and ski into Poplar Hut or Flagstaff Hut for some great backcountry hospitality!