Back from wild trek

By DEIRDRE FLEMING, Portland Press Herald Writer

Copyright © 2005 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

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	Staff photo by Fred J. Field Kaye Lozier, 9, of Wallagrass pulls the toboggan for Alexandra Conover, left, followed by her schoolmate William Pelletier, 12, and Garrett Conover as the Conovers arrive Saturday in Allagash. As motivation during their trip, the Conovers carried letters from schoolchildren that they delivered to the children of the Wallagrass Elementary School.
	Staff photo by Fred J. Field The Conovers make their way over the ice and snow of the Allagash River in Allagash on Saturday.
	Staff photo by Fred J. Field Isabelle Lozier, 4, of Wallagrass listens as the Conovers talk about their 28-day trip on Saturday.
	Staff photo by Fred J. Field Garrett and Alexandra Conover, at the end of their grueling trek in Allagash Saturday, said it opened doors for children.
	MORE Read part one: Spiritual journey Read part two: A walk to remember To top of story

When Garrett and Alexandra Conover approached Allagash village after four weeks hiking along the wild Maine waterways, they were met by a spectacular sight.

The ice jams along the St. John River near where it meets the Allagash River were 50 feet high and so immense that the husband and wife guides from Willimantic called for help.

So, after nearly 200 miles of walking in snowshoes and hiking in mukluks and pulling camping gear on toboggans, the Conovers were actually hauled off the St. John on a snowmobile, about six miles from their destination.

Garrett Conover said the last-minute change in their Winter Walk for the Wilds didn't matter.

"We needed to be here on a weekend so that the schoolchildren could come out," he said. "It would have taken us until the middle of next week to get here (without the tow)."

The Conovers' four-week walk across the frozen Maine waterways, on the face of it, was a journey to revisit the 200-mile snowshoe-and-toboggan trip they made to celebrate their wedding 25 years ago.

But from the start of their Winter Walk for the Wilds in Greenville on Jan. 15 to the finish on the Allagash River on Friday, their journey across Maine's North Woods has always been about the children.

Before leaving Greenville on a 15-degree day, Alexandra Conover packed letters from schoolchildren - a talisman that they would carry through cold and snowy conditions. At times, the temperature fell to 30-below.

The letters were brought to the children of the Wallagrass Elementary School, near Allagash village, on Saturday. The old-style mail delivery helped to send the Conovers' message.

The two registered Maine guides preach through their guiding service, North Woods Ways, the "North Woods Ways philosophy of ease, comfort and practicality as well as our responsibility to the environment."

Their winter walk, which was recorded on their Web site using audio journals, took the Conovers from the foot of Moosehead Lake to the West and North branches of the Penobscot River and down the St. John River to where it joins the Allagash.

The trip was not cheap. With the Web site to broadcast details, it cost $10,000. But they had sponsorship from around Maine and as far away as Minnesota and Wisconsin.

Nearly 25 years after their first winter walk along the northern Maine waters, the Conovers thought they had seen all of the wilderness' wonders.

Garrett Conover said the varying winter weather on both trips was similar, as were the signs of wildlife everywhere.

But both said the fresh clear-cuts both times were a surprise. And the winter walk was filled with many new wonders, Alexandra Conover said, such as the ice reefs and canyons at the end, a whole new population of coyotes, and lynx and bobcat tracks.

And, like every trip into the wild, there were sightings unique to the moment, like the raven mating dance along one section of the Penobscot River.

"There were all these raven tracks like a contra dance and we saw birds flying in pairs everywhere," she said.

Yet the sight of the children from the Wallagrass Elementary School meant the most, Alexandra Conover said.

The children walked on snowshoes with the two guides for more than two hours Saturday, pulling their toboggan over the frozen St. John and Allagash rivers, cutting and testing ice, and playing around their canvas tent.

"That's what this whole trip was about, opening doors and windows. They were bright and really sharp kids," she said.

Many other children were introduced to the trip through the Conovers' Web site (www.winterwalk2005.org). And Alexandra Conover said she hopes those children reach out to them.

"I think (the Web site) would be like reading a good book. And I know books changed my life and every friend I have has said the same thing," she said.

The Conovers plan to make the same walk next winter, completing the circle. They will walk and camp along the waterways from the Allagash River to Moosehead Lake.

Staff Writer Deirdre Fleming can be contacted at 791-6452 or at:

dfleming@pressherald.com

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