Deep Discounts on Three Winter Weekends Led by Famed Maine Guides Garrett and Alexandra Conover

ELLIOTSVILLE, Maine, December 18, 2008—It’s a two-for! Maine Audubon is offering deep discounted pricing on three weekend trips this winter led by famed Registered Maine Guides Garrett and Alexandra Conover. By purchasing two spots for a weekend, participants can save up to $250.

In a first-time collaboration with Maine Audubon, Registered Maine Guides Garrett and Alexandra Conover are leading three residential programs on January 9-11, January 16-18, and February 13-15, teaching traditional outdoor skills at 1,600-acre Borestone Mountain Audubon Sanctuary. Just south of Moosehead Lake and Greenville, Maine, the sanctuary is a North Woods gem with woods, water, wildlife, and mountain-summit views that have awed people for generations.

Prices include all food, lodging, equipment and instruction. The weekends cost up to $395 for individual Maine Audubon members and $425 for nonmembers—but participants can now purchase two spaces for just $600.

Highlights from the three weekends include snowshoe treks, making mukluk moccasins, baking the trailside bread bannock, learning to recognize bird song and other signs of animals in winter, and a journey to Onawa Lake in the shadow of Borestone Mountain. Nights will be spent in one of Borestone’s cabins or in canvas tents heated by woodstove, with good food and camaraderie found round the fire.

“Most people are surprised at how warm and comfortable they are on these trips,” said Garrett Conover. “People relax and open up to the fun they’re there for.”

REPORTERS/EDITORS: Full descriptions for these programs are listed at the end of this release and at www.maineaudubon.org.

As owner-operators of North Woods Ways guiding service, the Conovers have gained international renown by devoting 30 years to learning and practicing traditional outdoor skills, and sharing their love of nature through traditional outdoor treks in the wildest areas remaining in the Northeast.

Stories about them have been featured frequently on television and in more than 40 publications, including books and national and international magazines. Together, they have written the definitive winter camping guide Snow Walker’s Companion. Garrett also has written the canoeing guide Beyond the Paddle, and the award-winning children’s book Kristin’s Wilderness.

Those guided by the Conovers observe and learn what Garrett and Alexandra describe as “the finer skills of comfortable outdoor living and travel.” In winter, the two teach participants the sub-arctic travel methods of native people—snowshoeing on frozen waterways while hauling equipment by sled and camping in canvas wall tents. In summer, they lead group canoe trips, paddling rivers and lakes and baking bread each day by the campfire.

“We’re very excited to work with Maine Audubon to provide new programs designed for the beautiful mountainside sanctuary of Borestone,” said Alexandra Conover. “Borestone Mountain has always been a special place for us, and it’s the perfect setting for the outdoor skills and knowledge we want to share.”

To register for these programs or for more information, please call Maine Audubon’s registrar at (207) 781-2330, ext. 215. The registration deadline for the two trips in January is Monday, January 5.

Information is available at www.maineaudubon.org.

BORESTONE MOUNTAIN AUDUBON SANCTUARY encompasses more than 1,600 acres of forest uncut for more than a century, exposed mountain summits and three ponds, as well as a seasonal nature center and Adirondack-style lodges. It is located in Elliotsville, Maine, a 30-minute drive south of Moosehead Lake in Greenville.

MAINE AUDUBON works to conserve Maine’s wildlife and wildlife habitat by engaging people of all ages in education, conservation and action.

TRIP DESCRIPTIONS:

Mukluk Madness Weekend

Friday, January 9-Sunday, January 11

Join traditional Registered Maine Guides Alexandra and Garrett Conover for winter fun, snowshoeing, and making the warmest winter footgear there is—the breathable leather and canvas mukluk moccasin. We’ll be comfortably based in a cozy log camp and heated wall tent on pristine Sunset Pond at the 1,600-acre Borestone Mountain Audubon Sanctuary, just south of Greenville, Maine. Saturday night features homegrown music and chocolate fondue a la Borestone. Price includes meals beginning Friday night, camping gear (not personal gear), mukluk materials, and leadership fee, but participants should bring felt liners for their moccasins.

$395/individual Maine Audubon member; $425/individual nonmember; $600 for two

Limited to 10 participants

Advance registration necessary by January 5; please call (207) 781-2330, ext. 215.

Borestone Bannock Bake-off

Friday, January 16-Sunday, January 18

Take part in a real Maine North Woods adventure! You’ll snowshoe into the heart of a stunning forest uncut for more than a century, where Registered Maine Guides Alexandra and Garrett Conover will help you hone your ability to recognize North Woods trees and bird song and other winter signs of animals. You’ll spend the night in a wood-heated traditional wall tent or authentic log cabin, and learn to bake bannock, a nutritious, easy-to-make trail bread. (Hot out of the fry pan and slathered with butter, you’ll understand why snowshoers-in-the-know eat well on the trail.) We’ll supply the snowshoes and flour; you provide your curiosity and cooking enthusiasm for this fun-filled weekend in the 1,600-acre Borestone Mountain Audubon Sanctuary, just south of Greenville, Maine. Price includes all meals beginning Friday night, accommodations, equipment, and leadership fee.

$375/individual Maine Audubon member; $395/individual nonmember; $600 for two

Limited to 10 participants

Advance registration necessary by January 5; please call (207) 781-2330, ext. 215

Winter Camping the North Woods Way

Friday, February 13-Sunday, February 15

Don’t be left out in the cold! Join Registered Maine Guides Garrett and Alexandra Conover for this fun-filled weekend in the heart of the North Woods. Come to Borestone Mountain Audubon Sanctuary to learn warm winter camping skills using traditional wood-heated canvas wall tents, woodstoves, and toboggans. Highlights of your introduction to winter camping include learning or improving your snowshoeing techniques, making nourishing and gourmet trail foods, learning to tell time by the stars, finding tracks and other signs of animals in winter, and spending the night in a heated wall tent on Onawa Lake. Price includes meals beginning Friday night, camping equipment (not personal gear), and leadership fee.

$375/individual Maine Audubon member; $395/individual nonmember; $600 for two

Limited to 10 participants

Advance registration necessary; please call (207) 781-2330, ext. 215

MAINE AUDUBON works to conserve Maine’s wildlife and wildlife habitat by engaging people of all ages in education, conservation and action. For more than 160 years, Maine Audubon has been connecting people with nature and leading science-based conservation in major projects across the state. An independent affiliate of Audubon’s national organization, Maine Audubon has seven local chapters, 11 nature centers and sanctuaries, and 11,000 members and supporters.

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