We made our way to the Maine Lakes & Mountains Region early on a chilly winter morning to met up with Ultimate Dog Sledding Experience in Hebron. We were lucky enough to go out with their racing team that morning, flying through the woods, the dogs quickly settling into their routine, loving each turn and straightaway. After we grabbed tacos to-go from Lunchador Tacos in South Paris, a favorite place of ours when we’re in the area.

Then, it was time to check into The Maine Dome Cabin. It was tucked into the snow and looked small from the outside, but I couldn't have been more wrong. The dome was huge inside, with a giant sunken living room and a wood stove to match. Multiple bedrooms and areas to lounge in, and it even had a smaller dome connected with an indoor hot tub to relax in after skiing.

There are several ski areas just minutes away (both downhill and cross country) and we grabbed our gear and headed to Carter Cross Country Ski just down the road. They have great views of the mountains, a warming lodge, a small ski shop, and a food truck. We ended the night eating fondue at the dome and soaking in the hot tub before heading to bed to get an early start in the morning. 

The next morning we woke to a snowstorm and headed to the Carrabassett Valley area of ML&M for the next part of our adventure - hiking to Stratton Brook Hut, just one of the huts that Maine Huts & Trails runs. You can hike to the hut and carry all of your gear, or if you'd like they will snowmobile your gear up for a fee. We snowshoed through the trails, only hearing the snowflakes fall as the storm slowly came to an end. The hike varied from flat to switchbacks and at the top of the mountain, we saw a huge hut waiting for us.

The hut consists of a large lodge with two wood stoves, a full kitchen, a warming room for your gear, showers, and composting toilets. The bunk rooms (heated to 55) were just across from the lodge so we dropped our gear off and relaxed by the fire and drank some local beer before dinner.

The next morning we made our way down the trail taking in some magnificent views along the way and headed to our next adventure but not before grabbing some of the best burritos around from Rolling Fatties.