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Top 5 Fall Foliage Picks in New England, Hiking a White Mountain, New Hampshire

The bugs are gone, the threat of a late spring snow washed away, and the leaves are already starting to change color. Not to mention, you don’t have to face the summer crowds on the trails. These reasons alone should make you want to fill up your water bottle, bag a lunch with requisite mackintosh apples and hit the Whites. Start with the Falling Waters trail up to the peak of 5,228-foot Mt. Lafayette. Strolling alongside a series of spectacular waterfalls, and then making the climb to a 1.7-mile ridge walk between two of the White Mountains’ loftiest peaks, it’s no wonder this is one of the finest day hikes in New England. Grab some lemonade at the AMC’s Greenleaf Hut, or if you were wise, you booked a bunk for the night to savor the spectacular mountain panorama without rushing down. If you prefer a less strenuous hike, try Mt. Willard. In less than an hour, you’ll make it to the peak where jaw-dropping views of Crawford Notch stand below you, a reward for your accomplishment.
 

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The Hills are Alive with the Sound of Dripping Sap

Maria von Trapp, the woman who inspired The Sound of Music, is no longer with us, but Trapp Family Lodge continues to flourish thanks to one of the finest cross-country networks in the northeast, comfy lodging perched on a hillside in Stowe, Vermont, the launch of their new beer hall and microbrewery, and a restaurant that serves a tasty wiener schnitzel. Mid to late March, during the heart of the maple sugaring season, is my favorite time of year to visit Trapps. When it comes to sugaring, the family does it the old fashion way, picking up the sap in buckets with a horse-drawn sleigh and delivering it to the sugarhouse to boil off the water and create Vermont’s “liquid gold.” The 1200 taps produce 300 gallons of syrup annually and the season lasts from mid-March until mid-April. Join in on the fun each Saturday, when you can cross-country ski, snowshoe, or grab that horse-drawn sleigh to the sugarhouse for a traditional Sugar-on-Snow party. The hot syrup is tossed on the white snow to create a chewy maple taffy, served with donuts and dill pickles. If you’re in the area tomorrow, March 11, Trapp Family Lodge will be offering a Maple Sugar Snowshoe Tour from 10:30 to 12 pm. Enjoy a 1.5-mile snowshoe through the woods, then learn about the process of making maple syrup at their sugarhouse.

 
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Skiing and Luging Le Massif

With a height at the summit of only 2,645 feet, you would think Le Massif would be a pretty mellow mountain. And you’d be wrong. With the largest vertical drop east of the Canadian Rockies, more than half of the 53 trails are black diamond or expert.  That still leaves more than enough trails for beginners and intermediates to savor the expansive view of the St. Lawrence River that stands in front of you. Start the morning with a nice blue groomer like La Petite-Riviere, and at mid-mountain switch to the green L’ancienne, which snakes through the trees to the edge of the ski area. The vista from here is amazing. You can see the town of Baie-Saint-Paul and the snowcapped mountains in the background. Out to sea are the icy waters of the St. Lawrence and the island across from Baie-Saint-Paul, L’isle aux-Coudres. More experienced skiers should take advantage of the morning sun to head to the southern slope and sample steeper blacks like La Fenomene. Only the truly gifted should attempt the triple black diamond La Charlevoix. That’s where the Canadian national ski team comes to practice their downhill and slalom runs.
 
Le Massif also offers guests the rare chance to go rodeling or luging down a 7.5-kilometer trail on the northern face of the mountain. The exhilarating two-hour trip starts with a snowcat ride to the top of the trail, where you’re handed a small sled. Then you start cruising downhill, curving around banks, and sweeping over hills, all with that same glorious view of the St. Lawrence. I took the luge tour yesterday and it was a blast! You use your feet to brake and turn, stopping to walk uphill over streams and to take a break for a drink at a warming hut. The actual time on your sled is probably around 45 minutes, which went far too quickly. On that gondola ride back to the top, you’ll have the urge to sign up for the next luge tour and do it all over again. 
 
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Connecticut in Autumn, A Visit to Weir Farm in Wilton

Last Friday, I woke up early and drove to the outskirts of Danbury to Weir Farm National Historic Site. Along with the home of sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens in Cornish, New Hampshire, Weir Farm is the only other locale in the National Park System devoted to an artist. It was a perfect fall day and as soon as I turned off from Route 7 I was treated to a quintessential Connecticut landscape of rolling hills, old stone walls, and grand estates. Weir Farm was the former home, studio, barn, and gardens of J. Alden Weir, one of the fathers of American Impressionism. Head inside the Visitors Center and you’ll watch a short video on his life and see photos of the artist with his buddies, John Singer Sargent, Childe Hassam, and John Twachtman, who all loved coming out to the sprawling property for a day in the country. Take a walk around the grounds and down to the pond and you’ll instantly understand the allure. I toured the property with a park ranger and a group of art students from nearby Western Connecticut State University, who were going to spend the afternoon painting the scenery, still inspired by the landscape. Little has changed since the time of Weir. You can walk along the trails and see the exact spot where Weir painted many of his works. The stone walls, fields, and faded red barns are all the same. The only difference is that the trees have grown. 

 
I’m off to Nova Scotia next week, where I’ll be blogging on location. Have a great weekend!
 
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The Lobster Bake Aboard a Maine Windjammer

Aside from 11 year-old Mary Beth, who loved swimming and paddleboarding in the Atlantic, the highlight for most of us aboard the Schooner Mary Day was the first night lobster bake. Captain Barry anchored near a quiet beach with no other boats in sight and proceeded to row us over to the shore. The crew built a fire, then placed two massive pots brimming over with lobsters, corn on the cob, potatoes, onions, and a healthy top layer of seaweed. We swam and drank wine as the pots boiled, anticipating the feast. When ready, Captain Barry threw off the layer of seaweed and grabbed his tongs to place all the lobsters and fixins in a circular design. We each grabbed our lobster and plopped it on a tray, next to hot butter, corn, potatoes, and found a spot on the beach to dine. 

The lobster opened easily without the need for crackers, as large pieces of tender claw meat was soon dipped into the butter, washed down with a nice, dry sauvignon blanc. Sublime. After polishing off the tail and leaving a puddle of water on my shirt and bathing suit, I could start all over again. See, the best part of a lobster bake aboard a Maine windjammer is that you can eat as many lobsters as you want. Captain Barry tells me that his record is a college student who devoured 13 lobsters in one sitting. Content with my big 2-pounder, I was happy to make the first of several s’mores over the hot wood. Quite sated, four of us decided to swim back to the schooner instead of rowing. A wise decision. The water was clean, cool, refreshing. The dinner far more memorable than all those James Beard-award winning restaurants I dined at this year. 
 
(Photo by Melanie Jermanok)
 
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Bermuda’s Pink Sale Offer’s 50% Off Room Rates

Need to get away? If you live in the Midwest or East Coast and just endured temps in the single digits, I would say you’re due. You might want to know about Bermuda’s Pink Sale, where 15 hotels on island are offering a 50% discount. Book from today through January 28 for hotels stays until April 30, 2015. Bermuda has a reputation of being cold in the winter months, but average highs in Jan and Feb are 68 degrees, with temps moving up to 70 and 73 in March and April, respectively. Flights are direct and only 2 hours from New York, Boston, and DC. If you need suggestions on what to do while you’re there, check out my Boston Globe story. 

 
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Swiss Bliss

Grindelwald is one of those fairy-tale Swiss mountain villages that serve as a gateway to the heart of the Alps. Wander from your hotel to the gondola, ride it to the last stop, and soon you’ll be staring at a crown of majestic 13,000-foot peaks. While it’s the Jungfrau region’s largest ski resort, in summer Grindelwald offers scenic walks, bike rides, and hikes past lakes and waterfalls and through flower-bedecked alpine meadows.
 
A fresh dusting of snow atop the jagged ridges this July morning only adds to the luster as my family and I set out on a six-mile hike along the Bachalpsee route to a remote lake deep in an emerald valley. To make our descent back to town, we hop aboard scooter-bicycle hybrids called Trottibikes. I point mine downhill on a paved path and pray. Directly across from me lies the mighty Eiger peak, its massive girth only adding to my anxiety. I decide to step off to gather my nerves and pretend to take photos.
 
That’s when my daughter, Melanie, whizzes by me at breakneck speed and screams, "Yeah, Trottibikes!" (Translation: You’re getting old, Dad).
 
To read more about my travels with the family to Switzerland last summer, please check out my latest story for Virtuoso Traveler. 
 

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