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A Stay at Fort Langley, British Columbia

Guest Post by Amy Perry Basseches 
During my mid-April trip to Vancouver, I was mostly based in the small town of Fort Langley (1 hour east of downtown), the so-called "birthplace of British Columbia." It’s a little bit off the beaten track, but a lovely destination. Lying on the Fraser River, the actual Fort of Fort Langley was built in 1827 to secure British claims to both sides of the Fraser, a former trading post of the Hudson’s Bay Company. Inside the walls of the Fort, we toured the historic timber buildings, talked to re-enactors, pretended to pan for gold, and pictured we were in the early 1800s mingling with Hudson’s Bay Company fur traders and their First Nations trading partners. 
 
In the village of Fort Langley, a short walk from the Fort, many of the old buildings have been restored. These restorations, combined with its rural setting and access to the river and mountain vistas, make the town a thriving tourist center. Where new buildings were constructed in the past few decades, they had to follow strict style guidelines to match the heritage appearance. We stopped for unbelievable coffee at Blacksmith Bakery, an artisan bakeshop built on the original site of a 1910 blacksmith shop. 
 
Back to the main point of my trip, having a reunion with two of my dearest friends, women I’ve known since I was 21. An activity we always enjoy is cooking together, and that we did. Tamara had recently been to Spain, visiting her "studying abroad" college son, and she brought back with her a paella recipe from Madrid. Top notch ingredients were purchased at 1 Fish 2 Fish Fresh Seafood Market, and it was grand. Good friends, good food, good adventure exploring a new area — thanks Fort Langley!
 

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Raft the Tuolumne River, California

Snaking through the central Sierra Mountains, the Tuolumne (pronounced Too-all-uh-me) has the perfect starting point, the glacial-fed headwaters of Yosemite National Park.  From here, it’s a wild three-day ride on Class IV rapids through an isolated canyon.  We’re talking about thrilling drops, technical maneuvering through chutes, and intense paddling around churning holes. Once you’ve had your fair share of screaming on whitewater, you can spend the latter part of each day lounging in a placid swimming hole. Reputable rafting outfitter, O.A.R.S, has a slew of three-day jaunts going out in August including two trips that feature wine tasting. Trips start at $609 per person and include guides, food, and tents. 
 

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Ecuador, So Much More Than the Galapagos! A Stop at Cotopaxi

Guest Post and Photos by Amy Perry Basseches

On a Saturday morning in late February, my daughter and I set off for a weekend of outdoor fun in Parque Nacional Cotopaxi, home to Ecuador’s second-highest peak, about two hours southeast from Quito. This park’s namesake, the enormous 19,000-foot stratovolcano Cotopaxi, has, since 1738, erupted more than 50 times, resulting in the creation of numerous valleys. The last eruption lasted from August 2015 to January 2016.
 
Our base for 2 days was the Chilcabamba Mountain Lodge, a recommended rustic hotel described as "cozy, unpretentious and charming." We loved it! Bear in mind, no one at the lodge spoke English, they are all from Cotopaxi and the surrounding area, so Sophie’s presence as Spanish translator was vital. The food and views were good, and we really liked our room, equipped with a warming stove, wool ponchos and thick duvets. We didn’t get to make S’mores at the outdoor firepit, but we did enjoy the complimentary Canelazo (a warm Ecuadorian drink concocted from sugar cane alcohol, boiled water, cinnamon, sugar, and local citrus fruit or blackberry). Chilcabamba is at 3480 metres (11,400 feet), and I suggest taking altitude sickness-prevention medicine if you visit (you can get from a travel medicine doctor ahead of time). 
 
From Chilcabamba, we enjoyed two main activities, and wished we had had time for two others:
  • Inside the Park, near the Tambopaxi Lodge, we got our horses and rode for a few hours across grassy and rocky terrain, with our guide. Unforgettable!
  • Also inside the Park, we walked around the Laguna Limpiopungo, watching a herd of wild horses, and newborn colt, graze nearby. 
  • Stargazing in Ecuador is purported to be amazing — not only are you away from light pollution in many of these natural areas, but you are at a high altitude, and, the closer you are to the equator, you can see both Northern and Southern Hemisphere constellations, perfect for the growing field of Astrotourism. It was too cloudy for us.
  • Unfortunately, we did not get to trek to the base camp on Cotopaxi, an outlook at an elevation of 4,864 metres (almost 16,000 feet). Our guide had worked for 7 years at the base camp, the José F. Ribas Refuge, which is a 40 to 80 minute uphill hike from the car park. Here, climbers can spend the night and begin their summit bid. Mountain biking is also available from the Refuge. 
Tomorrow, the Mindo Cloud Forest, a premier destination for birdwatching, hiking, butterflies, chocolate, and adventure activities (tubing, ziplining, rafting, waterfall rappelling), just two hours from Quito. 
 
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30% Discount on all AMC Maine Lodges in March

First opened as a private sporting camp in 1867, it’s hard to top the locale of Gorman Chairback, located on the shores of Long Pond in the shadows of the Barren-Chairback Range. Reopened a year ago after a major renovation by the Appalachian Mountain Club, Gorman Chairback’s locale gives you the opportunity to snowshoe and cross-country ski deep into Maine’s 100-Mile Wilderness, only to return back to the lodge for a home cooked meal and a seat by the roaring fire. Gorman Chairback is one of three historic Maine lodges run by the AMC that are now offering a 30% discount on rates in March for a two-night stay. The AMC maintains over 80 miles of trails in the region during winter so go out and play. 
 
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Quebec’s Winter Carnival

I just finished a story on winter carnivals in North America. One of the finest is in Quebec City, where for 17 days, the party never stops. More than one million people descend upon the fortified city to cheer on the competition in Le Grande Virée, a dogsled race that cruises through the heart of the historic Old City, or watch paddlers sprint across the turgid waters of the St. Lawrence Seaway. The French-flavored festivities continue with tours of the Ice Palace, a giant medieval castle constructed of pure crystalline water, parades, snow sculpture contests, inner tube sled rides, dancing to live music, and late night jaunts to heated tents to sample the potent drink called Caribou, made of whiskey, red wine, and maple syrup. One swig of this and you might be running naked through the snowfields.

While in Quebec City, spend a memorable night 30 minutes outside of town at North America’s only ice hotel, Hotel de Glace. 32 new rooms are created each year out of 12,000 tons of snow and 400 tons of ice, along with an Absolut ice bar, Jacuzzis, and a dance club. Bring those long johns. Temperature inside is a mere 27 degrees Fahrenheit.  
 

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Climb Mount Monadnock

Climbing the broad-shouldered peak Henry David Thoreau called a “sublime mass,” Mt. Monadnock, is a rite of passage for many New England children. Just over the border of Massachusetts in southern New Hampshire, Monadnock is less than a two-hour drive from Boston. Its accessibility and locale, smack dab in the center of New England, has made it one of the two most popular mountain ascents in the world going toe-to-toe with Japan’s Mount Fuji. 

 
Early May, when the black flies have yet to arrive, is the ideal time to bag this 3,165-foot peak. Head up the White Dot trail, one of the steepest ascents, but also one that rewards with you with incredible vistas in a very short time. Above treeline, the forest recedes to form open ledges covered with low-lying shrubs like mountain cranberry bushes. This gives you ample opportunity to rest and peer down at the soft blanket of treetops, small towns with their requisite white steeples, a smattering of lakes and ponds, and farms that fan out to anonymous ridges. Soon you’ll reach the summit, where Thoreau watched in dismay as his fellow mid-19th century trampers inscribed their names in rock. You can still spot names like “T.S. Spaulding, 1853” clearly etched in the stone. 
 
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Experts Forecast Spectacular Fall Foliage in New England

I’ve been busy this week designing itineraries for all of our clients headed to New England in the next month or two. Early reports indicate that this is going to be a banner year for fall colors. While we now comfortably send ActiveTravels members all over the world thanks to the guidance of trusted local experts, there’s no region we know better than our own backyard of New England. I’ve practically driven every backcountry road of these six states writing books for Outside Magazine, Lonely Planet, Frommer’s, articles on the top beach towns and winter towns for Yankee Magazine, and more than 300 stories for the Boston Globe. ActiveTravels was also asked to design a route for Conde Nast Traveler readers and we were chosen the agent of choice for NewEnglandTravelPlanner. If you want to visit New England, rest assured that we’ll find the best lodging, activities, restaurants, and routes that suit your budget and passion.

Off to Lime Rock Race Course in Connecticut, and visits with family in New Jersey, Philly, and Bethlehem, Pennsylvania next week. Have a great Labor Day Weekend! 
 

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